Kabir Anurag, the 17-year-old racer from Singapore, has big dreams. Anurag is the first Singaporean to join an F1 development team — Alpine Academy — and now aims to be the first F1 driver from the country. For that, the teenager has allotted himself five more years.
“That’s my career projection, which I think is very possible for me. Short term, it’s to fight for wins, fight for podiums, and to consistently be good. That’s the hardest part – to do it consistently,” he told CNA recently.
Anurag, who is in Singapore to witness the Grand Prix, said, “In racing, everybody’s getting faster. We call it a moving target. If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backwards. So, you always have to be on the up.”
He also got candid about his sport during a chat with Team Singapore.
Asked about the biggest misconception of a pro 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 will just be fast.”
Breaking down the notion, he said, “To be a fast racing driver it requires so many different components and so many different techniques to go fast.”
Speaking about his race-day routine, the teenager said, “It consists of a lot of mental exercises. Combining them, so such as juggling and something called blaze pods, which is just reaction tests.”
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At the academy, the Singaporean goes through cardio, strength and endurance training at the gym, and other training that tests decision-making skills, reaction speed and multitasking abilities.
Anurag picked Valencia in Spain and the Red Bull Ring in Austria as his favourite tracks to race on. “Both of these tracks just have really, really amazing flow.
The racer 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 sustained multiple injuries after a crash.
Speaking to CNA, the racer admitted that while National Service — where all male Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, unless exempted, are required to serve for two years after turning 18 — affects athletes “working towards the peak of their careers”, he hailed the NS as a “very useful experience”.
Anurag, who is yet to turn 18 and serve NS, said he’ll handle it when the call comes.
