BWT Alpine F1 Team breaks new ground as Aseel Al Hamad and Abbi Pulling become first women to drive F1 cars in Saudi Arabia

RIYADH: BWT Alpine F1 Team has pushed boundaries with a ground-breaking demonstration run around the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh.

The city witnessed a V8-powered E20 car, driven by Saudi F1 driver Aseel Al-Hamad and Alpine Academy Affiliate driver, Abbi Pulling.

The pair made history as they became the first women ever to drive an F1 car in the Kingdom.

Aseel, who represents Saudi Arabia on the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission and is a board member of the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation, is leading the development of strategies and policies to promote the education and training of women in motorsport in Saudi Arabia.

She is also family to Alpine as she created history with the team in 2018 when she took the same E20 on track at Paul Ricard Circuit, France.

Joining Aseel for the demo was Abbi Pulling, who will compete in the W Series this year. Abbi is part of the Alpine Affiliate programme, which is the feeder series to the Alpine Academy. It nourishes young racing talent with potential all the way through to F1, with guidance on career path, media training, nutrition and psychology.

19-year-old Abbi got her first taste of F1 machinery in this demonstration run just one day before her birthday.

In an activity facilitated by the Saudi Tourism Authority, Aseel and Abbi took the E20 through some of the Kingdom’s most significant destinations, including through Wadi Hanifah in the historic city of Diriyah, which is overlooked by the UNESCO World Heritage Site At-Turaif, the original home of the Saud royal family, birthplace of the Kingdom and origin of the country’s First Saudi State, before guiding the car through the bright lights of the vibrant new King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD).

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