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Mei Shibi is a 19-year old Israeli driver currently competing in the European Formula 3 championship, and is about to enter his third season. Although Formula One has had a Jewish world champion in the past, South Africa’s Jody Scheckter in 1979, Mei’s long-term goal is to become the first Israeli to compete at the highest level of motorsport. He currently competes for the Racing in Italy team.
Like most racing drivers, Mei’s career began in go-karts, when his father bought him a 50cc go-kart at the age of 5, one which he said was capable of racing at 100km/h. Despite originally feeling scared behind the wheel, Mei said that his father supported him in his developing career, later buying him a Formula 4 and Formula 3 car. His career has led him to Italy where he currently competes, under an Italian race licence.
Before his current series, Mei competed in the F2000 series where despite some mechanical problems during the year, he was able to achieve a podium at the Red Bull Ring circuit in Austria and another incredible podium finish, where he worked his way up to third place after starting the race in 12th. Mei told me that this year, he would like to win his first race and “to hear the Hatikvah playing when I am on the podium”. Mei has even attempted to balance his racing career alongside keeping Shabbat, although this has been difficult.
As such an expensive sport to pursue, one area that Mei has struggled during his career is in sponsorship money, and he is currently looking for some more sponsors in order to fund his path to the GP2 championship. The GP2 series has previously been a pipeline for Formula One drivers, including Lewis Hamilton.
There have been some Israeli drivers who have come close to Formula One, such as Roy Nissany, a previous reserve driver for the Williams team, and Ferrari’s Robert Schwarzmann, a Russian who was forced to switch his racing licence once the war in the Ukraine began. Mei said that his dream would be to race for Mercedes but described being given the opportunity to join Formula One would be “incredible”.
With the season beginning in March, Mei affirmed that his aim for the year is to win a race and hopefully to acquire the sponsorship money to invest in a better car. He said that if he is successful in the latter, he puts his chances of winning the championship at 90%.
When asked how it feels to represent the Jewish community on the track, Mei said it means a lot to him “to show the world that we are strong”, displaying a number of Israeli flags and stickers on his car and helmet.
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