Young Singaporean racing driver Kabir Anurag talks openly about his sport and his plans for the future

Kabir Anurag, the 17-year-old driver from Singapore, has big dreams. Anurag is the first Singaporean to join an F1 development team — Alpine Academy — and now hopes to become the country’s first F1 driver. To achieve this, the teenager has given himself five more years.

“That’s my career vision, and I think it’s definitely possible for me. In the short term, it’s about fighting for wins, fighting for podiums and being consistently good. That’s the hard part – doing it consistently,” he recently told CNA.

Anurag, who is in Singapore to watch the Grand Prix, said: “In racing, everyone is going faster. We call it a moving target. If you are not moving forward, you are going backward. So you have to always be on the rise.”

He also got candid about his sport in conversation with the Singapore team.

Asked what the biggest misconception is about being a professional racing driver, he said: “I think a lot of people think that being a professional racing driver is like driving a taxi. As long as you try to go fast, you're always going to be fast.”

Breaking it down, he said: “To be a fast racing driver, you need so many different components and so many different techniques to go fast.”

Speaking about his race day routine, the teenager said: “It's a lot of mental exercises. Combining them with, for example, juggling and what we call Blaze Pods, which are just reaction tests.”

Also read: Mercedes F1 Team and TeamViewer Move Towards a Data-Driven Future

At the academy, the Singaporean undergoes cardio, strength and endurance training in the gym, as well as other workouts that test his decision-making skills, reaction speed and multitasking abilities.

Anurag chose Valencia in Spain and the Red Bull Ring in Austria as his favourite circuits for the race. “Both of these circuits have really incredible flow.

The runner revealed that he listens to Katy Perry for the kind of vibe her music brings.

He also spoke about his injury, where he broke his hand and suffered multiple injuries after an accident.

Speaking to CNA, the runner admitted that while National Service – where all male Singapore citizens and permanent residents, unless exempt, are required to serve for two years after turning 18 – affects athletes “working towards the top of their careers”, he hailed NS as a “very useful experience”.

Anurag, who is not yet 18 and has not yet served in Nova Scotia, said he will deal with it when the call comes.