India’s national anthem in Greece: Atiqa Mir races to the most dominant victory of his career

Eleven-year-old Atiqa Mir cemented her status as India’s leading competitor on the world stage with the most dominant performance of her career at Round 2 of the Champions of the Future Academy programme, sweeping through the qualifiers, heats and finals.

Atiqa, the first Indian to be endorsed by the Formula 1 Academy, has set the benchmark in a highly competitive field in the OK-NJ (Age 12-14) category. It’s remarkable what she managed to achieve in her first season in this category, giving the more experienced riders (mostly men) a hard time on the track.

Whether it was qualifying, heats and the two finals, Atiqa was in a league of her own all weekend. With his sensational show, he became only the third driver in the history of the series to make it through qualifying, heats and the final.

While she led with admirable poise and composure on the track all week, the little girl understandably got emotional when the Indian national anthem was played as she stood on the podium. Atiqa is aiming to become the first woman in Formula 1 since the early 1990s.

She won lap 2.2 by more than 2.6 seconds, a huge margin in motorsport considering all 25 drivers were riding the same equipment.

Atiqa, born in Mumbai with family roots in Jammu and Kashmir, took pole position in qualifying with a record time of 56.77, almost three-tenths ahead of the runner-up, showing ability far beyond her age and experience.

11-year-old Indian racing sensation Atiqa Mir on top of the podium after a dominating weekend at Round 2 of the Champions of the Future Academy program in Greece, where she became only the third rider in series history to complete a clean sweep, dominating qualifying, heats and the final. pic.twitter.com/gVmS9FXopX— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 2, 2026

In Heat Race 1, Atiqa dominated the race from start to finish. In Heat Race 2, she dominated the field again, winning by over a second ahead of her nearest rival, moving her to first place on the grid for the final.

In the grueling 15-lap finale, Atiqa took control of the race early on and put on a racing masterclass to take a 3.9 second lead in just eight laps.

“It’s such a tough and physical track and I managed to win all the races. I was very emotional when the national anthem was played and there’s no better feeling,” said Atiqa.

A day earlier on 2.1. round Atiqa qualified fourth due to set-up problems, but still took second and first place in the two heats.

Atiq’s father Asif Mir, a former Formula Asia runner-up, was a happy man after a special weekend.

“I was surprised by her pace, aggressiveness and professional attitude throughout the weekend. She was very upset from the first day after the crash in the final. I think that drove her to put in such a commanding performance. It’s a proud moment for Indian Motorsport,” said Mir.

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Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

03 Jun 2026 19:23 IST