The F1 Academy Preview Pod with García, Pulling and the Al Qubaisi sisters

Matt Baker is joined by Marta García, Abbi Pulling and sisters Hamda and Amna Al Qubaisi to talk all things F1 Academy.

Ahead of their final race in Austin, Marta García and Abbi Pulling discuss how the F1 Academy is moving in the right direction and if the series could produce the next F1 driver.

Hamda and Amna Al Qubaisi reveal what it's like racing as sisters as part of the same team and also reflect on being a racing driver growing up in the UAE.

# Podcast Episode Summary:
## Formula 1 Academy: Marta Garcia, Abbi Pulling, and the Al-Qubaisi Sisters

### Key Points:

- Marta Garcia, Abbi Pulling, and Hamda and Amna Al-Qubaisi discussed their experiences in the F1 Academy and racing as sisters.
- F1 Academy provides more track time, professional teams, and a structured environment compared to previous series like W Series.
- Marta Garcia, the championship leader, emphasized the benefits of the F1 Academy and expressed her optimism about future opportunities.
- Abbi Pulling highlighted the Academy's impact on increasing female participation in motorsport, including roles beyond driving.
- Marta Garcia encouraged aspiring drivers to follow their passion, work hard, and sacrifice to achieve their goals.
- Hamda Al-Qubaisi shared her remarkable story of recovering from a wrist injury in six weeks to compete in the F1 Academy.
- Amna Al-Qubaisi expressed her joy at returning to racing after a long hiatus and appreciated the opportunity provided by the F1 Academy.
- The Al-Qubaisi sisters described their unique experience of racing as sisters and teammates, emphasizing collaboration and mutual support.
- They reflected on their journey to motorsport, influenced by their father's involvement in racing.
- Hamda Al-Qubaisi acknowledged the challenges faced by women in motorsport in the UAE and the progress made in recent years.
- Both sisters expressed excitement about the upcoming F1 Academy race in Austin, Texas, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports and various channels worldwide.

### Conclusion:
The podcast highlighted the F1 Academy's positive impact on promoting female participation in motorsport, providing opportunities for development and progress, and inspiring the next generation of drivers. It also showcased the determination and resilience of the featured drivers, particularly Hamda Al-Qubaisi's remarkable recovery from injury. The upcoming race in Austin promises to be a thrilling conclusion to the F1 Academy season.

[00:00.000 -> 00:09.760] Hello and welcome to this bonus episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast. It's race week,
[00:09.760 -> 00:14.960] we are all headed for Austin, including the F1 Academy, a brand new female series which
[00:14.960 -> 00:19.720] is helping to develop and prepare women to progress to the pinnacle of motorsport. For
[00:19.720 -> 00:23.960] this one, I'm joined by some of the drivers who've been racing in the series this year.
[00:23.960 -> 00:28.560] Later on, I'll be joined by sisters Hamda and Amna Al-Khubaisi. But first, I was able to chat
[00:28.560 -> 00:33.920] to championship leader Marta Garcia as well as Abi Pulling. Now, unfortunately, Abi's recording was
[00:33.920 -> 00:39.840] not playing ball such as the way with technology, but I've included as much as possible from her
[00:39.840 -> 00:51.000] chat. Marta, well, you and Abi both raced in W Series, but tell me how is it different to W Series?
[00:51.000 -> 00:54.920] Well of course there's quite a lot of difference. Basically I think the most important at the
[00:54.920 -> 01:00.000] end of the day is we get a lot of track time in the F1 Academy. As you said we have 21
[01:00.000 -> 01:05.080] races, so we have like three races per weekend, we have two qualifyings, and yeah we have
[01:05.080 -> 01:09.040] like two free practices as well of like 40 minutes. In the W Series we didn't really
[01:09.040 -> 01:15.320] get that much track time, we just had like three sessions in all the weekend, like a
[01:15.320 -> 01:20.400] free practice of 30 minutes and quali and then race. So I think it's very good in terms
[01:20.400 -> 01:25.520] of F1 Academy because it gives us a lot of track time. I think one of the points to say
[01:25.520 -> 01:34.080] as well is the teams, it's junior teams like Prema, Carlin, Campos, ART, those teams are racing
[01:34.080 -> 01:40.560] in F2, F3, so it's great to be working with such professional teams as well. Marta, you're the
[01:40.560 -> 01:45.400] championship leader, I imagine it's been a pretty enjoyable year for you so far on the F1 Academy.
