Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawn Rashid.
Hi Shawn, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Shawn Rashid, and I didn’t grow up dreaming of being a race car driver. I was born in Atlanta, Georgia on October 5, 1995, and spent much of my early life shaped by two very different worlds. My Pakistani and American roots gave me structure and ambition, while time in Costa Rica taught me how to slow down, stay grounded, and find joy in the process. That balance still defines how I approach everything I do.
I graduated from Purdue University in 2020 with a degree in Industrial Engineering and a certificate in Entrepreneurship. As the world shut down during COVID, I found myself at a crossroads. I was finishing school, applying for jobs, and quietly questioning whether the path in front of me was really mine. Cars had always been part of my family’s life, but I had never raced, never karted, and never considered motorsport as a serious option.
That changed on my birthday, when my parents surprised me with a spot at the AMG Academy at Laguna Seca. I showed up with no expectations and left completely transformed. By the end of the program, I had won every competitive session and finished first overall out of roughly 100 participants. Several instructors encouraged me to seriously consider racing, telling me I had natural ability and rare feel behind the wheel.
I didn’t jump immediately. Instead, I went to Costa Rica during quarantine to sit with the decision. Through meditation and reflection, I tried to understand whether this was excitement or purpose. One night, I had a vivid dream that felt like a direct conversation with God. The message was simple: a door would open, but I had to be brave enough to walk through it. I didn’t need to know how it would all work out, only to trust the process and take it one step at a time.
The next morning, my dad called me out of the blue. He told me he had met legendary racer Johnny O’Connell who was interested in mentoring someone and suggested I meet him when I returned to Atlanta. When I sat down with Johnny and mentioned my coach from the AMG Academy, he stopped me mid-sentence. That coach was his son. Months earlier, his son had called him raving about a student he believed had exceptional potential. That student was me.
Under Johnny’s guidance, I committed fully. I trained relentlessly, raced wherever I could, and eventually made the leap to Europe in my mid-twenties to chase the dream for real. Despite entering the sport later than most, I found success quickly. In my rookie season of Formula Ford in the UK, I earned multiple podiums and victories, captured the Rookie Championship, and won a heat race at the prestigious Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch.
From there, I stepped into some of the most competitive junior single-seater championships in the world. Across multiple seasons at the British Formula 3 level, I consistently fought at the front, highlighted by podium finishes including a second place at Silverstone, proving I could compete against drivers who had been racing since childhood.
In 2025, I expanded my experience internationally, competing in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship in New Zealand. After five intense weeks and 15 races, I finished with a 4th and podium during the iconic New Zealand Grand Prix weekend. I later contested a full season in Euroformula Open, racing across demanding European circuits and continuing to build experience in high-downforce machinery.
As my results and experience grew, so did my opportunities. I earned offers to compete in Formula 2 in consecutive seasons, a major milestone for any driver. Ultimately, I was unable to secure the required budget to make those seats a reality, a common but difficult reality in modern motorsport. Rather than seeing it as a setback, I viewed it as proof that my performance had opened doors many never reach.
That mindset led me toward endurance racing. In my debut weekend in the Michelin Le Mans Cup at Portimao, I took a class victory, immediately demonstrating my adaptability and racecraft in a completely different racing discipline.
Now in 2026, my focus is on building a future in endurance racing while remaining open to open-wheel opportunities if the right door opens. The journey from engineering graduate to professional driver has been anything but linear, shaped by faith, persistence, and a willingness to take risks without guarantees. I share the reality of that journey through my “Shawn to F1” series and the feature film FULL PUSH, documenting the highs, the setbacks, and the belief required to keep moving forward.
If my story shows anything, it’s that there is no single path to a dream. Sometimes the road only appears once you’re already brave enough to step onto it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve faced plenty of obstacles in my motorsport journey, starting with the most obvious one: I began far later than almost everyone around me. Many of my competitors had been racing since they were six or seven years old, while I was learning the fundamentals as an adult. The learning curve was incredibly steep, and for a long time the challenge was simply catching up and developing skills that others had been refining for most of their lives.
That said, I’ve always been a hard worker. I put in the hours, trusted my training, and kept faith in my ability to improve. I approach every test and race weekend with a learner’s mindset, constantly asking how I can be better. I truly believe this is a lifelong process, and that the learning never stops.
Another major challenge has been the personal side of the journey. Moving to a new country alone to chase a dream isn’t easy. There have been lonely nights, moments of doubt, and times when I questioned whether the sacrifices were worth it. One of the hardest periods was when I was training relentlessly and not seeing results on paper. When things are going well, motivation comes easily. When they aren’t, you’re forced to dig deep, confront imposter syndrome, and decide whether you truly believe you belong.
