Mexico Infiniti Engineering Academy winner chosen for 2018

Renault race driver Carlos Sainz unveiled the winner - Patricio Barroso Rios - in the Mexico City pitlane on Thursday afternoon.

Barroso Rios is studying mechanical and electronic engineering at a Mexican university and in addition to a work placement at Renault, he will also spend six months at Infiniti's Technical Centre Europe in Cranfield.

"I really did not expect to win, it's so overwhelming right now," said Barroso Rios.

"When I go to Enstone, I'm looking forward to learning from the best and in particular I'm really interested in getting to work with the area of the car that deals with the suspension - and working with the experts. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

The Mexican finals of the Infiniti Engineering Academy took place over two days in Mexico City, culminating with a final series of challenges at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez venue.

The 10 candidates were tested in front of judges from both Infiniti and Renault, and were whittled down to three for the final evaluations, which took place at the track.

The tests included a range of hands-on engineering tasks, such as building a functional dragster model, and a series of examinations that assessed their teamwork skills and capacity to be decisive under pressure.

They were interviewed by the judging panel, which included Tommaso Volpe, the global director of motorsports for Infiniti, and they took part in a question and answer session with local media.

The Infiniti Engineering Academy was launched in 2014 and the prize for the seven regional winners (from the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Middle East, China and Asia-Oceania) is a six-month placement at both Renault and Infiniti.

If you're a current engineering student and fluent in English then visit http://academy.infiniti.com for more information.