‘I just enjoy speed and enjoy being out there, the overtakes and racing, just the whole idea of it excites me’
Team Yalla had the pleasure of sitting down with racing prodigy Hamda Al Qubaisi.
How did you become interested in racing?
I got involved with racing after I saw my dad [Khaled Al Qubaisi] racing when I was much younger. He was racing in GT and after that, a few years later, my sister [Amna Al Qubaisi] was chosen for the Daman Speed Academy. It was never really my thing at first. I never really thought I would be a part of motorsports but then after watching my sister for a year, I really liked her determination, how she was so passionate about the sport and I really wanted the same so I followed in her footsteps and got into the academy in 2015.
With your sister being a racing driver as well, is there a strong sibling rivalry?
Yes, there’s always a competitive side between us. But honestly, if my sister had never joined the sport first, I don’t think I would have because I did not see it as something I would see myself in. I was more into running, basketball and football in school. But as soon as my sister got into the karting academy, that’s what got me into it. I think racing together, especially in the same category, we are really competitive between each other. If we have a race against each other and it didn’t really go well, we would sometimes have fights at the dinner table, ‘you did this and you did that’ but it’s really nice to share the same sport.
With so much time away racing around the world, is it difficult maintaining your studies?
It’s actually a really big challenge especially going up the ranks from karting to Formula 4 and now to Formula 3, I find it really time consuming and I rarely have time to do anything else. In karting it was a bit easier to balance because my school was understanding. Sometimes I would miss a few days and it would be fine. But now I am in university and it is definitely much harder. It is really difficult to balance both especially being so far away. The workload is a lot but if I am proactive and determined, I can get it done.
What are you studying at university?
I go to NYU Abu Dhabi and I study Film and New Media. A friend of mine was a student at NYU and she was making a documentary film on me so she was around a lot. I really liked the idea and how she was using the camera and this idea of making films so she introduced me to the course; the first class I took I really enjoyed it.
What does the step up from Formula 4 to Formula Regional mean to you?
If you told me four years ago that I would be in this position, I wouldn’t have believed you. I am here in Europe doing what I dreamed of when I started in karting and it is amazing. From F4, the step to F3 Regional is a big step, something only made possible by the support of my family and sponsors Strata and Kaspersky. The car is much heavier, the championship is really competitive with 38 cars and all these drivers I have raced against in F4 so I know the level is really high.
Do you have any particular future goals in mind? Formula 1 perhaps?
It is the pinnacle of motorsports. I think for a lot of the drivers on the Formula path, it is their main goal but I love all kinds of motorsports, and if I end up in LMP or GT I would still be as happy. I just enjoy speed and enjoy being out there, the overtakes and racing, just the whole idea of it excites me.
What piece of advice would you give to aspiring sportspeople in the UAE?
If you are determined, focused and put your mind to something, you can really do it. I never thought I would be able to achieve some of the goals I have achieved. When it happens, it is like a whole weight is lifted off your shoulders, but also the motivation to keep going because no matter how many times you fail or fall down, get back up and try again until you are able to do it. In karting I had a whole year where I wasn’t able to get any results and it really put me down. But the fact that I was able to continue and dig deeper, try to brake later, get that speed in and keep pushing every lap and try to improve myself, it really helped and I was able to get results in the end.
