Dubai: Saudi Arabia's Aseel Al Hamad, the first female member of the Saudi Arabian Motorsport Federation, set a symbolic record by driving a Renault Sport Formula One Team E20 car on the Le Castellet circuit, France on the day that Saudi Arabia allowed women to drive.
It was part of the Renault "Passion Parade" just hours before the start of the first French Grand Prix in ten years. The car Al Hamad drove was the very same car former F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen drove to victory in the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Al Hamad's passion for motorsport she has cultivated over the years, and the drive became even more symbolic as she took to the wheel on the same day women are able to drive on the roads of Saudi Arabia.
Al Hamad got her first experience of Formula 1 power at a Renault training day on 5 June at Le Castellet. Under the expert tutoring of Renault Sport Formula One Team engineers and technicians, Al Hamad got accustomed to the demanding circuit in a Renault road car before switching to a Formula Renault car and the E20 Formula 1 car in the later part of the day.
Al Hamad represents her country on the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, chaired by former World Rally Championship driver and winner Michèle Mouton.
She is tasked to put in place strategies and policies to promote the education and training of women in motorsport in Saudi Arabia by collaborating on joint projects and participating in international forums and conferences devoted to the place of women in sport.
“I have loved racing and motorsport from a very young age and to drive a Formula 1 car goes even beyond my dreams and what I thought was possible. It is a genuine honour to drive the Renault Sport Formula One Team E20 car in front of the crowds at its home Grand Prix in France. I hope doing so on the day when women can drive on the roads in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shows what you can do if you have the passion and spirit to dream,” Al Hamad said.
