Emirati driver Amna Al Qubaisi learning to 'enjoy every race' after signing Red Bull deal

Amna Al Qubaisi spent eight months holding onto a huge secret: she and her sister Hamda had signed a deal with the newly formed Red Bull Academy Programme that would see Amna drive for Visa Cash App RB (formerly AlphaTauri) and Hamda drive for Red Bull Racing in the 2024 season of F1 Academy.

The Emirati sisters put pen to paper with Red Bull last June but the announcement was only officially made four weeks ago.

As was the case last season, the duo will compete for MP Motorsport in F1 Academy but Amna will run the Visa Cash App RB livery, while Hamda will run Red Bull Racings, on their respective cars.

“I’m very happy and super proud of where I came from. I never expected this,” Amna told The National on the sidelines of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where she enjoyed a quick hit with French player Gael Monfils.

“We signed with Red Bull in June [2023] and keeping that secret in, I felt like I had some kind of pressure because I needed to prove something to them, that I was valuable, that I did deserve to sign with them.

“But then as a few races went on, I started to take a step back and just relax and be like, ‘Listen, nobody knows it yet, just relax and just enjoy every race and every lap’.”

BREAKING: Welcome back Amna Al Qubaisi!@Amna_Alqubaisii signs with Visa Cash App RB to join the F1 ACADEMY grid in 2024. Amna will run the team’s livery while competing for MP Motorsport. #F1Academy pic.twitter.com/WjZ5a8WlgY

The first Arab woman to win a single-seater race, Amna claimed P6 in the F1 Academy championship last season, with two first-place finishes in Spielberg and Barcelona.

“I’m really happy I created this pathway for other women in the Middle East who would think that this is just a dream. But seeing