[01:45.400 -> 01:52.600] Yeah, it's been a good year, actually. Obviously, my last years in W Series I had some bad years
[01:52.600 -> 01:56.880] and some better, but this year, of course, it's been really good since the beginning,
[01:56.880 -> 02:08.000] since Austria. Yeah, really happy with it. I hopefully can win a championship this next week and of course also it will be great
[02:08.000 -> 02:11.600] to get an opportunity to drive in another category next year.
[02:11.600 -> 02:15.280] Obviously there's been a big gap. The last time you raced in F1 Academy was the end of
[02:15.280 -> 02:22.600] July in France. So what have you done in this last three or four months in order to stay
[02:22.600 -> 02:26.880] race sharp, to stay fit, to stay healthy and be in the best possible shape to compete?
[02:27.800 -> 02:31.080] Well, obviously I've been, I've kept training physically.
[02:31.400 -> 02:33.400] That's like something you need to do at the end of the day.
[02:33.880 -> 02:38.520] I think I'm better physically, let's say, because I have some time to actually work out
[02:38.520 -> 02:42.800] because in the season we had like three months nonstop, like we couldn't really,
[02:43.040 -> 02:51.600] we didn't really have much time because we had a lot of racing and yeah of course we also went to Kota for some testing as well and yeah
[02:51.600 -> 02:57.440] it was good to to know a bit more the track like get some references and just like get the the
[02:57.440 -> 03:02.080] feeling of the of driving in in the body at the end of the day because I think it's quite important
[03:03.280 -> 03:05.760] but yeah of course this month I've not
[03:05.760 -> 03:13.840] been driving anything just as we did in Kota but I think it was good for, as I said, to make the
[03:13.840 -> 03:20.880] body feel a bit more on the track. But yeah, looking forward for obviously Kota, I think it
[03:21.840 -> 03:26.080] could be good. We've already been there also in the W Series in 2021,
[03:26.080 -> 03:27.360] Abby was also there.
[03:27.360 -> 03:30.200] And yeah, looking forward for the race.
[03:30.200 -> 03:33.680] Now, obviously, as well as the F1 Academy,
[03:33.680 -> 03:36.480] you've both been at quite a few Formula One race weekends
[03:36.480 -> 03:37.880] this year, and Abby, I can see you there
[03:37.880 -> 03:39.560] in your Alpine attire,
[03:39.560 -> 03:41.960] because you're obviously part of the Alpine Academy.
[03:41.960 -> 03:43.720] Tell me what that's like working
[03:43.720 -> 03:45.680] with a Formula One team like Alpine.
[03:45.680 -> 03:51.000] Yeah, they really, really, really have decided to help me and to help me be the best version
[03:51.000 -> 03:56.360] of myself. I'd say physically I work, technically I go to the op stream quite frequently and
[03:56.360 -> 04:03.720] pick the brains of incredible minds there. And then, yeah, also kind of on the promotion
[04:03.720 -> 04:06.720] side, I do a bit with them as well.
[04:06.720 -> 04:11.800] Last week I went to the Paul Ricard and was driving their Guest World Series.
[04:11.800 -> 04:14.200] I get to have these kind of experiences.
[04:14.200 -> 04:16.040] Yeah, really exciting.
[04:16.040 -> 04:18.440] Just living, like, generally living the dream, really.
[04:18.440 -> 04:24.280] Marta, I saw that you gave the Pole Position Award to Max Verstappen in Zandvoort.
[04:24.280 -> 04:31.240] How was that? Yeah, that was quite cool actually. I was just there in the, well in Zandvoort,
[04:31.240 -> 04:36.600] and Mario from Pirelli was like, okay, I think we can do this because you're a league winner,
[04:36.600 -> 04:41.800] so let's take this opportunity and then get you to give the award. So yeah, it was quite cool
[04:41.800 -> 04:45.240] actually. First time I do this, of course. It was cool. Obviously, it was quite cool actually, first time I do this of course.
[04:45.240 -> 04:50.520] It was cool, obviously it was Max race, you know, in Fan Board, everyone was there, all
[04:50.520 -> 04:52.160] the people like that.
[04:52.160 -> 04:54.120] But yeah, it was quite cool.
[04:54.120 -> 04:55.120] Yeah, pretty cool.
[04:55.120 -> 04:57.480] What did you say to him when he put it on pole?
[04:57.480 -> 04:58.480] Well done, congratulations.
[04:58.480 -> 05:03.040] Yeah, I just said like, well done, like congrats, obviously.
[05:03.040 -> 05:11.000] I mean, he was used to it because he was doing a lot of polls and then winning a lot of races until Carlos I think won one of the last.
