Amna Al Qubaisi is changing the narrative. Representing MP Motorsport, Al Qubaisi is competing in the inaugural season of F1 Academy, the new, all-female racing series that officially launched last month. The 23-year-old—who was born in Washington, Va.—is the first Emirati female racing driver to compete in a championship.
This season, Amna and her younger sister, Hamda, 20, who is competing on the same F1 Academy team, have already seen success—Amna placed second in Spielberg in late April, and Hamda finished first in Valencia earlier this month.
Amna made her debut in 2018, competing in Italian F4, and has also driven in the Asian F3 Championship, Formula Regional Asian Championship and the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine.
Ahead of the next race in Barcelona this weekend, Amna sat down with Sports Illustrated to discuss her start in the sport, the hurdles she has faced so far, her very familiar teammate and more.
Courtesy of the F1 Academy
Sports Illustrated: When did you first hear about the idea of the F1 Academy?
Amna Al Qubaisi: We heard rumors back in November. Since then, we have been trying to collect sponsorship, and as the budget wasn’t too high, it was doable. From there, we did preparations and just waited for the confirmation that it was actually going to happen. Once it did happen, it was perfect. It’s a great way to have track time without a high budget, and we get to go to lots of tracks around Europe!
With F1’s support, too, it’s a big deal. If we win a race, we have a lot of publicity. I was like, “We should take part in this since it’s supported by F1,” which means that it will have a future.
SI: How have you been finding the racing? There have been six races over two locations, in both Spielberg and Valencia, one of which you won.
AAQ: So far, it’s really good. It’s professional and very organized. We have people coming from FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3 working at the F1 Academy, so it’s treated seriously.
I’m actually really surprised, as well, by how everybody is so kind to each other. Everybody was expecting there would be a lot of crashes or a lot of fights happening, but it’s actually quite the opposite. Compared to the Italian F4 Championship, let’s say, there are lots of safety cars and crashes, but in the F1 Academy that rarely happens. We’ve had only one safety car, and that’s it. That shows that women are cautious, and they bring the car back in one piece.
SI: What’s it been like racing against only women, is that a first for you in your career?
AAQ: It’s my first time racing against all women. Some girls were concerned about one being better than the others because in motorsports, there’s not a lot of girls competing at a high level of motorsport. Some girls were afraid to be beaten by others who were more or less experienced than them. But either way, you’re going to get overtaken by a girl later on, or in the beginning of the championship. So it’s something you have to just accept, and know for a fact that, we’re all here to win. We’re all here to race. We all have some different experiences here and there.
SI: Did you do lots of preparation for the championship?
AAQ: I actually didn’t have any track time, so I stayed at home and trained in the gym to prepare myself. The official test was the first time I was in a car in a really long time. Other girls had been testing with other championships, and they’ve done official tests in Europe, so I was not as prepared as everybody else.
I was training and doing some karting in between, which helps a lot with braking and racing lines. I would take each corner like I would take it in the F1 car, and it actually really helped.
SI: From an outside perspective, several people said that it felt quite rushed after the collapse of the W Series, another all-women racing series. How has it felt from your end?
AAQ: I felt like it was a little late to announce the championship dates and where the races would take place. So we were really ill-prepared to know which tracks will host for us to test beforehand. So by the time that it was announced it was already too late to book a track day to test on those certain circuits.
SI: You’re racing for MP Motorsport in F1 Academy and have an unusual teammate in your sister, Hamda. What has it been like racing with her on weekends and then going back to normal family life when you’re away from the race track?
AAQ: It’s really nice. We have good references with each other. So some corners I take really well, which she can learn from in terms of data and vice versa. During the races we actually take advantage of our siblinghood and help each other on track. In Valencia, she was faster than me, so I let her overtake me. I don’t fight with her. We basically have that teamwork on and off the track. It’s very vital and very important.
SI: Hamda had an amazing comeback after breaking her wrist in an accident and winning the first race in Valencia just six weeks later.
The first few test days we said: Just work on your arm, try and drive the car, but don’t push it. We wanted her to stay three seconds off and didn’t want her to drive super fast. Then at Paul Ricard, a French circuit, we told her to take it easy, but she did a P1 lap. She came in and she was shocked, like, “I took it easy for my arm.” So we saw how quickly she progressed and we’re super happy that she’s back in the car. If someone told us that she would be winning a race after a month or two after her injury, we would tell you that you’re joking.
