Mercedes raises £35k for F1 fan’s bionic hand

If you don't ask, you don't get – or so the saying goes.

And this certainly rang true for a young Formula One fan who was born without a left hand.

Matthew James, aged 14, from Wokingham, was unimpressed by the prosthetic limb he had been using and decided to write to the boss of Mercedes GP Petronas.

He asked Ross Brawn if the company would pay for a hi-tech bionic version and offered them the chance to display a Mercedes logo on the limb in return for their help.

Brawn was seemingly impressed by the youngster's courage and agreed to help him raise the £35,000 needed for specialist organisation Touch Bionics to fit an i-LIMB Pulse – which has a flexible skin covering known as cosmesis.

The device is the world's most advanced prosthetic limb and Matthew is extremely pleased with the result, which he says is "cool".

"We were moved by Matthew's story and once Mercedes GP Petronas showed how they would be able to work positively with our development team, then we were happy to waive our clinical services fee," explains John Huntley, UK clinical manager at Touch Bionics.

Posted by Mark Wilkins