India's Atiqa Mir outpaces Mercedes F1 juniors for historic pole position

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India’s 11-year-old racing prodigy Atiqa Mir gave another example of her immense talent by out-qualifying two Mercedes F1 junior drivers for pole position in the Champions of the Future Academy Program Round 3.

She beat established Mercedes F1 Junior drivers like Niccolo Perico of Italy and Devin Titz of Germany for pole position, setting an event record.

This remarkable display followed her brilliant clean sweep at the second round of the COTFA tournament held in Greece the previous month. Following her stunning pole run, the young racer secured second- and third-place finishes in the Heat races.

During the main final, due to an engine misfire, she couldn’t hold on to the lead and lost places before finally recovering to finish P6.

On-track collisions halted Mir’s potential podium run

The second day of racing proved difficult as Atiqa Mir was plagued by mechanical issues, leaving her down in 27th for qualification. While event officials quickly replaced the faulty power unit, the structural damage to her starting position was already locked in. Eventually, she earned the 18th spot for the final race.

Reflecting on a rollercoaster weekend which saw her rise to the top and then experience a car failure, Atiqa said,

“A bittersweet weekend for me, but I was able to show my pace against the world’s best and beat them. I feel confident in the kart every time I am on the track but the engine and equipment let me down this weekend.”
“It could have easily been another couple of podiums but they weren’t meant to be. Motorsports can be harsh sometimes. I am happy with my performance and couldn’t have done anything more”

Atiqa’s father Asif Mir, who is India’s first national karting champion, said her daughter did all she could considering the sequence of events.

“Atiqa had a stellar weekend and set the event record at Viterbo. The results don’t show the true picture. The DNF in Final was heartbreaking but she is a strong girl and will recover soon,” he said.

The young racing phenom will get back behind the wheel later this month when the series moves to Sweden.

(With inputs from PTI)

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