'I couldn't believe it': How UAE engineers are teaching cars to race themselves

Amna Almarzooqi stood trackside at Yas Marina Circuit watching something that still felt impossible: a car accelerating to 295 kilometers per hour, braking into corners, and overtaking competitors all without a human hand touching the steering wheel.

"It was an incredible feeling," the Emirati race engineer told Khaleej Times. "You feel disbelief and excitement all at once. I was witnessing the future of technology unfold."

But the moment that truly stunned her came during Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) qualifiers, when one of the autonomous cars beat the lap time set by a professional human driver — 58.87 seconds versus the 59.20-second benchmark.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

"That was the moment we all felt that AI was not just learning from humans, it was beginning to match their precision and consistency," Almarzooqi said.

The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League, which holds its Season 2 Grand Final on November 15, is a live ground where extreme conditions accelerate the development of autonomous technology, which will eventually appear in UAE mobility systems, logistics networks, and smart cities.

Almarzooqi's team works between brutal physics and cutting-edge AI. Each racecar carries around 90kg of computing hardware, with cameras, radar, and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) generating up to 24 terabytes of data during a single test day.

Nevertheless, the biggest challenge lies beyond the speed. Abu Dhabi’s desert temperatures nearing 50°C, affect sensors, data cables, and power systems in ways that force constant adaptation.

"The heat is always one of our biggest challenges," she said. "It affects everything. Our job is to make sure the cars and equipment can handle those extremes."

This isn’t theoretical research. When Italy’s Unimore team set the autonomous lap record at 58.87 seconds, they proved AI could run wheel-to-wheel with humans in one of the most demanding motorsport environments. For context, early autonomous attempts at Yas ran three to four minutes slower than human drivers.

For Almarzooqi, the work carries personal meaning. As an Emirati woman in advanced motorsport engineering, she represents a generation taking ownership of new systems rather than importing them.

"Working in a field that brings together AI, robotics, and engineering pushes me to learn something new every day," she said. "What makes it special is knowing that this progress is happening here in Abu Dhabi."

A2RL serves as a research platform for algorithms that will one day make autonomous taxis and delivery networks safer on UAE roads.

"Every algorithm and safety feature we test here will eventually make its way into real-world applications," she said.

The Season 2 grid includes teams from more than 10 countries, competing for a $2.25 million prize pool, with upgraded EAV-25 racecars featuring improved sensor fusion and reduced GPS dependency — a requirement for dense urban environments.

For young Emiratis watching, Almarzooqi hopes her presence signals possibility.

"When young girls visit the garage and see someone who looks like them working on a driverless car, I hope it makes them believe they can do it too," she said. "This project is not only developing technology; it is building confidence and the next generation of innovators."

Look: UAE-made $25 million self-driving F1 race car ready to compete in Abu Dhabi Driverless cars, safer roads: How Abu Dhabi’s robo-taxis are changing city life