Shriya Lohia: So I just came across Motorsport on a family road trip. It was never something we sort of plan. It was just coincidental. I ended up at a go-kart track, and that's when I first tried it out. I ended up loving it so much that, um, you know, I told my dad this is what I wanna do.

And yeah, I guess since then that's, how my journey started.

Shriya Lohia: Yeah.

Shriya Lohia: So, when I joined Motorsports, I started watching all the Formula One (F1) races and stuff. I started getting more into it because no one from my family prior to this trip knew anything about motorsports. It was kind of just new for all of us. So for me, as soon as I joined motorsports, I started watching a lot of races and stuff.

So from then, my first ever idol that I've had ever since then has been Michael Schumacher. Watching his archive races was amazing. It just made me so much more passionate about the sport, made me realise the amount of hard work these champions — these legends — put into the sport. So I would say he was probably one of my idols at the start.

Also, Kush Maini, who is India's Formula Two (F2) driver, and I met him at a pretty early stage in my career. I've met him multiple times. He's just a huge inspiration, and he's sort of the flag bearer for motorsports in India right now.

Shriya Lohia: Yeah.

I think with Michael Schumacher, it was more about his mindset.

Obviously, back then, Formula One was so different, but the way that he handled everything that came to came to him and the way he was able to dominate the sport for so long and just be a good driver.

Despite having a few moments here and there, he was able to keep himself in control, deliver his best performances. I think that's something that was so admirable to me.

And with Kush as well. Obviously, he's an amazing driver. I've been following him practically since I joined Motorsports. I've been following his career for a very long time, and I've seen him at every stage of his career since then.

And it's just so inspirational because he's fighting against so many odds. Like I said, you know, being an Indian driver, it gets quite difficult to move up in more sports. He's doing that, and he is showing us that it's possible and he's taking us there. He's opening the pathways for us, and he's making India proud.

He's getting such good results. He even finished on the podium in Monaco last week, and he's just such a humble personality. He's always there to help me out if I ever need help. So yeah, there's just so much to admire.

Shriya Lohia: Yes, so motorsports is quite a risky sport, I would say, because we are driving at such high speeds.

Obviously, we all have that fear at the back of our minds of the worst possible scenario. But, you know, we go into it knowing that the sport inevitably has such risks. Obviously we pray for each other. We hope that none of that, the worst, happens to anyone. We kinda just hope that we're racing safe.

But when we're on the track, we don't really think about it. I guess the adrenaline kind of just gets to us. We're more about getting our best results on there.

Shriya Lohia: So for me, I think, being ‘one of the first women...’ and stuff, and sort of being in such a male-dominated field, it can get really tricky at times because no one's actually there to tell you what to do. Since you're the first, you kind of have to deal with it head-on. So you're kind of paving the way for the rest of them.

So, I'm glad I will be able to help some other female drivers who may have faced the same thing in the future, but for me, it was really just about facing everything head-on. Truthfully, honestly, that was the way I dealt with everything.

I've had a lot of tough instances in my career, whether that's like on-track or off-track, but it was just about dealing with it. It was just about acknowledging that things like these can happen, and honestly, it's never good to face such things at a young age in your career.

It's about getting through it, and I'm kind of happy that I had to face this at this age rather than later. It kind of prepares me for the stakes because they get higher, they will 100 per cent get higher.

So I think for me, I guess for like the past one or two years, it's kind of just been about staying off social media. Since social media is such a big thing now, it's kind of easy to sort of see all of that and let that affect you. So I'm kind of off social media for quite a while. It helps me keep my mind clear and focus on what I'm supposed to do and stop paying attention to what everyone else says. I think that's, that's one of the main things.

Shriya Lohia: Yep. 100 per cent. There's no other way. There's no point in avoiding things that can happen. So it's just about facing everything as it comes. Absolutely.

Shriya Lohia: So, motorsports is incredibly time-consuming, I would say.

