UAE's Rashid Al Dhaheri ready for long-awaited homecoming at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The latest turn on Rashid Al Dhaheri’s racing journey takes him back to where it all started - his home track at Yas Marina Circuit.

The Emirati, 15, competes in Formula 4, a no-points trophy round race, ahead of Sunday’s year-ending Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Al Dhaheri arrives on the back of his first season in F4 with Prema Racing in the Italian Championship, in which he finished a creditable 10th overall and sixth in the rookie standings in the 40-car field.

He also took third spot behind Theodore Racing’s pair Arvid Lindblad and Charles Leong in Macau in his last race two weeks ago.

Now on home soil, Al Dhaheri hopes that he can do his country proud and place even higher to become the national highlight in what already promises to be an exciting Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“The season-ending F4 trophy on Yas Marina Circuit is going to be super exciting and we’ll see how the season ends and be as strong as possible for next season,” Al Dhaheri told The National.

“Formula 4 is quite a big step up compared to karting. It was a very insightful season where we had to learn a lot. The cars are bigger and much faster, and there are a lot of new tracks to learn from. I must say we were able to improve a lot throughout the season.

“We started from points and went up to the podium. Indeed, it was a very exciting season and with a lot of memorable moments.

“In racing, towards the end, we were fighting for every millisecond. It’s important to look at every single detail and to be precise about where you would like to be."

Still, F1 is what Al Dhaheri has always had his sights set on. He could have made the grade earlier to qualify in a single seater for a place on the track, had it not been the minimum age set at