This year’s Formula 4 UAE Championship will soon kick-off and see the future stars compete across a six-week series, starting with the UAE Trophy Round – featuring Yas Heat Racing – at the #AbuDhabiGP weekend at Yas Marina Circuit.
Following an impressive debut season for the team, the opening exhibition event of the season will see a new line-up for the home team at the 15th edition of the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as Yas Heat begins the season at Yas Marina Circuit for the Formula 4 UAE Championship
The new F4 UAE season will see a mix of returning stars and new faces for 2024, with Emirati starlet Rashid Al Dhaheri set to make his Yas Heat home debut during the #AbuDhabiGP weekend. Al Dhaheri returns to the UAE after a positive maiden season in the Formula 4 Italian Championship as the youngest driver on the grid. The local driver secured 12 top-10 finishes in his rookie season, before taking P3 at the 70th Macau F4 Grand Prix in an impressive performance before his debut race weekend for Yas Heat.
Following an impressive inaugural season of the F1 Academy in 2023, Emirati racing duo Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi join the Yas Heat side at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend.
The weekend will see Amna Al Qubaisi join Yas Heat Racing, following years of racing experience at Yas Marina Circuit as part of the Formula 4 UAE series. She returns to Abu Dhabi after a historic first season in the F1 Academy, securing two victories across the seven-round series.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend will also feature a return to the Yas Heat Racing garage for Hamda Al Qubaisi, following her appearance as part of the team’s first ever F4 UAE season earlier this year. Like her older sister, Hamda is set to compete at her home track at Yas Marina Circuit after sensational performances in the F1 Academy series, taking an impressive 4 race wins during the single-seater competition.
The 2024 line-up also includes some familiar faces heading back to Yas Marina Circuit after promising European campaigns. Keanu Al Azhari, 16, featured in Yas Heat’s debut season and secured 4 podium finishes in his rookie F4 UAE campaign, and will return to Yas Marina Circuit following his impressive showing in F4 Spain with the aim of improving on his 2023 results.
Young Australian Zack Scoular will make his single-seater debut for Yas Heat in 2024, after the 15-year-old made a strong start to his racing career with his consistent top-10 performances in the European and MENA ROTAX Max karting championships during 2023. Scoular will join Al Dhaheri as some of the youngest rookies on the grid in the F4 UAE Championship for the 2024 season.
Following preseason testing sessions in recent weeks, Matthew Norman, Team Manager of Yas Heat Racing, believes the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend will be the ideal starting point for a promising season ahead.
“We had an admirable first season as a team, filled with incredible moments and a huge level of growth. Now that we’ve acquired the experience of working together, with our drivers being more comfortable and confident of more podium finishes,” he said.
After the opening exhibition round at the F1 season finale from 24th to 26th November 2023, the region’s top Formula 4 racers get their first preseason laps in from 10th to 11th January 2024 at the iconic Yas Island track, before the first round of the new season takes place across 3 races in Abu Dhabi from 12th to 14th January.
The Yas Marina Circuit track will host three of the competition’s five rounds in 2024, alternating between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The teams will compete at Yas Marina Circuit in the penultimate round from 9th to 11th February before the season wraps up in Dubai on 16th to 18th February.
