Indian racing prodigy Atiqa Mir stormed to a historic pole position before finishing third in the opening round of the Formula 1 Academy-backed COTFA UAE karting series.

Mir, 10, is the first Indian to be supported by F1. Already part of the Champions of the Future Academy (COTFA) series, Atiqa last month was picked by F1 Academy for the two-round COTFA UAE championship. “I wanted the win, but came away with third. I’ll learn from this weekend and improve,” said Mir.