Interview with Jazeman Jaafar
Jazeman Jaafar is not exactly a household name at the moment, but this ambitious 19-year-old Petronas-sponsored racer is a man of grand ambitions. Currently racing in British Formula 3, he has plans to go all the way to the pinnacle of motorsports hierarchy – Formula 1.
He recently sat down for a chat with representatives from a number of Malaysian media organizations including Autoworld.com.my, where he shared the ups and downs of what has been a remarkable journey.
Journalists present at the group interview in addition to ourselves were Faisal Shah of Autocar ASEAN, Chris Wee of Malaysian EVO, Salihin Rahim of CBT, and Keshy Dhillon of Star Motoring. Questions in the interview were presented by each journalist in turn.
Faisal: Looking back at 2011, you did pretty well in British F3 with a number of podium finishes, but a win eluded you. You think that will change in 2012 if you choose to stay in Formula 3?
Jazeman: Yes for sure, I think it’s a very good route. Formula 3 is going to have a new car in 2012 which has more downforce, it’s basically like a downsized Formula 1 car. I know the tracks and I know the team so I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t be at the front.
Chris: What has been the biggest challenge for you in the past couple years?
Jazeman: Racing in Europe, the level of competition is very very high. I have team mates who are in Formula 1 now, some team mates have also tested in Formula 1, so that’s the level that the British F3 is at, it has produced loads of Formula 1 drivers in the past. So finishing in the top ten in every practise, qualifying session and race is where I need to be.
Chris: Who’s the one driver who has always been a thorn in your side?
Jazeman: Actually last year I had two drivers I had to battle with. One was Jan Magnusson’s son, Kevin Magnusson and the other is Felipe Nasr. From the very start of the year we were battling every day, even in testing we were fighting against time, those two are really good and talented drivers. They are going for the World Series.
Faisal: So, as a young man who essentially lives far away from his family, what are the challenges that someone would face if they were to do the same as you?
Jazeman: I think you have to learn how to live independently. It was hard for me at the beginning because I was 15 when I first moved abroad, my parents were not there with me, I didn’t have much friends so building that up and learning that by yourself is quite hard. Learning how to cope, going out to the gym, learning how to take the train. And English weather is rubbish and it demotivates you. I would have rather stayed at home and played my Playstation, all of that was hard in the beginning.
But I went to Europe for a reason, I had a goal and I had to achieve it. It’s not a cheap sport, so being given the opportunity to do in Europe at the top level is amazing.
Faisal: How helpful has Petronas been? Yes they are your sponsors but how involved are they in your life, in your career?
Jazeman: Well without Petronas I wouldn’t be racing at the top, at the pinnacle of racing for me. Now that I am based in Europe, I also spend time with the Mercedes AMG F1 team, I go to Grand Prix’s every year just to watch and listen to the team and learn. I listen to how the drivers communicate. Petronas opened up more doors for me, it helps me with my learning, it helps me in Formula 3.
AW: You have came quite far over the years, and your career spans over three or four pages. When would you say is the moment you consider to be the turning point in your career?
Jazeman: In 2007, when I won the Formula BMW Asia Championship, on the Saturday I do not know where my head was. I qualified 12th, I charged through the field and crashed out with my team mate. I could have won the Championship on that day, I was nowhere that day. In the second race I did the same thing, and I was throwing tantrums.
I could have easily lost the Championship, then dad came and spoke to me and he motivated me with his talk. I would not have made it to Europe if it wasn’t for that moment. So the next day, I started 12th again but I won the race, and won the Championship.
In that race I won it by over 25 seconds, it was great.
Keshy: But what did you do? How did you finish so well?
Jazeman: To start with I think I had a lot of pressure, it was between me and Zair Ali, a very talented Indonesian driver, we were fighting for the Championship and we had 10 points between us. All I needed to do was to finish on the podium, but I wanted to win the race. So I took too many risks, I wasn’t being myself, it was just too much pressure.
When I crashed I walked back to the paddock without any points.
Salihin: What do you think of the local racing fraternity? Is there anything that should be done better?
Jazeman: I think motorsports is growing in Malaysia. Three or five years ago no one would have thought that a Malaysian would own a Malaysian team and now we have four teams on the grid. We have that many teams from a small country and it’s a great thing.
It’s definitely growing slowly but it’s good. It’s good for me, it’s good for Fairuz Fauzy and it gives opportunities to Malaysians. And it’s good to see that every team have their own development program.
Keshy: As for driver development, everyone wants to get to Formula 1, but it’s not a cheap sport. So what do you think could be done different to bring drivers up?
Jazeman: I think the support from parents and how hungry he or she is. You can have the best team, or the best car and the best parents, but if the driver himself is not hungry, then there’s no point. I heard before there’s a lot of programs coming out but the driver has to want it.
Pictures: Official release of Jazeman’s PR.
