Endurance racing driver Amro Al-Hamad was crucial in establishing Qatar as a global powerhouse in Middle Eastern motorsports and added the country to the Formula 1 annual calendar.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00He started his career in oil and gas, but completely changed directions and shifted up a gear to bring Formula 1 magic to Qatar in a 10-year race deal.
00:11My name is Amr Al-Hamad. I'm the CEO of Lucerne International Circuit and the Executive Director of the Qatar Motor Motorcycle Federation.
00:19A thrill seeker by nature, Amr Al-Hamad has been racing for the past two decades.
00:25And if the circuit isn't enough of an adrenaline rush, he also held the record for the deepest free dive in the Gulf region.
00:32I caught up with the Executive Director of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation here at the Lucerne International Circuit, home of the F1 Qatar Grand Prix.
00:43Amr, this is the third year Qatar will host the Formula 1 Grand Prix. You were integral in making this happen. Why were you so determined to bring this particular race right here?
01:01Three years ago, we went into this adventure to host the Formula 1 Grand Prix in the state of Qatar. It happened in 2021.
01:09And we had only seven weeks between the time that we signed the contract to the time that we've actually had the race.
01:15There's a lot of changes that happened on the circuit. This place that we're sitting in right now did not exist in 2021.
01:23And we had a big renovation project that happened in 2022, leading up to the race that we had in 2023.
01:29It's been a very nice journey and has been improving year after year.
01:32We collected a lot of information from teams, from drivers, from other circuits around the world.
01:38And we just mixed all of this all together to come up with the state of the art facility that we're sitting in.
01:43The capacity of the circuit has been improved. The race control systems have been improved. So I'm really happy to have been here from the beginning.
01:52Now, looking down the road or the track, if you will, how would you like to see motorsports evolve, not just in Qatar, but across the region?
01:59So you can look now that we have in our region four of the rounds of the Formula 1. It's close to a quarter of the calendar already.
02:07We've come a long way, not only here, but in the region in general. We became a hub for these motorsports events.
02:15We're competing now on a global level and we're raising the bar for everybody else.
02:19If you see the facilities that we have here in the region and the type of events that we are producing, even though we don't have like a very old track record,
02:28it is a huge indication to where we're actually going. Very soon we're going to be competing with international events worldwide.
02:35Formula 1 is a huge asset that we have in the state of Qatar and it's not only about hosting the event as an event,
02:41but also as an encouragement for the younger youth and younger generations to join the field of motorsports.
02:48Now developing female talent in motorsports is clearly very important to you.
02:52Why does this appeal to you and what strategies are in place to turn rhetoric into reality?
02:57If you look at sports in general before the World Cup, all the younger boys and younger generations in Qatar wanted to become football players
03:04and all the girls wanted to do horse riding. We do have a great culture in the state of Qatar encouraging females to join sports in general.
03:12Now it's our aim to involve more girls into motorsports. We're seeing a lot of interest from the female sector and this comes from the fact that we're running a lot of racing programs
03:23and I'm 100% sure that there's a lot of parents and a lot of younger female enthusiasts that are looking at the drivers that we have now in various championships
03:32and think oh I could be in that position and it's our role and our responsibility here in the Qatar Motor Academy to actually support that initiative
03:42and put programs in place to be able to nourish all this interest in motorsports.
03:47This country has become synonymous with successfully hosting large sporting events. As an ambassador for motorsports, do you feel a sense of responsibility to keep that momentum going?
03:56If you look at the time when we hosted the World Cup here, there was a lot of very good word of mouth from the people that left the state of Qatar with good memories and good feedback
04:06and they gave this to their families and friends and we saw this translated already on the ticket sales that we had last year.
04:12We need to carry on that momentum. The economical impact that these sporting events have here is huge.
04:19Imagine now the amount of people that come to attend these events here. They buy aircraft tickets, they book hotels, they buy meals
04:26and most importantly they get to understand or learn a lot about our culture and this in itself is priceless.
04:32Arma, that was impressive. Now you started racing 20 years ago, competed all over the world, but this seems like it's more than just an adrenaline rush for you.
04:48It feels like it's in your blood. What is it about racing that really captivates you?
04:52Racing in general is a part of our DNA and our culture. We've always been told to compete since a very, very young age
04:59and the last couple of years of my racing career I was doing endurance and I'm obsessed with it. It taught me discipline, taught me teamwork, taught me agility
05:09and the strategy itself, I do not race anymore, but I wouldn't say that I'm not competing and now I live that through the younger generations that we have in the academy
05:21all the kids with their racing programs and even the grown-up teams. I love to be just beside them. Everything I've learned over the years is now being transferred to the younger generations
05:32and even they have sources and resources that is available for them now that was not during my time and I'm really happy to see all the progression.
05:40Whatever we were doing during our time in such a long time, it can be achieved now on a very short timeline.
05:47Now when you're not pushing the pedal to the limit, you're also pushing yourself to other dangerous hobbies. You do free diving. In fact, you held the record for the deepest free dive in the region.
05:58This must take a toll on your body.
06:00So free diving is something also that is in our DNA. Our ancestors, they used to do a lot of pearl diving, so it came also for me as something that is natural that does not require that amount of adrenaline.
06:11In free diving, I concentrate more on reserving my power and reserving my oxygen and actually going into a very peaceful state.
06:18In free diving, we depend on the capacity of our lungs, on the storage of oxygen that we have in our bodies and it's all about depth and breath hold.
06:27So it was the yin and yang between motorsports and doing another sport.
06:33That's incredible DNA to have all this endurance, speed, agility. You've got it all.
06:40Well, I'm still learning a lot of things. I still do a lot of other motorsports. I do enduro, I do motocross.
06:46I try to travel to different places to do some enduro trips and the main aim is not only the riding and the sports of it.
06:52I get subjected to other cultures and other people from different mindsets and this is exactly what we were looking for when we hosted the World Cup and other sporting events here.
07:03We were inviting people to come and learn more about our culture.
07:06Pushing yourself is one thing, motivating others is another.
07:10As a leader, what would you like the young boys and girls watching to take away from your example?
07:16Everybody has a set of skills that they can use to actually reach the goals that they have.
07:2299% of the time you could do what you've dreamt of if you plan it properly and have the right path.
07:29So I would just get a message to the younger generations, chase your dream and if it doesn't happen, at least you're not going to have the doubt in the future, what if.
07:38So always chase what you want, do not get to a stage in your life where you keep thinking, what would have happened if I did X or Y? Just chase it.
07:48I dreamed of one day standing on an F1 track and here we are. Amroth, thank you for joining us on The Dialogue.
07:53Thank you very much and thank you for being with us today.