In a sport built on legacy, wealth, and ruthless precision, Anis Akbar is chasing a dream. At 17, most Formula 1 aspirants are already in F2. They’ve been racing since they were 8, coached by ex-pros and nurtured by money. Then there’s Anis who didn’t even touch a kart until the end of 2022. And yet, here he is with raw speed, a fighter’s focus, and belief that borders on obsession.
Anis isn’t here for the photo ops. He’s not a prodigy raised in paddocks or a poster boy with sponsors stitched to his sleeves. He’s the son of a family who believed in grit over glamour. A kid who trained alongside his brothers on football fields, fell in love with the Cars movie as a child, and only discovered the track after a casual karting session with Emirati friends in late 2021.
“I started rental karting at 14,” he recalls. “Most drivers start professional karting when they’re 8.” He’s late to the game but Anis is already closing the gap fast. So fast, in fact, that he passed his UAE national karting license with minimal practice, he then passed his Singapore national Race license on his very first time in a race car, with no practice sessions, flying in from Singapore with failure all but guaranteed.
In less than two years, Anis went from doing a few practice sessions every month to competing in the Dubai Kartdrome. His first official race was a rookie race on February 14th, 2023 he did place well in the positions but never gave up. His first endurance race was a 7-hour endurance race on April 15, 2023 just days before his 14th birthday. “I’d break my fast and get back behind the wheel. It was really fun,” he says casually, like he’s not talking about the kind of grit most seasoned pros pray for. In December later that year, he landed second on the podium in a brutal 24-hour Dubai Kartdrome endurance challenge.
“I’m not here to play around. I’m here to set lap times,” he says with utter conviction. But that clarity came with a crash. Quite literally. During his F4 testing in Italy, Anis forgot to brake coming into a corner. He hit a wall at 90 km/hr.
“This didn’t really physically hurt me, but mentally it shook me. Only my wrist was hurt. It was the first time I ever crashed.”
He pauses for a second, the way a racer recalibrates after a spinout. “Reality hit me like a truck. I realized my purpose.”
He could’ve quit. Many would have. But instead, he pushed harder.
Motorsport isn’t forgiving. However for Anis, the climb is steeper as he has set his sights on Formula 1and a successful career in motorsport will require a lot of money. While many of his peers have spent a decade climbing from F4 to F3 to F2 with the backing of deep pockets, he’s paving his own path. And his father is right there beside him—not just at trackside, but inside the business side of racing. His father is building a foundation for longevity in a sport that often devours dreams as quickly as engines burn fuel. “You can do this sport until the money runs out,” Anis says. “Drivers either have generational wealth or many sponsors. The other way in is to be part of the motorsport business. That’s what my father decided to do.”
When I ask him about support, he tells me about how his mother and father took turns during his endurance races like shifts to stay through the night. It’s not just a sacrifice. It’s a belief. Behind every lap and every race is a family that runs like a pit crew. His mother and father take turns like shifts during endurance races. His whole family carries the weight of this dream because it’s not just his anymore.
“Italy changed me,” he admits. “Seeing my dad so excited and knowing how much effort he’s put in it made me realize this is not a joke. I owe it to him. To my family. To myself.”
When asked what his dream F1 car would look like, his answer is clear and sharp.
“I’d go back to the roots. Schumacher-era V8S, V10s and V12s. Pure engines.. No screens on the wheel. Just huge rear tyres, skinny fronts, and where Formula 1 wasn’t a lifestyle, I’d say. It was just about the sport.” In true driver fashion, he says “You must feel the car through your bottom because that’s how you get faster.”
You’d expect a young driver to be hotheaded. But Anis isn’t ordinary. “A ritual before every race, well, I like to sit in my car for 30 seconds before I go out, just to calm myself.” Even when a driver on track makes him angry, he uses that fury to fuel himself to be faster and perform better. He’s realized at such a young age that anger is the biggest enemy and is always chasing that ‘flow state’.” The flow state that’s almost a form of meditation. That impossible place where speed feels like stillness, and instinct becomes religion.
If he gets his way, history will remember his name.
“I want to be the first Muslim F1 driver in 2030, which is 100% possible. I want to represent my country and my family. I want to prove everyone wrong who told me I couldn’t do F4… who said I was too late.”
It’s not just about personal glory. Anis sees himself a symbol for those who start late, who aren’t born into it and who fight harder because they have to. He credits his Emirati friends for kickstarting it all. “Because of you, I’m here.”
Before I leave, I ask him: what does racing really mean to you? “Potential,” he answers without hesitation. “That’s what racing is. I’ve kept up with drivers who’ve done this for years. I know what level I can reach.” I can’t help but believe him because of the fire that shines behind his eyes. Every word he says carries the weight of someone who’s chasing history not with entitlement, but with faith and obsession.
He may have arrived late but he’s not slowing down.
In the race to Formula 1, the stopwatch doesn’t care how you started. Only how fast you dare to finish.