Kaspersky is thrilled to announce its sponsorship of Emirati pro racing drivers Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi in the inaugural season of F1 Academy, a new project from the F1 racing series helping to develop and prepare female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition. The partnership reflects Kaspersky’s devotion to help young professionals sharing the company’s firm commitment to excellence.
Kaspersky has sponsored Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi since 2018. The two racing drivers have long been advancing female achievement in male-dominated motorsport and achieved significant results. Amna, the older of the two, began her career at the age of 13 in 2014, and became the first UAE woman to compete in Formula 4 and is also the first Arab woman to win a F4 race. Amna also led a group of female drivers in Formula E tests in 2018. Hamda, her younger sister, made her Formula 4 debut in 2019 and two years later, became the first ever woman to step on an F4 championship podium.
As part of the F1 Academy inaugural season, Amna and Hamda will be competing for the Dutch MP Motorsport team, which also has teams in F4, FRECA, F3 and F2 series. The two Emirati racers will be joined in the team by Dutch racing driver Emely de Heus, who previously competed in the all-female single seater W Series racing championship.
Five teams comprising of three drivers compete in 21 races over seven racing weekends. Each event includes two qualifying sessions and three races to ensure series participants gain enough track time to practice and master their skills to help them make their way into the leading motorsport categories.
“I’m thankful to Kaspersky for supporting me in the pursuit of my dream. Kaspersky’s commitment to excellence and professionalism resonates well with the values of any professional driver, who has to push the limits of their efficiency on a constant basis to be able to maintain a competitive advantage with other racers,” notes Amna Al Qubaisi.
“Together with Kaspersky, I can continue to develop professionally and reach new heights. The company’s commitment to supporting female professionals inspires me and pushes me to work even harder and achieve greater success. I hope that our cooperation will help me to accomplish new historical achievements,” commented Hamda Al Qubaisi.
The first racing weekend of the season is taking place in Spielberg, Austria, from April 28-29. It will be followed by races in Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, France, and the final race in the United States in late October.
“Kaspersky has long been working for women’s empowerment, knowing that talent has no gender. Just as in the cybersecurity industry, motorsport has been a male-dominated world, and it’s encouraging to see initiatives that seek to cope with this trend and advance gender diversity. We wish Amna and Hamda success in the inaugural F1 Academy season and hope it helps them further sharpen their skills and grow professional careers,” comments Sandro Cisco, the Head of Global Partnerships and Sponsorships at Kaspersky.
Kaspersky considers initiatives aimed at people empowerment and women empowerment, in particular, as one of the key areas of its sustainable development strategy. To support women, the company has been focused on reducing the gender gap in the IT field by running various projects to encourage women to embark on a career in cybersecurity. One of the initiatives aimed at building bridges between women and men is the Empower Women digital project with the goal of motivating more women to embark on a career in IT.
