Emely de Heus returns to MP Motorsport for F4 UAE

Emely de Heus has been announced for the first championship round of the 2023 Formula 4 UAE, as she returns to Dutch team MP Motorsport.

Photo credits: Racers - Behind the Helmet

19-year-old Dutchwoman Emely de Heus will contest the opening round of the upcoming 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship for MP Motorsport, the team announced.

So far, the Westmaas-based team has only confirmed the four drivers that will race at the first points-paying round of the season, stating that they "will be rotating most drivers during the F4UAE rounds, to give them experience with the MP team". De Heus will be joined by Jerónimo Berrío and Valerio Rinicella.

Emely de Heus therefore returns to MP Motorsport after contesting the 2021 Spanish F4 championship with the team, in the year of her single seater debut.

De Heus scored 13 top-20 finishes, with a personal best of 14th at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia. She claimed 8 wins in the Female Trophy and eventually edged Lola Lovinfosse for the class title.

De Heus was then selected for the all-female W Series championship in 2022, after impressing in the Arizona F4 test and then in Barcelona in Formula Regional machinery. She joined Sirin Racing, partnering compatriot Beitske Visser.

Emely scored points at her W Series debut with a tenth place at the Miami International Autodrome, which would remain her best result of the year. As W Series put its on-track operations on hold due to financial difficulties, drivers are exploring options for the upcoming season.

While De Heus' 2023 plans are not confirmed yet, she will get the opportunity to remain track-ready with the MP Motorsport outing in the UAE championship, making her return to F4 machinery - albeit in the new Tatuus T-021 car.

The young Dutch driver is the fourth female racer announced so far for the UAE-based championship, after Léna Bühler and Victoria Blokhina (R2Race) and Hamda Al Qubaisi (YAS Heat Racing by Xcel). The first round - which follows a non-championship Trophy Round in support of the Abu Dhabi F1 GP last November - will see cars hitting the track next weekend, on January 13/14 at Dubai Autodrome. The series will then move to the new Kuwait Motor Town for a back-to-back weekend, before the final race meetings at Dubai and Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.