INTERVIEW: Hamda Al Qubaisi is breaking boundaries for Emirati women in motorsport

Secondly, she knows she is fortunate to have been financed by her father, Khaled, a renowned Emirati businessman who has enjoyed his own success on track over the years in sports cars, primarily in Porsche Supercup, as well as in the World Endurance Championship in the LMGTE Am class, notably finishing second in 2016 with Abu Dhabi Proton Racing. Perhaps more significantly, he was the first Emirati to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Being Emirati naturally provided an obstacle for Hamda in a male-dominated motorsport environment in the region, and the objections that she and her sister, Amna, faced as they attempted to forge their way in their chosen field.

Finally, Hamda is petite. She stands four feet 11 inches tall, which has provided additional challenges regarding the cockpits of the cars she has raced and will continue to do so the further up the ladder she progresses.

But through it all, and very much like all her peers, she has faced whatever issues have come her way, met them head on, and has every intention of continuing to do so, and all this from a beginning on which she concedes she "wasn't so sure about the sport.”

In an interview with this writer, she said the reason was "just because I saw my father doing it, and I didn't think the sport was for me. I just felt like it wasn't something I'd be good at. That's normally what I look at when I get into things. I just thought it wasn't my style, but my sister got into it and I watched her for a year and that's when I fell in love with the sport a bit more. She helped me and pushed me to get in with her.

"Then I got into a racing school, I was chosen as one of the drivers to be part of the academy. From there, I started karting; I was 12 years old. I remember my first championship; the first race and I was almost lapped. But the last race of the same season, I won it. It just showed how quickly I progressed and adapted to the kart considering I didn't do much at a younger age."

It was Amna, also in F1 Academy, who paved the way as she pushed their father "to get into the sport sooner", although it required a considerable degree of pestering before he relented. It was not until Amna was 13 - she is two years Hamda's senior - that she took up karting.

One of the reasons for Khalid's obvious reluctance was because of the girls' background. "Being an Arab girl, there weren't any girls in the sport, so it was really difficult for my father to say, 'Okay, I'll put you in'," remarked Hamda. "He was afraid of the criticism he would get – 'Why would you put your daughters in this sport? Why would you do that?'"

It was Khalid's motorsport passion, however, that proved to be the defining factor, as he did not want to deny his daughters the feelings and experiences he was enjoying.

Hamda recalled: "He said to us, 'I just want to see my passion through you guys so I'll get you in it. There's nothing wrong with doing the sport, so forget about whoever says anything. I'll just put you in."

At least once involved, there was not too much pushback from the Emirati community, although Al Qubaisi concedes that was predominantly because she "was racing against a lot of foreigners. I just didn't see any Arabs on the grid.”

"When I started doing it, I remember in school when I would go back and tell them I was doing karting championships, they didn't believe me at first," said Al Qubaisi. "They were like, 'Yeah, sure, you're winning'. It was not until I got on the news and they were like, 'Oh, you're serious? You actually did this?’ Then they started to feel pride. They're proud that I'm a girl from the UAE who is doing this at this level and is performing.

"The more podiums I got, the more recognition I got, the more support I got."

Al Qubaisi concedes, though, that but for the financial support of her father, neither her nor her sister would have made it into karting in the first place, never mind be where they are now, whilst Amna also proved to be 'a guinea pig' in some respects.

"I feel like, for sure, financially, I was able to have that support, luckily," said Al Qubaisi. "I know a lot of people don't have that. I feel like my father used that and tried to do that in the right way. He put my sister into Prema for [Italian] F4 in 2018, and then after he learned from her what he should do with me.

"He put me into more test days, more track time, and then, that way progressing into Italian F4, making sure I raced with the tough guys so I could become like them. I feel that helped a lot, being with a top team. In the end, he said, 'I'll do it the right way. [I'll] put you with the best team, the best support, and I know you will perform’."

After four seasons of karting, from 2015-18, during which time she was the first Emirati to be invited to the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy in 2016, Al Qubaisi progressed into Italian F4 in 2019, competing in the rounds at Austria's Red Bull Ring and Monza.

A full season followed in 2020, and then the following year she made history as the first woman in the history of Italian F4 to score a podium, hailing it as the "highlight of my career," and that without her father's support "it would have been really difficult to do that.”

