LONDON: Proudly waving the flag of Pakistan across the world in Formula racing circuit, Enaam Ahmed has become the first-ever and the only Pakistani to be a World Champion in Karting, beating the records of Formula One drivers Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Not only that, Enaam Ahmed is also the British Formula 3 Champion, the first-ever high-level Formula Championship winner in the history of Pakistan, smashing the record of Ayrton Senna by winning 13 races in one season.
The 23-year-old is going places around the world with his winning streak on the dangerous tracks, driving cars at an average 200 miles per hour – making sure that his car carries both British and Pakistani flags waving.
Enaam is one of the brightest and most exciting young racing talents in motorsport. He has been winning Championships and breaking records since the age of 14. Enaam Ahmed is also the most successful Pakistani heritage racing driver ever in the history of motorsport because he is also known as the most successful British Formula 3 driver in history.
Enaam Ahmed was born to Pakistani parents in London 23 years ago. It was at the age of eight that he started taking interest in racing. His parents started funding their son’s passion by sending him to local Go-karting tracks for children but they had no idea that their son would become a European and World Champion at the age of 14 – winning it one year younger than Lewis Hamilton who became the world champion at age of 15 years.
Enaam told this publication that when announced his decision for Car racing, his parents told him they will not be funding him anymore and he would need to learn to stand on his own feet to explore the horizon or return to normal life and finish university degree and then do whatever he wants to.
Enaam Ahmed left the comfort of his home immediately to live in Japan, Spain, Italy, New Zealand and the United States to focus on professional driving. He has not looked back ever since.
In the interview, the star racer said: “I was 14 years old when I won five championships in one year. The two most important ones being the European Championship in Go-Karting. At the age of 17, I became the British Formula 3 Champion, the first time ever a Pakistani won a major Motorsport championship beating the record of Ayrton Senna”.
“There was a lot of pressure on me to win those competitions so I could not only make my name but also to impress my parents and to show them I made the right decision of leaving home at a very young age – when most of his childhood friends played around the nearby Hyde Park,” he said.
The most important factor for Enaam Ahmed has been to win these accomplishments as a Pakistani origin racer. He says with pride, “For me it matters the most that I won these races at the world stage as a Pakistani as a Pakistani. Not just to do it but to win it, this makes me very proud and there is a long way to go”.
Enaam Ahmed has a driving simulator set up at his home in London when he’s with his parents. He’s in the United States where he spends most of his time as that’s where he drives cars as a professional.
“The training is usually twice a day. That’s not the hardest part though. The most difficult thing to do is to go out at that young age and get sponsors who fund races. I always have to perform and to win in order to stay in the game. If you don’t perform, there are no sponsors behind you. Right now, I race in the US in the series called Indy Nxt which is leading me to IndyCar – the biggest series in the US,” he added.
“I am the first ever and the only Pakistani to take part in these races. Alhamdullilah, I am lucky that I have good sponsors from America this year and they have enabled me to live my dream and get to the top in the two biggest racing series,” he concluded.