Even though it may not look like it, we don't have a lot of active training days on the racetrack. But we do have a lot of training outside of the racetrack. Because training on the racetrack can get kind of expensive, it's more about preparing yourself as much as you can for the races.

So for me, a week in a week in my life is mainly just about maximising all seven days, working out twice a day as much as possible, spending as much time as I can on the racing simulator. It's about driving on as many racetracks as I can, maximising all of what I can really do, focusing on my reaction timing, training my neck and my core to handle the G-Force, and obviously, eating well. Staying healthy; that's the most important thing.

And sort of mentally preparing yourself is also so important. So, I like to do a bit of meditation as well, to calm down, to stay in contact with my mind in high-pressure situations as well. So it's, it's really just about staying as fit as possible mentally and physically, making sure that you're prepared in every aspect of your sport.

Shriya Lohia: I guess, I’m not sure.

I don't think I truly hate something that I'm sacrificing. I guess every now and then, I think about how I don't have much of a social life compared to other people my age.

But then again, I'm getting to pursue something that's my dream, and my family is fully supporting me in this, which is a huge thing and it's something I really, really enjoy. So, I'm able to do what I love so much.

And it can get a bit overwhelming at times, when you have birthday parties and stuff like that, and you see all your peers hanging out and stuff. But for me, it's really just about focusing on my personal goals, my personal achievements, and my values.

I guess outside of having a huge and booming social life, it's about making it to the top in my sport and my personal values, spending time with my family and things like that.

Shriya Lohia: I think, on track, what I've learned is that things can happen to you at any point because in motorsport, it's so unpredictable. Like, your car could break down, you could get hit by someone else in the race and stuff.

So I think for me, it was just in motorsports, it was about getting back up every single time and off track. I've learned honestly, so much because motorsports has taught me so much, even on the track, off the track, from people around me, from drivers, from incidents and stuff like that.

So, yeah, I guess off track, what I've learned a lot is to cherish the people that are there for you, because it's a tough industry.

Motorsports sort of being the way it is, and being ‘the first’ being ‘the only female’ and stuff, you're kind of in a corner. Even though people might think that, the spotlight is on you, maybe it is on me, but I'm kind of still in that corner. It's just, just me sort of there, and it's kind of not the same way as it seems.

A lot of people are accepting of the fact that I'm getting the recognition and stuff like that. Some people sort of don't like it. So it's kind of difficult to differentiate your friends from your non-friends? I guess it's one thing I've learned, and especially at this age, because it's kind of, also figuring out your circle and stuff.

So I think that's also been one thing for me, that not everyone is there for you, even though they may seem like they're there for you. So it's really just about making sure you have that close connection with the ones who care for you, whether that's family, whether that's maybe even someone outside of their family.

So I think for me, it's just been about surrounding myself with the right people at this age because they're gonna stay with me for the rest of my life. I know the people I confide in now are going to be there for me, and I'm gonna be there for them. So it's just been about finding the circle that I need.

Shriya Lohia: So, before I had a racing simulator, there wasn't much that would get me in the zone, I guess, or in the exact same situation as I am on the racetrack. But really, it's just about imagining that you're at the track. But even when things don't go your way, it's kind of just about remembering that whether you're winning or you're losing, it, just learning and they're getting better and that's all that really matters.

You know, obviously tough situations come, and you have to take it as it is. You can't twist it around if you're not doing well enough, you're just not doing well enough, and you need to make sure you acknowledge that and you work towards it and you get better because you're not gonna improve if you don't face the truth.

I think the racing simulator, that's really helped me a lot to get into the exact same situation as you are in the car. So that's when I can sort of feel like I am driving, and if I'm planning an overtake on the driver in front of me, I can sort of be in the same mindset as I would be in the racing car and sort of realise ‘Is this a good move? Is it not a good move?’, and stuff like that.

