As far as champagne moments go, the young British driver Enaam Ahmed has already pulled off an absolute corker. After a stunning double win in the European F3 series at the Hungaroring, the 18-year-old hurled himself from the top step and slammed the bottle to the floor, blowing its contents sky high, into his own face and sending his baseball cap cartwheeling. It was exuberant, spectacular stuff that reflects the driving and character of this refreshingly forthright teenager. More important, such is his promise it is not likely to be the last time he sprays bubbly with abandon.
His celebration had not been planned but Ahmed is a singular character who likes doing things his own way. “It was completely spontaneous,” he says. “The cork blew my cap off and just missed my eye but I will do it again, it might become my signature move.”
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His confidence in a return to the top step is justified by a rookie season in European F3 that has far exceeded expectations and which he hopes will ultimately lead to a seat in Formula One. Yet he very nearly did even not make it to the grid this season.
Of British Asian descent, Ahmed grew up in west London to mother Samina, an Indian Kenyan and dad Shami, who is Pakistani. Neither had any interest in, or experience of, motor racing. Lewis Hamilton’s F1 title in 2008 changed the eight‑year‑old’s life, however.
