Emirati brightest single seater talent Hamda Al Qubaisi will return to the Italian F4 with Prema Powerteam, after another remarkable winter season in the UAE.
The youngest of the Al Qubaisi sisters, 18-year old Hamda, has certainly turned heads in her first full-season in single seaters: in the early months of 2020, Hamda entered the UAE-based F4 championship, claiming three victories, 7 pole positions and 12 podium finishes.
In her first European campaign, Hamda entered what has arguably been described as the most competitive Formula 4 championship worldwide: the Italian series.
Racing with Abu Dhabi Racing, Hamda made great progress throughout the season, despite having to learn new tracks and often finding adverse weather conditions. The young Emirati lady secured 2 top-ten results, at Red Bull Ring and Monza respectively – the circuits that saw her one-off appearances in 2019. In the over-30 car field, Al Qubaisi was ninth in Race 3 at Monza, her best finish of the season.
She was also among the Iron Lynx guest entries at Hockenheim, as she took the start in the third round of the ADAC Formula 4 German championship. With another remarkable Race 1, Hamda finished P10, clinching her third top-10 of the European season.
In January 2021, Al Qubaisi returned to her home country in the Emirates and entered for the second year in a row the F4 UAE championship. Once again, Hamda impressed on both the YAS Marina Circuit and at Dubai Autodrome; she would add three more race victories to her name and seven podiums, effectively becoming the most successful female driver in the history of F4 championships worldwide.
The young lady from Abu Dhabi is the daughter of GT ace Khaled Al Qubaisi – a double race winner at the Dubai 24H and with WEC experience – and sister of Amna Al Qubaisi, 20-year old F3 driver. Despite the travel restrictions and logistical challenges of the Covid crisis, Hamda proved to be one of the most interesting prospects in single seaters and has now announced that she will be back with Prema for a second season in the Italian F4 in 2021.
"I’m very excited to join Prema in 2021 for my Formula 4 Italian Championship campaign." – said Hamda.
"I had a great season in the UAE series and look forward to start preparing for the new season in Europe with the team. A big thank you to Abu Dhabi Racing, Strata, Kaspersky and my family for the continuous support!"
With support from the benchmark-team in junior categories, Hamda Al Qubaisi will certainly try to keep momentum and can indeed start climbing the ladder towards the front end of the classify in a series that has provided the most exciting young drivers in F3 and F2.
"It is great to welcome Hamda to our team for the 2021 season", added Angelo Rosin, team principal of the Italian powerhouse team.
"We already worked with her in the past and it was a really positive experience. She has a genuine passion for motorsports and her enthusiasm is inspiring and motivating. We cannot wait to see her make more and more progress along the way.
"She already impressed this season in the UAE Championship and I'm sure she will only improve from there."
The 2021 Italian F4 season will kick off at Circuit Paul Ricard on 14/16 May. The series will then visit some of the most important racetracks in Italy, such as Misano, Vallelunga, Imola, Mugello and the home of the Italian GP at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, which will host the season finale at the end of October.
2021 Italian F4 calendar:
Round 1 - Le Castellet, France - 14/16 May
Round 2 - Misano, Italy - 4/6 June
Round 3 - Vallelunga, Italy - 18/20 June
Round 4 - Imola, Italy - 23/25 July
Round 5 - Red Bull Ring, Austria - 10/12 September
Round 6 - Mugello, Italy - 8/10 October
Round 7 - Monza, Italy - 29-31 October