In tandem with Italian F4 in 2020 and 2021, she also competed in Formula 4 UAE, finishing fourth in the championship in both years, scoring six wins and 13 podiums along the way.

But in supporting both of his daughters, naturally their father's money could only go so far. "One is already hard, so you can imagine two is even harder," said Al Qubaisi.

"I remember when I was doing F4 Italian, my sister just did the Formula Regional Asia. She didn't do anything in Europe, and that was to save money because it was so much on my dad. A lot of money goes into it.

"Luckily, we do have some sponsors. I know that some of those sponsors came through my dad, which helped a lot, but it's difficult for my dad to just keep pushing the sponsors to pay. It's something that we have to do on our own.

"With F1 Academy, the budget is not so high compared to other series, and last year my father was able to put both of us in. He was like, "Yes. Why not? We will do it'."

Hamda and Amna competed in F1 Academy's inaugural season in 2023 with MP Motorsport, finishing third and sixth respectively in the standings. Hamda, in particular, scored four victories.

Then came "a shock" for Hamda following the announcement the 10 F1 teams would support one woman apiece for this season, with Red Bull opting for the 22-year-old. "I did not expect to be signed so early," she said. "Then after that, the support was there. For my father, it was a relief, time to rest a bit, to save money, and then maybe go again the years after."

F1 Academy proved to be a saving grace for Al Qubiasi as she was left disillusioned following a season in the Formula Regional European Championship with Prema Racing in 2022, in which her best result was 24^th in her final race.

She said it was a series that "didn't suit me at all,” adding “the car was strange to drive. It wasn't anything I was used to. Very heavy, [required a] different style of driving. At the same time, there was a benchmark of average weight and I was too light. They couldn't make the weight with the ballast, they had to put full fuel in, and that changed the balance of the car completely.

"I struggled so much in the races and qualifying because the balance was just off completely. I did well for what I had and what I was provided."

With her height, Al Qubaisi only weighs 50 kilograms, even with a helmet. For F1 Academy, her car has required extension plates to allow her to reach the pedals.

She recognises that should she progress further, her height and weight will prove problematic. "That's the main struggle for me going upwards," she said. "I still think I have a chance, I want to go into a higher category – Europe Cup 3, or maybe even Europe Formula. I've heard they're changing their cars, which is exciting to see. “I want to achieve more. I feel like I haven't achieved enough yet."

At least with Red Bull's support, Al Qubaisi has progressed in many areas, even if the results have not matched those of last year, although she said that was due to technical and set-up issues at the start of the season from which she has yet to fully recover.

Across the seven rounds so far this season, she has scored one podium – a third in Barcelona – over the ten races. She wishes she had achieved more given the Red Bull backing.

"This year it has made the biggest difference with exposure, with the support I get off track, the physical prep and mental prep," she said. "It has just directed me in the right way. The sim training, I've never done sim training like this before. It's even more tiring than being on track. That's how dedicated they are off track, and that's how much they care about the prep.”

"I feel with that support, it has changed my way of driving, made me push more. Even with the way I drive the car now, it's better than I've ever driven it. It's just extracting the most out of myself, which I struggled to do in the past. Forget the numbers, it's more just about driving the car and being happy when I get out, feeling like I did my best, and that's what I feel every time I jump out of the car.

"That's important to me and to them for sure. I obviously want to give back to them. I feel like the podium in Barcelona really made me motivated to push even more, and they felt like their work is paying off.”

“I feel like going forward I want to keep doing that for them until the end of the season, and If I'm able to get the support for next season, it will be even better for the years after. Whatever the support is, it will always help."

Crucially for Al Qubaisi, along with her sister, she feels they have empowered Emirati women when it comes motorsport, and they are pioneers.

"Now I have a lot of comments from the Emirati community, especially females who want to get into the sport," said Al Qubaisi. "We have a karting team back home, and there are two girls who are Emirati in the team with us. It's really nice to see that it's progressing and we're seeing more Emirati females in sports.

"That's down to my sister mostly. She's the one who broke the boundary and created this opportunity, and I was one of the first behind. One of my friends, who is now in karting told me, 'I told my father about you, and that's why he let me in this sport'.

“It's something that has helped girls get into the sport. I feel like we have created a big opportunity for the girls behind."

Main image photography by Dominic James.

Article images courtesy of Motorsport Images.