Mercedes junior Rashid Al Dhaheri makes history as first Emirati to lead FIA championship

The 18-year-old was announced as a Junior Driver for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 Team in March, a landmark achievement for UAE motorsport.

Al Dhaheri emerged from the third round of the FRECA season at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps circuit at the top of the standings after securing a second and third place finish across the weekend. The result made him the first Emirati in history to lead an FIA championship.

At Spa, Al Dhaheri topped his qualifying group in both sessions despite difficult weather conditions that included heavy rain, storms and changing track surfaces. In Race One, he finished second, crossing the line just 0.137 seconds behind the winner after a race interrupted by delays and a red flag.

He followed that with third place and the fastest lap in Race Two. A late safety car period prevented a final push for victory after Al Dhaheri had saved his Push-to-Pass allocation for the closing laps.

Earlier in May, Al Dhaheri endured a challenging weekend at Zandvoort in the Netherlands but still collected valuable points. After qualifying eighth for the opening race, he recovered to finish fifth before narrowly missing pole position for Race Two by 0.069 seconds and taking fourth place.

The consistent results allowed the Emirati driver to build his championship lead heading into the next round at Monza, scheduled for June 18-21.

Competing against a field of 30 drivers from more than 20 countries, Al Dhaheri has established himself as one of the leading contenders in the Formula Regional European Championship and continues to strengthen his credentials as one of the Gulf region's most promising young racing talents.