[05:11.000 -> 05:15.000] But yeah, congrats on your poll of course.
[05:15.000 -> 05:28.320] Marta, in terms of the future of the F1 Academy and looking forward, I mean one of the criticisms of it this year was it wasn't shown live on TV. We obviously know that Austin is going to be shown live on TV, which is great news. It's going to be shown on Sky, but also
[05:28.320 -> 05:33.840] loads of broadcasters around the world. And also we know that next year we're going to get 10 teams
[05:33.840 -> 05:38.960] all with a driver and all using their livery in the F1 Academy. So do you think it's moving in
[05:38.960 -> 05:43.280] the right direction? Are you pleased with the progress that the F1 Academy has made just in
[05:43.280 -> 05:46.320] the past year? And are you optimistic about the future?
[05:46.320 -> 05:53.520] Yeah, of course. I think they started, obviously they didn't broadcast the races until this
[05:53.520 -> 05:58.160] last race in Austin, but I think that's how everything started. At the end of the day
[05:58.160 -> 06:03.680] I don't think it was 100% structured. But yeah, I think it's going to be great. I think
[06:03.680 -> 06:06.240] Austin is going gonna be amazing.
[06:10.640 -> 06:17.600] The fact that they are gonna broadcast in almost every country I think that's great also and everyone is gonna be able to watch F1 Academy, see how it is, know a bit more about it. And then
[06:17.600 -> 06:21.280] from there I think for next year obviously they're gonna broadcast everything. It's gonna be all the
[06:21.280 -> 06:28.040] races with the F1 so that's gonna be also quite good. And I think it's going in the right direction. I think it's gonna go pretty
[06:28.040 -> 06:33.440] well, I hope, and I think it's gonna give a lot of opportunities to young women.
[06:33.440 -> 06:39.280] And yeah I think it's going of course great. I will be supporting if I'm able
[06:39.280 -> 06:44.320] to obviously win this season. I will also be supporting and try to
[06:44.320 -> 06:45.280] help as much as
[06:45.280 -> 06:50.440] I can but yeah I think it's a great opportunity for the drivers also with
[06:50.440 -> 06:56.200] the Discover Your Drive and all of this I think it's amazing
[07:03.240 -> 07:11.200] Abby can you now see a pathway to get to F3 to then obviously get on that sort of line
[07:11.200 -> 07:15.880] in order to progress in motorsport and ultimately, you know, we might already in the F1 Academy
[07:15.880 -> 07:20.680] have the next female Formula One driver, which is obviously a really exciting prospect.
[07:20.680 -> 07:26.000] Even if on the grid there is an ex-F1 driver, I think the key thing to take away is that
[07:26.000 -> 07:29.000] when you're watching, that's the really big thing.
[07:29.000 -> 07:36.000] Remember that we're inspiring the next generation, trying to help increase female participation at a young age.
[07:36.000 -> 07:48.880] I see it even now, there's so many more young girls in the car sector. And Marta, it's also not just about drivers, right? It's about everyone around the Formula,
[07:48.880 -> 07:54.280] sorry, everyone around the motorsport team, that's engineering, mechanics, strategists,
[07:54.280 -> 07:58.240] but the back end as well and social media. And there's all sorts of roles, which I think
[07:58.240 -> 08:04.180] the F1 Academy has drawn more attention to. And I think women hopefully now see a pathway
[08:04.180 -> 08:05.480] into motorsportport but not just
[08:05.480 -> 08:06.480] driving. Is that fair?
[08:06.480 -> 08:12.840] Yeah, I think so. I think it's like this, of course. For example, in Prima in my team
[08:12.840 -> 08:17.720] there is a team manager, it's called Camila, and I know in some other teams there's also
[08:17.720 -> 08:29.000] like team managers that are girls. Camila is also an engineer, so I think of course Evon Academy wants to give us opportunities to women, not just driving,
[08:29.000 -> 08:37.000] but also like working as you said, like engineers or like team managers or like people who works in the media side and things like this.
[08:37.000 -> 08:46.400] And I know a lot of the media girls of the media team from Evon Academy, it's almost girls, all of them. So I think it's great, of course, to give opportunities.
[08:46.400 -> 08:50.640] I think it's really cool to also have a championship that is run by a woman.
[08:50.680 -> 08:53.400] Let's say like that's I think that's really, really cool.
[08:53.880 -> 08:58.680] And and yeah, as Abby said, also, I can also see more young
[08:58.680 -> 09:02.440] young girls driving now in karting in the Spanish championship
[09:02.440 -> 09:04.720] in the international races.