A challenge many people don’t fully understand is how the sport actually works from the inside. From the outside, many series are labeled as spec championships, meaning all the cars are theoretically the same. In reality, the playing field is far from equal. Team quality, engineering depth, experience, and resources make a huge difference in performance. Access to the most competitive teams is often influenced by budget, relationships, and timing as much as raw talent.
If you aren’t able to secure a seat with one of the top teams at a given level, it becomes significantly harder to deliver the results needed to progress. Smaller teams often operate with limited resources and simply cannot provide the same performance or development. That can create a cycle where strong results are harder to achieve, which in turn makes it harder to access better opportunities the following season. Learning how to navigate those dynamics while staying focused on improvement has been one of the more complex challenges I’ve faced.
By far, the biggest obstacle in this sport is financial. Motorsport is unique in that progression requires significant capital. At most levels, drivers are effectively paying for the opportunity to compete, with budgets rising from the hundreds of thousands per season to several million at the Formula 2 level. Managing that reality, finding sponsorship, and keeping the dream alive year after year has been one of the toughest and most defining challenges of my career.
What many people don’t realize is that being a professional racing driver isn’t just about speed on track. It’s also about running yourself like a business. You have to act as the CEO of your own operation, building relationships, creating value for partners, and doing whatever it takes to continue moving forward.
All of these challenges have shaped me, not just as a driver, but as a person. They’ve forced me to become more resilient, more self-aware, and more committed to the long game, regardless of how difficult it gets.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a professional race car driver, and what sets me apart in the motorsport world is the path I took to get here. I started racing far later than almost everyone around me, with no karting background and no traditional ladder behind me. That late start has become part of what I’m known for, but more importantly, it’s shaped how I approach the sport.
I specialize in adapting quickly, learning fast, and performing under pressure. Because I didn’t grow up racing, every step of my career has required me to compress years of learning into a short period of time. That’s forced me to develop strong racecraft, technical understanding, and mental resilience early on. I approach driving with a deep sense of intention, always focused on improvement, preparation, and execution.
What I’m most proud of isn’t just the results, but how quickly I’ve been able to achieve them. In just a few years, I went from never having raced before to winning at the national level, earning rookie titles, competing internationally, and stepping into some of the most competitive series in the world. Doing that without the typical background has required an unusual level of grit, self-belief, and consistency.
I’m also known for treating my career like a business. Motorsport demands more than speed. It requires leadership, communication, and the ability to build long-term relationships. I take pride in being professional, reliable, and committed to creating value for the people who support me, on and off the track.
At the core of everything is gratitude and faith. I’m deeply thankful for my family, friends, mentors, and partners who have believed in me, often before the results reflected it. That support, combined with my determination and belief in my own abilities, is what continues to drive me forward and what I believe truly sets me apart.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
If I had to point to one quality that’s been most important to my success, it would be determination. My dad always told me, “Never give up,” and that mindset has stayed with me. Motorsport is full of moments where things don’t go your way, and the real test is whether you keep showing up, training harder, and pushing forward even when the results aren’t immediately there. Being able to stay committed through those periods has made all the difference for me.
Alongside that, I’ve always approached the sport with a learner’s mindset. I go into every test, race weekend, and challenge open-minded and willing to learn. Because I started later than most, adaptability became a necessity. That willingness to listen, absorb feedback, and improve quickly has helped me progress faster and make the most of every opportunity.
Another foundational part of who I am is my faith. I’m a very spiritual person, and having faith in my journey, in why I’m doing what I’m doing, and in trusting that things will unfold as they’re meant to has been crucial. That faith, combined with mindfulness practices, has helped me stay centered under pressure. Being able to observe my thoughts, calm my mind, and reset quickly has been a huge advantage in a high-stress environment like racing.
I also believe maturity has played an important role. Coming into the sport later gave me more life experience, which has helped me work seamlessly with engineers, mechanics, and team leadership. I communicate clearly, take responsibility, and understand the bigger picture. My engineering background has only strengthened that, allowing me to contribute meaningfully to car development and technical feedback.
All of these qualities work together, but at the core is determination. When things get difficult, that’s what keeps me moving forward.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rashidroyalracing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawnrashid32/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61566845147579/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-rashid
- Twitter: https://x.com/ShawnRashid32
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@ShawnRashid32
Image Credits
Relay Film Co