And even if there's incidents on the racing simulator as well, it helps me so much to get into the zone of how I am in the race car to sort of prepare myself for what I can do. In moments like this, it's really just about reaching the finish line. It's just about reaching the checkout line. It's about making sure you are able to bounce back from everything and not let negative thoughts send you into a spiral during the race.

So it's, it's about just getting up as quickly as possible. I think that's helped. Even the racing simulator has helped me a lot with that. Even when you have a few silly mistakes on the lap, you are able to focus back and I'm able to train my mind to focus on what I'm supposed to do and just forget that small mistake. Focus on the rest of the lap sometimes.

Shriya Lohia: I think inevitably I do.

Obviously, firstly, I am representing myself and my family and my whole career and stuff, but I know at some point I'm representing Indians as a whole, Indian females. It's a huge honour, but it's also sometimes a bit of pressure when you do something, when you're like the first or you're the representative for a certain group, you kind of feel that pressure of if you make a mistake, they kind of will assume that your whole group is like that, that if I make a mistake, they're just gonna assume all Indian drivers are like that. That's a bit pressurising, honestly.

You know, we're all humans. We make mistakes, but sometimes people take it in the wrong way and they target your whole group as a whole. They say that all female drivers are bad just because you made one mistake. Every, all female drivers are bad now. And I guess that's one thing a lot of male drivers don't have to deal with.

So see if that's probably one thing, uh, that's a bit of pressure, but it's also a huge honour because I'm representing something so much bigger, and I hope that brings a lot of change in these certain aspects in motorsports.

Shriya Lohia: Um, there's a lot of aspects to it, you know, like you said, physically and mentally, all that stuff, obviously.

It's just about getting- finance plays a huge role in motorsports because you have to put in so much money in each championship before you reach Formula Two. That's when you sort of start getting all that earnings for your hard work back.

But even with a lot of instances like we've seen in Formula Two, sometimes with unfairness towards certain people. I've seen something happen with an Indian driver quite a while back enough too. So I guess it's just about going and it's about, again, having that support. Because if you don't have that support, you're kind of alone. You're alone against the rest of the whole organisation and stuff.

So just about going through it, going against all the odds, because there's so many countries where motorsports isn't so well developed. But just to get there, to be there, you're representing everyone, I think. It's just about moving through each step in the ladder to Formula One as well as you can and getting good results, representing your country and making sure that small instances don't affect you because you know you're there at the end of the day to represent your country and to make things better and to make your family proud.

Shriya Lohia: So with school, I was homeschooled in sixth grade, so I've just been trying to work that curriculum since then, because it's been a lot easier with my racing schedule.

So I've been homeschooling a lot since then. So it's really about studying as much as I can at home, or even if I'm at the hotel before a race, I've had that happen to be a few times as well, but I'm studying the night before a race, even though I'm supposed to focus on the race. But like I take an hour out of my time just to go through my book and make sure, make sure I'm not skipping all my studies as well.

They're both very important aspects to me in my life, and I'm just trying to balance it as well as possible, I guess. I wouldn't say I have the perfect technique to it, but it's just about covering up as much as you can so it doesn't pile up, so that you're able to focus on both equally well.

Shriya Lohia: If a 10-year-old girl walked up to me and said that I'd personally be really honoured, because I would be pretty happy, pretty inspired, happy that I was able to inspire someone else, that my journey is able to convince someone that they would want to join the sport that I love so much, and it's given them the same passion that I got when I was nine to go into it.

Sometimes you're gonna feel like you're the black sheep because with the number of females in motor sports at the moment, it's still steadily growing. You're gonna feel like you're the only one there, but it's just about going through it, remembering that you're here for yourself to pursue your dream, pursue your passion.

As long as your family supports you, that's really all the support you need. As long as everything is going well, it's just about staying as focused as possible, working as hard as possible, not paying attention to the naysayers because there will be plenty.

You know what you want to achieve, and just stop paying attention to the outside world. Cut out the outside noise, and just focus on building your dream career and achieving your goals.