[09:04.760 -> 09:05.520] So I think
[09:06.480 -> 09:12.880] motorsport is doing a good job. I think there's more to do but I think also we need time to
[09:13.920 -> 09:19.280] obviously progress in a good way. Marta, what's the piece of advice you'd give anyone watching
[09:19.280 -> 09:23.280] now who wants to get involved in motorsport? I think what I always say at the end of the day,
[09:24.000 -> 09:27.640] if you like it, if you want to get involved, just do it.
[09:27.640 -> 09:30.840] How you can, just do it, just go to a racetrack
[09:30.840 -> 09:33.240] near your house and then just ask,
[09:33.240 -> 09:34.560] like at the end of the day you need to ask,
[09:34.560 -> 09:36.440] how does this work or how do I do this?
[09:36.440 -> 09:39.800] Or I want to be like this guy or like this girl.
[09:39.800 -> 09:42.880] I think if you wanna do it, just do it.
[09:42.880 -> 09:47.000] You obviously need to, if you want to work in motorsport and if you want to be a driver
[09:47.000 -> 09:50.000] and want to get to a top level, you have to work a lot
[09:50.000 -> 09:53.000] and then you need to sacrifice a lot of things.
[09:53.000 -> 09:57.000] But I think that's something you will do if you actually want to do it
[09:57.000 -> 09:59.000] and your passion is motorsport.
[09:59.000 -> 10:00.000] Sound advice.
[10:00.000 -> 10:02.000] Abi Marta, thank you so much for your time.
[10:02.000 -> 10:05.400] Really appreciate it and best of luck this weekend.
[10:05.400 -> 10:10.240] Thank you for having us.
[10:10.240 -> 10:15.560] Next up, I should be joined by Hamda and Amna Al-Khubaisi. Hello to both of you. I believe
[10:15.560 -> 10:17.000] you're joining me from Miami.
[10:17.000 -> 10:19.400] Yes, we are.
[10:19.400 -> 10:22.840] Very nice. Very nice. Why are you in Miami? What are you up to?
[10:22.840 -> 10:25.040] We're on a little holiday because we thought
[10:25.040 -> 10:32.000] you know after the first official test in Austin it didn't make sense to go back home. Pretty long
[10:32.000 -> 10:39.520] 16-hour flight and you know well to adapt to the you know time and schedule over here is going to
[10:39.520 -> 10:45.680] be a lot more difficult for us so we decided to stay. I'm not surprised, I mean what a lovely way
[10:45.680 -> 10:50.560] to spend a few days. So you both drive for MP Motorsport and you're sitting at the top
[10:50.560 -> 10:55.400] of the constructors standings, congratulations. Hamza, you're third in the championship at
[10:55.400 -> 10:59.560] the moment, I mean how have you found the F1 Academy this year? Yeah I found it very
[10:59.560 -> 11:04.040] good I mean in the beginning of the season I struggled a bit because of my injury and
[11:04.040 -> 11:08.800] it took me a while to adapt to the car again and to be able to extract the most out of
[11:08.800 -> 11:09.800] myself.
[11:09.800 -> 11:15.400] But, you know, I felt like it was a good thing because I had less expectations and I started
[11:15.400 -> 11:17.240] to perform better.
[11:17.240 -> 11:21.360] And yeah, I think the results came naturally, so it was really good for me.
[11:21.360 -> 11:26.080] And yeah, I hope we can stay on top of the constructors' standings
[11:26.080 -> 11:29.160] and we finish like this for sure.
[11:29.160 -> 11:33.440] Tell me about that injury because this was an amazing story. You got injured right just
[11:33.440 -> 11:37.120] at the start of the year and it was a race against time wasn't it to get your, it was
[11:37.120 -> 11:39.320] your wrist am I right in saying?
[11:39.320 -> 11:45.920] Yeah it was my wrist basically my radius kind of snapped it was mostly because when I
[11:45.920 -> 11:50.960] when I crashed I kept my hands on the steering wheel and yeah that caused it
[11:50.960 -> 11:55.080] so it was mostly because I didn't remove my hands but it happened so fast I
[11:55.080 -> 12:00.160] didn't really think of removing my my hands from the steering wheel and you
[12:00.160 -> 12:04.520] know I was also in sixth at the time it was the last lap I was so eager to
[12:04.520 -> 12:08.240] finish in that position to get some points in that championship.
[12:08.240 -> 12:13.280] I was always tense and that's how it happened.
[12:13.280 -> 12:19.920] And then it was in late February, so beginning of March, I had less than two months to recover.
