By Giulia De Ieso and Giulianna Faliero
Fifteen-year-old Rashid Al Dhaheri made his Formula 4 and Euro4 debut this year with Prema Racing and he is the first Emirati driver to reach the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) Scouting World Finals. He is currently just a step away from the Top10 in the championship, having also missed a few races. We caught up with him at Mugello, after the first race in the newly introduced Euro 4 category, to hear his impressions of his first year as a rookie.
How do you find your rookie season so far?
The year has been very interesting, I have managed to learn a lot and improve a lot as a driver. In the end that is also the goal you set yourself as a rookie: to collect as much experience as possible and put it together to progress. I try to achieve a better result in every practice, qualifying or race.
Mugello is one of the fastest tracks you will race at this year. What is it like to drive here and what expectations do you have for the weekend?
Mugello is a very nice track. There are many slopes and a lot of fast or special corners that increase the chances for us riders to experience some really good racing. Because there are so many fast corners the tyre degradation is very high. Therefore racing is more complicated: with every lap the tyre gets worse. We have to control the car with oversteer and understeer. In short, it is always important to drive the car cleanly so as not to overheat the tyres too much.
What do you think of this new Euro4 championship, born after the closure of the ADAC Formula 4 (former German championship, n.d.r.), which will bring Italian Formula 4 to the European level?
I find it very interesting. However, it is always nice to race in different countries, especially in Europe as there are so many fantastic tracks. I love being able to race at various circuits that are all different from each other. Each track has its own particularity and can help us in its own way to learn specific things. And all of us drivers definitely enjoy taking part in more races.
Rashid Al Dhaheri is definetely a young driver to keep an eye on. After this pleasant chat, we wish Rashid good luck for the rest of the Italian Formula 4 and Euro 4 championships, hoping they will bring great satisfaction and results to him and the Prema team!
