Emirati racer Amna Al-Qubaisi shows her bravery as she sets the pace for female drivers in the region

What Amna Al-Qubaisi lacks in physicality, she more than make up for in bravery and fortitude.

The 21-year-old Emirati driver, who races for Abu Dhabi Racing, suffered a heavy crash earlier this year that left her F3 car badly damaged.

A week later, she was back behind the wheel.

It has been an eventful start to her participation in the Formula Regional Asian Championship.

“I had been off of racing for a year and coming back into it, getting back into the rhythm took me a while,” Al-Qubaisi told Arab News at the sideline of the #WhatSheSaid talk, a panel of inspirational female athletes from the region.

“In my first race weekend, I claimed my first points, so it started off really well. And then I had that big crash, and I had to start gaining that confidence to get back into the rhythm.

“But overall, it was a really good race weekend, and I managed to close the gap for my teammates.”

Those teammates happen to be her father, UAE racing legend Khaled, and her 19-year-old sister Hamda. Amna has enjoyed building up the sporting rapport with her family.

“It was actually really nice. I expected a lot of arguments and fighting,” she said. “But all in all, it was like a bonding moment. We gave each other advice, we helped each other on track, with slipstream and everything. So it was really nice.”

The enjoyment does not mean there have been no challenges, but the sibling rivalry has worked to the benefit of the team.

“There’s a lot of pushing (each other) with my sister as well, because she’s been competing in F4, and then coming into F3,” said Al-Qubaisi.

“We’ve seen a lot on social media people comparing us, in terms of our experience, and we try to shut that out and not let it affect our relationship. So we take