[12:19.920 -> 12:25.280] In six weeks, basically, I had to be back in the car for the pre-season test in Barcelona.
[12:25.280 -> 12:31.280] And I made it, but I only did five laps during that test, so I did nothing.
[12:31.280 -> 12:39.080] Rida, I was driving with mostly my left arm, nothing to do with my right arm, so just driving with one arm the whole time.
[12:39.080 -> 12:47.200] And my father was very scared as well, because he didn't want to rush into it it and then I would miss the first round because I rushed things so yeah it was it was
[12:47.200 -> 12:51.760] risky but at the same time we had all all the right people around me to all
[12:51.760 -> 12:56.000] the physios all the good people around me to help and yeah we made it to the
[12:56.000 -> 13:01.040] first round and it was really good. It's an incredible story and I guess yeah
[13:01.040 -> 13:07.560] when you talk there about you have low expectations like you have, there must have been a point before the season started
[13:07.560 -> 13:09.440] where you thought, am I gonna make it?
[13:09.440 -> 13:10.960] Am I gonna get to that first race?
[13:10.960 -> 13:14.360] So how did you mentally stay on top of those emotions
[13:14.360 -> 13:16.400] and just focus on getting recovery?
[13:16.400 -> 13:19.200] Because it sounds like you recovered way ahead of the schedule
[13:19.200 -> 13:20.400] that you were supposed to recover.
[13:21.000 -> 13:27.000] Yeah, basically, the doctor told me I needed four months to recover and I did it in six weeks.
[13:27.000 -> 13:34.000] So it's a bit crazy, but I think like in the end, it's all a mental thing.
[13:34.000 -> 13:41.000] And, you know, I had also the people around me was everybody was always supportive and like pushing my hopes up.
[13:41.000 -> 13:45.280] So that helped that made a big difference.
[13:45.280 -> 13:48.040] And also going into the pre-season test,
[13:48.280 -> 13:52.480] even though I was driving five seconds off in Barcelona,
[13:52.720 -> 13:55.920] I went to Paul Ricard and in the first session
[13:55.920 -> 13:58.400] I was already P1 by one tenth.
[13:58.400 -> 14:03.440] But that's only because I'm eager to push myself and do well.
[14:03.680 -> 14:06.240] And I ended that test around like p5 overall
[14:06.240 -> 14:10.360] p6 overall I think and it was still a really good achievement for me
[14:10.360 -> 14:15.160] considering I couldn't even use my right arm properly so yeah it was it was it
[14:15.160 -> 14:18.720] was good for me and it gave me more hope because I was like if I can be
[14:18.720 -> 14:23.000] six like this what can what can I do when my arm starts working like a hundred
[14:23.000 -> 14:27.600] percent so it's just the the mental strength started to be
[14:27.600 -> 14:32.800] better and I struggled a lot also mentally before the injury so I think the injury helped me a lot
[14:33.360 -> 14:38.640] and actually strengthened me even more so. Yeah motor racing is quite a hard sport at the best
[14:38.640 -> 14:44.000] of times but if you've only got one arm to do it with I imagine that makes life even harder. Amna
[14:44.000 -> 14:45.120] tell me about your season,
[14:45.120 -> 14:50.800] how have you enjoyed the F1 Academy this year? Yeah, I really enjoyed it. I haven't been racing
[14:50.800 -> 14:56.480] for a full year, so I was always doing the Formula 3 Asia Championship, which happens
[14:59.200 -> 15:05.160] in January and February once a year, and the last time I did that was two years ago.
[15:05.600 -> 15:09.160] So I haven't been in the car for a very long time.
[15:09.160 -> 15:14.840] So for me to be able to join F1 Academy for the great opportunity and to be able
[15:14.840 -> 15:20.640] to start racing again and going to various tracks, tracks I never had the chance to
[15:20.640 -> 15:32.000] visit, uh, for throughout my racing career was something, you know, I thought I was something I wouldn't take for granted.
[15:32.000 -> 15:36.880] Hats off to Suzy-Will for giving us this opportunity because now I'm back racing and I'm really
[15:36.880 -> 15:40.080] happy to finally just be behind the wheel.
[15:40.080 -> 15:45.120] I just think as I didn't make it clear in the intro you are both sisters and I want to I want to
[15:45.120 -> 15:48.120] Talk I want to talk about that because I was thinking of you know
[15:48.440 -> 15:54.680] Racing siblings and you've got the Schumacher brothers, of course Michael and Ralph and then we've got Emerson and Wilson Fittipaldi
[15:54.680 -> 16:00.920] But I'm intrigued to get your take on what it's like racing as sisters and you obviously race for the same team at the moment
[16:00.920 -> 16:03.680] So I guess there's a lot of working together and you have a close relationship
[16:03.920 -> 16:08.020] But go on tell me what it's's like having your sister in the paddock.
