Red Bull has announced the names of the three drivers who will race for them in the second season of the F1 Academy set to compete across seven locations in 2024 starting in Saudi Arabia on March 7-9.
Hamda Al Qubaisi will be driving for Red Bull Racing itself while Amna Al Qubaisi will be at the wheel for the Visa Cash App RB team formerly known as AlphaTauri. Emely De Heus has been tapped to race for Red Bull.
The cars will be operated by MP Motorsport. Additional sponsors of the three cars and drivers will be revealed in coming weeks. All three drivers become members of the Red Bull Academy Programme led by Sarah Harrington.
“We are thrilled to be welcoming Hamda, Emely and Amna, three incredibly talented drivers, into the Red Bull Academy Programme and are looking forward to working with them closely this season," said Harrington.
"This is a pivotal moment for women in motorsport and we are excited to see what this season brings," she added. "It's a landmark moment for us and is testament to our complete commitment to the future of women’s motorsport.
"F1 Academy provides an opportunity to promote genuine change in our industry and this is a great stepping-stone to help ensure that the drivers progress to the next level."
25-year-old Emirati driver Hamda Al Qubaisi started her racing career in karts in 2015, progressing through the IAME X30 Championships before moving to Italian F4 in 2019. She won three races in UAE F4 in 2020 before returning to Italian F4 and subsequently took part in the FIA F3 test at Magny-Cours.
In 2023 she raced in last year's inaugural F1 Academy season with MP Motorsport, finishing third overall in the driver’s Standings with four first place finishes and a total of 207 points.
©F1Academy
Amna Al Qubaisi began her karting career aged 14, making appearances in the Rotax Max Challenge World Finals, X30 Euro Series and Italian X30 Championships. The Emirati then moved up to Italian F4 for 2018 and subsequently took part in Formula 4 UAE, F3 Asian and Formula Regional European Championships
Now 23, she raced in last year's F1 Academy with MP Motorsport and finished sixth overall in the driver’s standings, with two first place finishes in Spielberg and Barcelona contributing to a total of 117 points.
Emely De Heus started racing in karts in 2019 and claimed the Dutch Wintercup Senior series title, finishing fourth in the National Championship in 2020 before moving to single seaters. A campaign in Spanish F4 in 2021 was followed with a switch to W Series where De Heus debuted with points in Miami.
In 2023 the 20-year-old Dutch driver raced in the UAE Formula 4 Championship with MP Motorsport and competed in F1 Academy with the Dutch Team, finishing P9 in the Driver’s Standings with 87 points and clinching first place in Barcelona.
© Red Bull
“I’m happy to confirm Hamda, Amna and Emely as our F1 Academy line-up for 2024 and as members of the Red Bull Academy programme," commented MP Motorsport team principal Sander Dorsman.
"This means we will stick with the drivers whose talent we are familiar with, all three have already become true members of the MP Motorsport family in recent years.
"Hamda proved to be one of the title favourites while Amna and Emely each took their wins. And since we narrowly missed out on the teams’ title last year, we hope to go one better this year
"We look forward to a challenging new F1 Academy season in which we hope to repeat and further improve on our strong 2023 results," he added. "I’m grateful for Red Bull’s unwavering support, and we aim for a successful partnership together.”
The inaugural season of F1 Academy ended in October 2023, with Spanish driver Marta Garcia clinching the first ever championship at the Circuit of the Americas with two races to go. This year, Garcia is set to compete in the Formula Regional European Championship with Prema Racing.
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