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With the Ferrari brand on his radar ever since he was a little boy, Mohammed fulfilled his desire for a Prancing Horse at the age of 29.
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What’s the first Ferrari experience you can remember?
I was born in 1980 in Kuwait and most of the pictures I had when I was a little boy were of cars. When I bought my first Ferrari magazine in 1992, the brand came onto my radar. To this day, I am still collecting Ferrari magazines. In 1995, when I was 15 years old, I bought two 1:18 Bburago scale models: an F40 and an F50. I still have them and they’re like new. Similar to the Ferrari magazines, I am also still collecting 1:18 Ferrari scale models.
When did you decide you wanted to own a Ferrari?
In 2002, a friend bought a manual Ferrari F355 GTS in Nero with a Crema interior and we went for a drive. That car was the prettiest car I had ever seen: the design, the gated shifter and open top were just spectacular. At that time, I told my dad I wanted a Ferrari someday.
My dad – a car guy himself and former tennis coach for the Kuwait National Team – told me: “First things first, you have to finish college (physical education) and concentrate on your tennis career. Then, we’ll talk.”
When did you acquire your first Ferrari? What was the experience like?
I used to have a Porsche 911 Turbo, which I sold in the summer of 2009. Sleepless nights followed, as I had to have a supercar in my garage. I quickly went to the Ferrari dealer to test drive an F430, which I wanted badly, though I was very hesitant as it was not a red example. However, they had a red Ferrari 430 Scuderia, and I was blown away about how much better and different it was, as opposed to the standard F430. I told my dad I wanted to have it, but he pointed out Ferrari was quickly unveiling the F430’s successor: the 458 Italia. It was launched at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show and when we saw it, we knew we had to have it.
We watched and read all of the reviews on the 458 Italia. Every car journalist loved its driving capabilities and design. I went to the Ferrari dealer again – without telling my wife. I ordered and configured my first red Ferrari and received the car on 14 April 2011. It was the same day as our second wedding anniversary, which made the car extra special.
The first time I saw the car, I fell in love. It was everything I hoped it would be. I was really happy with the configuration of the car. I even had my name in the car on a plaque.
What’s one thing that’s surprised you most about Ferrari ownership?
I would say the best part of my Ferrari ownership is that I made a lot of great friends around the globe, whether it is in Kuwait, Bahrain, USA, Australia, UK, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Lebanon or Japan. They are all great, down-to-earth people – some are Ferrari owners, Ferrari instructors, car photographers – and each one of them is amazingly friendly. I am surprised I met such a fantastic group of people through owning a Ferrari.
In the summer of 2015, I met with Chris (@enzo_4c) from Austria. He drove 2 hours to Pörtschach to meet up with me and spend time with his Ferrari 612 Scaglietti.
In May 2019, my generous friend of the UK, better known as @slowrabit1, invited me and my friend to drive his Ferrari 430 Scuderia from Brighton (UK) to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. We attended an open track day for two days and eventually drove back to the UK. It was such a special occasion.
Then in August 2019, my friends from the US – @the5thbugatti and @ferraridrive on Instagram – invited me to attend Car Week in Pebble Beach. I spent time around the best and prettiest cars Ferrari ever made.
I’d have to thank Ferrari for meeting these fantastic people and I am surely looking forward meeting my other Ferrari friends around the globe as well.
What’s your favourite memory with your Ferrari?
My favourite memories with my Ferrari 458 are with my family. I’ve shared my car with my kids in parades and track events, and they loved it. I also participated in Ferrari parades organized by Al Zayani Ferrari dealer in Kuwait in 2012 and 2015. They even invited me for their 70th anniversary parade in 2017.
2019 was my best memory: I took my 458 Italia to the Sakhir F1 track in Bahrain and participated in a track event. It was the Ferrari Racing Days where F1, Corse Clienti and Challenge cars were attending too. I test drove a Ferrari 488 Challenge car, which was an incredible experience to be part of.
If you could have any Ferrari next, what would it be?
If one day I could get another Ferrari, it will be a V12 – something like the F12 or 812 GTS. Only when the time is right.
Besides Ferrari, what hobbies/interests are you passionate about?
I started playing tennis when I was 4 years old and my first coach was my father. As previously mentioned, he loves cars and was the tennis coach for the Kuwait national team for many years.
I was number one tennis player in Kuwait for 16 years, as well as number 1 in the Gulf countries. I won the National Championship seven times and won the Arab Championship in 2015. My professional tennis career lasted for 10 years. My best world ranking was #360 in Singles and #250 in Doubles.
The highlight of my career however, was playing against the legendary Roger Federer in the 2006 Dubai Open 500 ATP. You can watch that match here if you’re interested.
I won many professional tournaments along the way and played in the Davis Cup for my country Kuwait from 1997 until 2019.
In 2013, I started coaching the Kuwait national team in tennis. I also love spending time with my family and close friends.
A big thanks to Max from ROSSOautomobili, Jason (@jcr_cars) and Ed (@lionworks) for inviting me to tell my story.
Feel free to follow Mohammed on Instagram too!
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