[16:08.020 -> 16:13.020] Actually you're the first one who mentioned that we work together. Most people were saying
[16:13.020 -> 16:18.460] you know you guys are probably fighting the entire time or kicking each other around.
[16:18.460 -> 16:19.460] Your teammates!
[16:19.460 -> 16:25.560] So I'm glad you mentioned that. Yeah, we do help each other a lot.
[16:25.560 -> 16:27.800] She learns from me, I learn from her.
[16:27.800 -> 16:29.460] We use each other as reference.
[16:29.460 -> 16:32.840] Some corners I'm good, most corners she's better.
[16:32.840 -> 16:35.520] So we kind of like help each other in a way.
[16:35.520 -> 16:39.680] And I mean, if we were combined together, we would be, you know, the creative stripes
[16:39.680 -> 16:43.000] of all time.
[16:43.000 -> 16:48.920] So you're, so you're, you're, are you sharing kind of like you said all strategy and how to take
[16:48.920 -> 16:52.660] corners and yeah tell me what else you what other sort of things you share in terms of
[16:52.660 -> 16:54.440] in terms of information.
[16:54.440 -> 17:01.200] Yeah we share data and video but also like on track if for example I'm behind Amna let's
[17:01.200 -> 17:05.160] say in a race and she sees that I'm faster she slows down and
[17:05.160 -> 17:09.360] lets me pass we don't we don't have this thing where we fight or we you know just
[17:09.360 -> 17:15.720] to we help each other because we know it's it's like the smart way to
[17:15.720 -> 17:20.600] go and yeah so props to her like there's maybe three times this season where I
[17:20.600 -> 17:24.100] was behind and she would let me pass because I was faster and she would
[17:24.100 -> 17:28.520] continue to follow me so yeah yeah so it's really good and in qualifying we
[17:28.520 -> 17:32.360] also help each other she uses me as reference or maybe in a track where a
[17:32.360 -> 17:36.520] slipstream is important we help each other so it's good to have a sister in
[17:36.520 -> 17:39.720] the team because then we can negotiate and we can help each other and it's
[17:39.720 -> 17:45.560] always clear so yeah. I think Formula One drivers could learn a bit about teammates from you
[17:45.560 -> 17:59.440] guys. It sounds all very civil over at MB.
[17:59.440 -> 18:02.280] And then I'm intrigued to know about your story of how you got into racing. And I guess
[18:02.280 -> 18:08.840] obviously I know that your dad's a racer and just tell me about how those early years started, how did you both get
[18:08.840 -> 18:11.440] into racing?
[18:11.440 -> 18:19.680] So I started seeing my father competing when I was nine years old and I was a full-time
[18:19.680 -> 18:26.480] gymnast so I was like part of the elite division and I kind of lost that spark with
[18:26.480 -> 18:29.520] gymnastics because you know the competition is once a year and you
[18:29.520 -> 18:36.660] train 364 times a year just for that one very competition I kind of like lost
[18:36.660 -> 18:48.400] interest in it. So I was you know asking my dad that I wanted to start racing at nine years old. And he took my word when I was 14.
[18:48.400 -> 18:49.900] So I started when I was 14.
[18:50.300 -> 18:52.700] So yeah, I was pushing him, pushing him, pushing him.
[18:52.700 -> 18:53.300] I want to race.
[18:53.300 -> 18:53.800] I want to race.
[18:53.800 -> 18:54.200] I want to race.
[18:54.200 -> 18:56.700] Sometimes I would even go to the rental track just to, you know,
[18:56.700 -> 18:59.800] practice and do well and be like, yeah, you know, look, my time is
[18:59.800 -> 19:00.300] really good.
[19:00.300 -> 19:02.000] I'm faster than everyone else.
[19:02.500 -> 19:04.300] So you really should put me in karting now.
[19:04.800 -> 19:08.000] And Hamza, how did you get involved in motorsport?
[19:08.000 -> 19:11.000] For me, to be honest, it was something like,
[19:11.000 -> 19:13.000] it just happened because for me,
[19:13.000 -> 19:15.000] I didn't even want to get into racing,
[19:15.000 -> 19:17.000] which is the weird part.
[19:17.000 -> 19:20.000] And I was watching my sister for a year,
[19:20.000 -> 19:23.000] she was driving and karting, racing and karting.
