An 18-year-old from Abu Dhabi is about to become the first UAE national to race in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, the junior series that runs alongside Formula 1 Grands Prix around the world.

Rashid Al Dhaheri, a Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 junior driver, has been confirmed on the grid for the 2027 season with Dutch team Van Amersfoort Racing. It is a team with serious pedigree: Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman all passed through its ranks before reaching Formula 1.

His debut comes at the season opener in Bahrain on March 12 to 14, 2027 — the first time the championship has started in the Middle East, a calendar shift made to accommodate Ramadan. A week later, from March 19 to 21, the series heads to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia for its first-ever visit. There is no F3 race in Abu Dhabi on the 2027 calendar, though Yas Marina will host the first-ever F1 Sprint race that year.

Al Dhaheri's rise has been quick. He started in UAE karting, collecting multiple WSK titles and a win at the Macau International Kart Grand Prix, then moved into Formula 4 in 2023, taking five wins and 14 podiums across two seasons. In 2025 he became the first Emirati driver to win a Formula Regional race — fittingly at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi — and added the Vice-Championship title in the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy with three wins and four podiums. His 2026 European campaign brought three victories, eight podiums, a pole position and a fastest lap.

For motorsport fans in the region, it is a rare chance to follow a home-grown talent on the road to F1 from the very start. F3 races only 30 drivers across 10 teams, touring 10 countries on four continents, and the Bahrain season opener should draw a strong Emirati crowd just down the Gulf road. Ethara, which runs Yas Marina Circuit and promotes the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, has framed the promotion as proof of the UAE's investment in developing racing drivers.

If you fancy combining a Gulf break with the championship's opening rounds, the timing works well: Bahrain in mid-March means warm-but-manageable temperatures, and Jeddah's coastal circuit adds a second race weekend the following week.