Amna Al Qubaisi makes F3 debut in Asian Championship

After a year hiatus, F4 race-winner Amna Al Qubaisi returns in style and will make her F3 debut in the Asian Regional F3 Championship with Abu Dhabi Racing.

Photo credits: racers-behindthehelmet.com

Amna Al Qubaisi rose to international acclaim at the end of 2019, when she masterfully won the F4 Trophy race at Yas Marina, becoming the first woman to stand on the top step of the podium in a F1 supporting series. The 20-year old driver - a groundbreaking athlete that teared down all records for Arab females in motorsport - would only enter the non-championship race at her home track, while her younger sister Hamda later scored 7 pole positions, 12 podium finishes and 3 race victories, ultimately finishing the UAE Formula 4 Championship fourth in the overall standings.

After two years spent in the uber-competitive Italian F4 Championship powered by Abarth, Amna was set to make her Formula 3 debut but was forced to a year stop as the pandemic halted the world and disrupted the plans of many international racers.

With Asian Formula 3 announcing a compressed 5-week schedule entirely to be contested in the United Arab Emirates, the Prema Powerteam-operated Abu Dhabi Racing announced a three-car program in the Asian Regional series, which employs the same Tatuus T-318 Formula 3 cars as the newly-rebranded F3 Regional by Alpine in Europe and the all-female championship W Series.

The Asian F3 series is in fact one of the favourite destinations for international drivers targeting a quality winter series in preparation for their European schedules. In 2020, the category saw entries such as Jack Hughes, Ukyo Sasahara, Jack Doohan, Sebastian Fernandez, Nikita Mazepin, Tatiana Calderon, as well as F1 driver Pietro Fittipaldi and inaugural W Series champion Jamie Chadwick.

Abu Dhabi Racing's also made an appearance at the third round triple header in 2020, as Khaled Al Qubaisi - Amna's father - took three Masters Cup victories.

"I am highly thrilled to announce that I’ll be participating in the F3 Asian Championship with Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema", wrote Amna on her social media feeds.

"The rounds will take place in Yas Marina Circuit and Dubai Autodrome. So happy to be making a come back in racing after a whole year".

The 2021 Asian F3 Championship calendar will feature 5 rounds - again all triple-headers - with Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit and Dubai Autodrome alternating.

Amna Al Qubaisi will not be the only female representation on the grid: W Series newcomer Irina Sidorkova will also make her series debut for the newly-founded Evans GP Team Oloi.

The series is set to kick off on January 28th, preceded by a collective testing day on January 27th.

Discover more about Amna Al Qubaisi by reading our 2019 interview here.

Asian Formula 3 Calendar:

Round 1: Dubai Autodrome, January 28-30

Round 2: Abu Dhabi Yas Marina, February 4-6

Round 3: Dubai Autodrome, February 10-12

Round 4: Dubai Autodrome, February 13-14

Round 5: Abu Dhabi Yas Marina, February 18-20