Atiqa records two top-10 finishes in F1 of karting

Racing sensation Atiqa Mir added another feather to her cap by becoming the youngest Indian to collect a couple of impressive top-10 finishes in Round 4 of the FIA European Championship, a marquee event in the world of karting.

Atiqa, all of 11, showed tremendous speed and fight to achieve ninth and 10th place in the heat races in the 12-14 age category. Atiqa, the first Indian to be backed by F1 Academy, qualified P11, which was remarkably only 0.13 seconds off the fastest time, reflecting the intensely competitive nature of the grid.

Driving as a wildcard in only her second-ever FIA event, the Indian with Kashmiri roots battled hard with drivers as old as 14 despite being among the youngest on the grid.

Atiqa has got race wins and pole positions under her belt in a fast-rising career but considering the challenge at hand in the FIA European Championship, which is dubbed as ‘Formula 1’ of the karting world, she was pleased with her performance in Sweden.

“I’m super happy with my performance here. We achieved all our targets and we have a good technical understanding of these FIA events. I’ve improved my driving as well and I feel with some more experience I can fight towards the front of the grid. I feel ready for a full championship next year,” she said. Atiqa’s father, Asif Mir, India’s first national karting champion, felt she exceeded expectations with her performance against drivers with a lot more experience. “Atiqa showed a lot of maturity far beyond her age. She was up against all-star karters of the world, including Formula 1 junior development drivers. Her speed in qualifying against them was very encouraging with only a tenth of a second separating her from the fastest time. She still has a lot to learn and driving amongst the best drivers in the world gives her an opportunity to learn from them.