[19:23.000 -> 19:28.080] And when I saw her she was like very determined and
[19:28.080 -> 19:33.120] she looked like she was enjoying the sport and I was like, I didn't have anything at
[19:33.120 -> 19:36.840] the time and I really wanted to try it out.
[19:36.840 -> 19:40.200] So I tried it out, my dad put me in a rental race just to try.
[19:40.200 -> 19:43.920] I always said no, I don't like this, I don't like this and he was like just try.
[19:43.920 -> 19:48.720] So then when I tried it, I loved it. So he's like you see. You were a reluctant
[19:48.720 -> 19:52.920] racer I don't think many people I don't think many people go down that route and
[19:52.920 -> 19:57.480] almost don't want to do it but get pushed into doing it Wow. It's because I
[19:57.480 -> 20:02.120] was always like afraid or let's say from the speed and stuff I was more of like
[20:02.120 -> 20:05.480] the the you know safety side. He likes the the the risk and stuff I was more of like the the you know, safety side
[20:05.480 -> 20:07.480] kind of run. He likes the
[20:07.480 -> 20:09.480] the risk and the aggression
[20:09.480 -> 20:11.480] but I wasn't like that.
[20:11.480 -> 20:13.480] So, yeah, when I got into it
[20:13.480 -> 20:15.480] I really loved it because then there's also a
[20:15.480 -> 20:17.480] calm side to racing which I discovered
[20:17.480 -> 20:18.480] and I really loved.
[20:18.480 -> 20:20.480] And what was it like growing up in the UAE?
[20:20.480 -> 20:23.480] And how easy was it to go racing?
[20:23.480 -> 20:26.480] What did your weekends look like if that's
[20:26.480 -> 20:27.480] when you raced?
[20:27.480 -> 20:34.840] I mean, it wasn't very easy because we had school during that time and sometimes the
[20:34.840 -> 20:40.360] race weekends were held during our exams or something and it was very difficult to try
[20:40.360 -> 20:45.040] and make our school understand about the sport because it's very new to them.
[20:45.040 -> 20:50.720] They didn't understand, you know, karting and the commitment we had to karting.
[20:50.720 -> 20:56.000] So it was kind of difficult to balance that, but then eventually we had an understanding.
[20:57.280 -> 21:02.880] Other than that, I mean, the competition level, I mean, I started in juniors, so it was really
[21:02.880 -> 21:10.080] hard. The level already was super difficult for me as I started very late so yeah I was all about trying to
[21:10.080 -> 21:14.840] gain experience and it took me around four years to finally like get a podium
[21:14.840 -> 21:20.920] and win a championship so so yeah I mean the level in the UAE the karting level
[21:20.920 -> 21:25.680] is pretty high I think people in Europe underestimate the level when it came to
[21:25.680 -> 21:30.800] karting in our region until they do compete and then they realize oh it's actually really hard.
[21:31.680 -> 21:40.000] And in terms of you progressing and getting more opportunities in the UAE, how easy was that for
[21:40.000 -> 21:50.080] you and particularly as women how did you find of, because essentially you're trailblazers in the UAE and it's an amazing story and it's great to see. So what sort of
[21:50.080 -> 21:56.480] barriers and challenges did you come up against in that period of your life? For me, when I first
[21:56.480 -> 22:07.640] had the announcement to compete in Formula 4, people were not very open to it. I mean I had a lot of criticism, I had a lot of
[22:07.640 -> 22:13.200] people being you know it's not a girl's sport, it's mainly for men, why are you in
[22:13.200 -> 22:17.400] this sport? You should do something else, like something that's meant to be
[22:17.400 -> 22:23.560] feminine. So I never really, it never really bothered me to listen to these
[22:23.560 -> 22:27.200] you know assumptions and accusations of others.
[22:27.200 -> 22:33.800] I just wanted to enjoy what I did and my first sponsor was Kaspersky Lab, which was a European sponsor.
[22:33.800 -> 22:40.900] So they were the first people to believe in me and they were the first to sponsor a woman in general in motorsports.
[22:40.900 -> 22:47.200] So I would say the, it was very challenging for us actually because we're from the Middle
[22:47.200 -> 22:53.840] East and in the beginning it was kind of taboo but now people are more accepting and more supportive
[22:53.840 -> 22:59.600] than they were the first time I started. So yeah I'm happy to see the changes and I see actually
[22:59.600 -> 23:08.520] women sending me messages and telling me because of you and your sister and your support from your father, my father allows me to do this and to do that. So
[23:08.520 -> 23:12.120] I'm really happy that we were able to create an opportunity for other women.
