Chloe Chong was F1 Academy’s youngest driver in 2023 and the only one to step up directly from karting. After a season of getting her bearings with Prema, Chong makes a lateral move to British F4 where she will compete against men and women for the first time in her single-seaters career. 

By Calla Kra-Caskey

Before she got a call from Prema Racing offering her a seat in F1 Academy’s inaugural season, Chloe Chong was considering quitting racing. 

“Racing is expensive, full stop,” she told Feeder Series. “But obviously, with the opportunity from Prema, there was no way I was going to give something like that… As a family, my parents were able to get together the money to compete, but it’s not something we can pay every year. It was a big sacrifice for everyone.” 

Chong’s first season in cars was a trial by fire, as the then-16-year-old was thrust into a top seat in a brand new series. But it helped extend her motorsport career and offered her valuable experience which she will carry to British F4 this year.

Single-seaters debut with F1 Academy

“My experience in F1 Academy was quite a whirlwind,” Chong said, who signed with Prema in late February and was announced on March 15th, at the time only 15 years old. She’d gone into the year expecting to continue in karting and only had “two or three” days in a Formula 4 car before joining the team. 

“It’s crazy when you look back on things and realize how new I was to that sort of experience. Going into the first race at Red Bull Ring, I didn’t know how to race start, and I was still stalling coming out of the pits. It’s those sorts of beginner things you would hope to iron out before that, but in my case I didn’t have the funding to have those 20 days of testing before the season.”

In Chong’s case, it was a season of highs and lows. Although she scored points at the first race in Austria, she would only do so five more times across the season. Her best result was sixth, which she managed on three occasions. She finished the season in 14th with a total of 25 points. Notably, she ended on a high, taking home points in each of the final four races. 

Chong pointed out a reason for her end-of-year success. 

“I don’t think I learnt actually how to race start until Austin, so the last round. So I got actually three decent starts in Austin but beforehand I just didn’t know how to use the clutch to get the preload and start properly.”

“Prema are a race and championship winning team, and normally they expect a driver to come to them fully prepared… It’s been a difficult experience for both me and the team, probably. For them trying to teach me those basic things because they’ve never had to teach anyone that before, and for me going into an environment where it was very competitive.”

Comparing her F1 Academy season to the testing she missed out on, Chong said, “It was a year of kind of nailing everything down and getting those beginner nerves out of the way.” 

She also matured both physically and mentally over the course of the season. 

“Oftentimes early last season, especially during that midseason phase, I wasn’t trying to push the limits because I was so scared of messing up or doing something wrong, and that’s never good for a racing driver.” 

The struggles of her rookie season only made the highs sweeter. Promising results, such as her consecutive points finishes or strong practice sessions gave her the confidence she’s carrying into next year.

“I’m still learning a lot, but when I’m at my best I can be right up there.” 

“I come into British F4 with no worries, and I hope no weaknesses. I come as a much stronger person mentally and ready to take on challenges.” 

Making the move to British F4

Nine of the 15 drivers that made up last year’s F1 Academy grid returned to the series for 2024, but Chong was not one of them. Instead, she’s moving to the F4 British Championship where she will be “basically starting [her] first year fresh.” Chong is set to race for JHR Developments, with whom she’s had connection to since her first F4 test with them in 2022.

Before the move, though, she carefully weighed her options with her family. 

“Am I gonna be able to compete on the level that Doriane [Pin], Maya [Weug] are when they’ve done three, four seasons of a car series? 

“Our decision that we made for my long term goals, which is to get to Formula One, is I need to be good enough to compete. I need to have that testing. And we can’t just do a [winter] championship because we don’t have the money to do that, but if we spend a whole year really nailing down those basic things where I’m able to perform at my peak every weekend, I think we’ll be in a really good space for 2025.”

Her fellow competitors are closer in age than in F1 Academy, where the oldest driver is 25. British F4 also takes place entirely in the United Kingdom, with the exception of one round at Zandvoort. 

Although off the track, relationships in a championship where the age-range is lessened are “a whole lot closer,” Chong added, “Having this younger sort of cohort in British F4 is probably more homely for me. I kind of feel more calm because I’m not unsettled being around people that are much older than me.”

And in terms of the on-track action? 

“British racing is a different breed. It’s super aggressive. The drivers are very aggressive; the tracks are aggressive as well, there’s not much room for error.”

Chong is particularly looking forward to driving in the wet, something she didn’t get any experience in last year with F1 Academy. So far, only a couple of the several official testing days she’s participated in have been rainy. Across those tests, she’s finished a session as high as seventh on the timetables. 

On the level of the primarily-male talent that passes through British F4 – which has included the likes of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – Chong acknowledged she will be facing drivers who “are probably gonna make it to F1 one day.” But she sees that as an exciting challenge, not a deterrent. 

“Entering a championship I never really differentiate myself from other people… when I put my helmet on, as I’m sure the other girls will put their helmet on, you won’t be able to notice the difference. There’s just a driver on the track and I’ll compete with [both genders] the same way.” 

“I chose to do British F4 this year as part of my long term goals. It’s about building that experience. It’s about progressing as a person and building growth in terms of driving style. So my goal for this year is to keep working on myself… to learn how to mentally, physically, and competitively beat myself every time I go out there.” 

Chong’s long term goals remain the same as they’ve always been. 

“My dream is to get to Formula 1… If I put everything together and improve along the same lines I’ve already been improving, I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t get there.”

Header photo credit: Prema Racing