UAE's new motorsport president Mohammed Ben Sulayem aiming for an explosion of talent

History maker Mohammed Ben Sulayem took on Lewis Hamilton, mighty Mercedes and the troubles of beleaguered Formula 1 but still had a word for a young Emirati karting superstar.

And this was only day one of the toughest job in world motorsport.

The 60-year-old Emirati walked into the record books as the first non-European president of the sport’s governing body, the FIA, winning more than two-thirds of the vote.

And in the same breath as he spoke of Hamilton and the F1 crisis created at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he professed a hope for 13-year-old Emirati karting sensation, Rashid Al Dhaheri.

In a response to a question from The National on whether the first Dubai-born leader of world motorsport could envisage having a locally born racer reach F1 during his four-year tenure he said: “It’s not about the Emiratis it’s about diversity.

“How many people have talent but do they have opportunity? If we can bring the two together, it might even be talented people somewhere else. There are so many regions, I am not biased for my region.

Rashid Al Dhaheri in action at the Academy Champion Kart Series International Grand Finals in Italy. Photo: Al Dhaheri Family

“There is a young driver, I hope will attract sponsors. He’s proven himself, he’s a young karter, his name is Rashid. He’s been racing in Italy and with [good] results.”

That’s to put it mildly. A passion for motor racing triggered by a visit to the Ferrari Grand Prix pit on Yas Island when he was just five has seen Al Dhaheri follow in the footsteps of both Hamilton and controversial new F1 king Max Verstappen to become a world karting champion himself, with his sights set on F1.

Ben Sulayem, one of the Arab world’s leading motor sport figures, is now the most powerful