[23:12.120 -> 23:17.360] That's an amazing story and Hamza, what did you make of
[23:17.360 -> 23:20.240] your sister going through that process and how did you support her through
[23:20.240 -> 23:25.320] that? I think for me me her going through that process actually
[23:25.320 -> 23:30.080] helped me, she kind of carved a path for me so and for sure to many other girls
[23:30.080 -> 23:35.320] after me as well so I think it was a good thing that she pushed it
[23:35.320 -> 23:39.560] you know she pushed my father to get her into the sport, she pushed it a lot so
[23:39.560 -> 23:44.740] then it helped me through and now I know a lot of girls from the region who
[23:44.740 -> 23:45.080] actually are in karting right now and are racing even in Europe, Emirati girls then it helped me through and now I know a lot of girls from the region who actually
[23:45.080 -> 23:51.920] are in karting right now and are racing even in Europe, Emirati girls. So it's a big change
[23:51.920 -> 23:56.440] and it's starting to develop and yeah, I really like what I'm seeing.
[23:56.440 -> 24:00.680] What's the change been then? So I mean, obviously in your careers, which are relatively short,
[24:00.680 -> 24:05.760] you're not 40, 50, 60 years old. So how has it changed in the
[24:05.760 -> 24:09.760] UAE and indeed the whole Middle East in terms of getting more women behind the
[24:09.760 -> 24:14.840] wheel of racing cars? It has changed actually a lot, I mean we see a lot of
[24:14.840 -> 24:21.440] girls competing and not just you know local girls, there's a lot of girls in
[24:21.440 -> 24:26.680] general competing in the UAE in karting. We see a few competing also
[24:26.680 -> 24:32.320] internationally as my sister mentioned. So it's really I'm really happy to see that change coming
[24:32.320 -> 24:37.720] especially you know now in water sports is becoming more difficult. I mean it's not as how it is
[24:37.720 -> 24:42.760] before I mean with a lot of changes all of drivers having so many so much experience a lot of money
[24:42.760 -> 24:46.800] being invested. It's a lot of it it's more challenging than it was before.
[24:46.800 -> 24:50.600] So to see girls still taking up on this challenge and competing,
[24:50.600 -> 24:52.800] I'm actually really proud of them.
[24:52.800 -> 24:54.400] It's an amazing story.
[24:54.400 -> 24:57.600] Before I let you go, I want to ask this weekend, obviously,
[24:57.600 -> 25:01.100] it's going to be a great spectacle and, you know,
[25:01.100 -> 25:03.500] we're all looking forward to watching the F1 Academy on TV.
[25:03.500 -> 25:11.680] What are you guys most excited about this weekend in Austin?
[25:11.680 -> 25:16.040] It's going to be really interesting because it's a support of F1.
[25:16.040 -> 25:18.480] It's always interesting when it's a support of F1.
[25:18.480 -> 25:23.520] It's also being broadcasted in a lot of channels and in my region.
[25:23.520 -> 25:25.280] I think we're going to get a lot of people from in my region and I think we're gonna get a lot of
[25:25.280 -> 25:28.440] people from from our region also watching us and then they could see what
[25:28.440 -> 25:32.960] it's really about. So the coverage is it's amazing and you know thanks to F1
[25:32.960 -> 25:36.200] Academy for it because now people in my country can see what we're actually
[25:36.200 -> 25:41.960] doing and you know how different it is because once you see it live you
[25:41.960 -> 25:45.680] understand how the racing is and I'm sure the racing
[25:45.680 -> 25:51.620] will be really close and very interesting. The season so far, race to race, everybody
[25:51.620 -> 25:56.680] has been improving and the gaps are getting closer so it's going to be very challenging
[25:56.680 -> 26:02.200] and tough. So yeah, that's what it's all about. Yeah, we're happy to be a part of it.
[26:02.200 -> 26:06.720] See, that was a great sell. That was brilliant.
[26:10.720 -> 26:16.080] Hamza, Amna, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. I can't wait to watch the F1 Academy this weekend and it's going to be broadcast live on Sky Sports and as we mentioned
[26:16.720 -> 26:20.320] if you're not in the UK it's going to be broadcast on loads of other channels around the world as
[26:20.320 -> 26:29.200] well. So that's the F1 Academy this weekend. We'll be back next week. Until then, bye for now.
[26:24.470 -> 26:28.310] the world as well. So that's the Ethereum Academy this weekend. We'll be back next week.
[26:28.310 -> 26:29.350] Until then, bye for now.