FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem congratulated Hamda on her win
Emirati female racing driver Hamda Al Qubaisi. — Supplied photo
Emirati female racing driver Hamda Al Qubaisi of MP Motorsport won the F1 Academy’s race 2 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, in the US.
“It’s an amazing feeling to win in an F1 race weekend,” Hamda, the 21-year-old Emirati racer, said after her win during the US Grand Prix weekend.
FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem congratulated Hamda on her win.
Mohammed ben Sulayem with Hamda Al Qubaisi and Amna Al Qubaisi. — Supplied photo
He noted the importance of the F1 Academy in training and developing the skills of young racers and grooming them to become the champions of the future, especially talents like Hamda, who has been proving her mettle in the racing world.
Hamda started her racing career in karting. In 2016, she was the first Emirati to be invited to the FIA-sponsored CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy.
In 2017, Hamda finished third in the IAME X30 Championships before moving to Italian F4 in 2019.
A year later, she won three races in UAE F4 before making a return to Italian F4. She became the first woman in the history of Italian F4 to score a podium, achieving third place in the first race of the season at the Italian Formula 4 Championship in June 2021.
Another Formula 4 UAE campaign brought three wins and six podiums, resulting in a fourth-place finish in the standings.
Amna Al Qubaisi, Hamda's sister, is also a racing driver.
The F1 Academy is a female-only, single-seater racing championship founded by Formula One in 2022 with its inaugural season being held this year.
The racing series aims to focus on developing and preparing young drivers to progress to higher levels of competition.
Ashwani Kumar is a versatile journalist who explores every beat in Abu Dhabi with an insatiable curiosity. He loves uncovering stories that are informative and help readers form their own opinions.