Wambui Kiiru: The day I met F1 great Lewis Hamilton
Local Secretary of Stewards in Africa Rally Championship and World Rally Championship Safari Rally Wambui Kiiru arrives for for NTV's live sports show, SportOn! at Nation Centre on March 6, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Wambui, 35, was among the about 1,500 marshals at the 2022 Singapore GrandPrix held in Marina Bay Street Circuit from September 30 to October 2.
- “It was surreal,” said Wambui of her experience in the three-day race that was won by Red Bull racing driver Sergio Perez.
Driven by the adrenaline rush in motorsport, every Formula One enthusiast harbours a dream of gracing a F1 race one day.
Well, for Magdalene Wambui Kiiru, this dream came to pass in September last year.
Wambui, 35, was among the about 1,500 marshals at the 2022 Singapore GrandPrix held in Marina Bay Street Circuit from September 30 to October 2.
“It was surreal,” said Wambui of her experience in the three-day race that was won by Red Bull racing driver Sergio Perez.
Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished second and third.
Speaking during NTV’s Monday night sports show — SportOn!, Wambui recalled that in August last year it became real that she would get the golden opportunity to experience Formula One racing in real life.
She was among 24 women finalists, out of 300 applicants globally, for volunteer marshal duties at the Singapore racing.
World motorsport governing body FIA had called for applicants in a bid to increase women’s presence in Formula One.
By virtue of being the Secretary of Stewards in World Rally Championships Safari Rally — the first ever indigenous woman to hold such a post in the Safari —she applied and qualified.
In Singapore, Wambui could only wave at her favourite driver Mercedes’ Lewis Hamiliton because as a marshal she could not cheer or take selfies.
“For me it was a pinch-me moment being on the track itself,” said Wambui.
