F1 Academy returns for its third season and second on the Formula 1 support bill with a record grid, the return of the reverse-grid race and the addition of a new team. Feeder Series tells you everything you need to know about the 2025 season of the F1-backed all-female F4-spec series. 

By Kaylene Lau  

Racing with Alpine Academy backing, Abbi Pulling dominated the series in 2024 with nine wins and no finishes off the podium. As the champion, Pulling was rewarded with a fully funded GB3 seat with Rodin Motorsport, her F1 Academy team.

Hitech will join the series this year as the sixth team in the championship, fielding two full-time drivers and a third seat reserved for the wild card entry at each round. Prema Racing previously fielded the wild card entry as a fourth car.

This season also sees the return of the reverse-grid race, with the fastest eight drivers from qualifying reversed to set the grid for race one. 

The calendar

This season, drivers will take on three new circuits. Shanghai, Montréal and Las Vegas join the calendar for this year, replacing Barcelona, Lusail and Yas Marina. Shanghai will serve as the season opener, while Las Vegas marks the finale. F1 Academy is set to be the only junior single-seater support series at all seven venues.

• Round 1: Shanghai International Circuit (21–23 March) 
• Round 2: Jeddah Corniche Circuit (18–20 April) 
• Round 3: Miami International Autodrome (2–4 May) 
• Round 4: Circuit Gilles Villenueve (13–15 June) 
• Round 5: Circuit Zandvoort (29–31 August) 
• Round 6: Marina Bay Street Circuit (3–5 October) 
• Round 7: Las Vegas Strip Circuit (20–22 November)

The format 

A 40-minute free practice session will take place on Friday before a 30-minute qualifying session later that day. As part of a revised format for this season, the grid for Saturday’s first race will be set by reversing the eight fastest drivers from qualifying. The grid for race two, which takes place on Sunday, will be set using the results of qualifying. 

Only the top eight drivers from race one will take home points, with the winner being awarded 10 points, second place eight, third six down to one point for eighth place. Race two follows the standard FIA points system of awarding the top 10 drivers points, with 25 for the winner down to 1 for the 10th-place finisher. 

Where to watch 

F1 Academy sessions will be streamed live on F1 TV and on the series’ X and YouTube accounts. Live timing will be available via the F1 Academy website.  

Teams and drivers 

Prema Racing

The defending teams’ champions from last year, Prema took four wins and 423 points in total with an all-rookie line-up. Two drivers will stay with the Italian team for their sophomore seasons in the series, while they also add last year’s top wild card driver.

Mercedes junior driver and 2024 F1 Academy runner-up Doriane Pin (#28) will continue to race for Prema in her second season in the series. Last season, the 21-year-old Frenchwoman took eight podiums, including three wins, and a total of 217 points. Pin will come into her second season in the series as a title favourite, and she will also race in FRegional Europe this year. She started off her 2025 by racing in two rounds of FR Middle East, with her best results being two 16th-place finishes.

Returning to race with Prema for her second season in F1 Academy is Tina Hausmann (#78) who will once again race with backing from Aston Martin. Last season, the 18-year-old Swiss driver finished 10th in the championship with 31 points, with a best result of fourth in race three at Yas Marina.

Nina Gademan (#3) joins Prema as the team’s only rookie this season. Racing with Alpine support this year, Gademan was a wild card entry for her home round in Zandvoort last season and became the first such driver to score points by finishing fourth in race one. The 21-year-old spent the rest of 2024 competing in British F4 with Fortec Motorsport, finishing 18th in the points. Gademan started off 2025 by racing in the first three rounds of the Formula Winter Series with Hitech, finishing 15th and taking seven victories in the female trophy class.  

Rodin Motorsport

Last year, Rodin’s Pulling dominated the championship, having never finished off the podium. But with Pulling, Lola Lovinfosse and Jessica Edgar all departing the series, the team will field two rookies and a returnee from the inaugural season of F1 Academy to challenge for the team’s title.  

Emma Felbermayr (#5) is stepping up from karting and racing with Rodin for her first year in single-seaters. Backed by Sauber for her maiden season in the series, the Austrian driver raced in multiple shifter karting events in 2024, including the WSK Super Master Series, the FIA Karting European Championship and the FIA Karting World Cup. The 18-year-old also joined Rodin for two rounds of the E4 Spanish Winter Championship, with a best result of 13th in race two at Jerez. Alongside her F1 Academy campaign, Felbermayr will race in Spanish F4 this year with Rodin.

McLaren junior Ella Lloyd (#20) will join the championship full-time with Rodin. Lloyd, 19, was the wild card entry for the round at Singapore last year, finishing ninth in race one and seventh in race two. The Welsh driver finished 11th in British F4 with JHR Developments last year with four podiums and 99 points and will return for a second campaign this year with Rodin. She also finished seventh in the Formula E women’s test for McLaren, where she partnered Bianca Bustamante, the McLaren-backed driver from last year.

Returning to F1 Academy this year is Chloe Chong (#27), who will inherit the Charlotte Tilbury sponsorship Lovinfosse had last year. The 17-year-old British driver of Canadian and Chinese parentage raced in the inaugural season of the series with Prema, finishing 14th in the championship. She then departed in 2024 to compete in British F4 and finished 24th, with her best result being seventh in race three at Donington Park. 

Campos Racing 

Last season, Campos finished third in the championship with a line-up consisting of Chloe Chambers, Nerea Martí and Carrie Schreiner. With Martí and Schreiner departing the series having completed two years, Campos will field a line-up consisting of Chambers and two rookie drivers. All three are affiliated with Red Bull as the Spanish team and the Austrian marque deepen their existing partnership. 

Last year’s GB4 runner-up Alisha Palmowski (#21) is regarded as one of the most exciting prospects on this year’s F1 Academy grid. Backed by Red Bull Racing for her maiden campaign in the series, Palmowski was the wild card entry for the sixth round in Qatar last year, finishing fifth in the first and only race of the round. The 18-year-old Briton last raced in rounds one and two of the Formula Winter Series, with a best result of 12th in race three at Portimão. 

Chloe Chambers (#14) will remain with Campos for her second season, but she will be racing in Red Bull Ford colours after competing with backing from Haas last year. The American driver, 20, will be looking to make a charge for the title after a strong first year in the series in which she finished sixth with one win and three further podiums. Chambers most recently raced in rounds two and three of the Formula Winter Series, with her best result being 13th in race three at Valencia. 

Rounding out Campos’ line-up is Brazil’s Rafaela Ferreira (#18), who will be backed by Racing Bulls this year. Ferreira finished fourth in the 2024 Brazilian F4 championship, securing 10 podiums – three of which were wins – and a total of 222 points. Ferreira also raced in the Formula Winter Series with Campos, competing in rounds one and three and taking a best finish of 12th in race one at Aragón.  

MP Motorsport 

MP finished fourth in the championship last year with 176 points in total. With their 2024 trio of Hamda Al Qubaisi, Amna Al Qubaisi and Emely de Heus all departing the series, MP will field an entirely new line-up this year consisting of one returning driver and two rookies. 

Making the switch from Prema and joining MP’s line-up this year is Maya Weug (#64), who will continue to race in Ferrari colours this year. The 20-year-old Dutchwoman finished third in the championship last year when she raced with Prema, taking seven podiums before scoring her sole win in the last race at Abu Dhabi. In 2023, she finished 17th in FR Europe with 27 points, putting her third among the rookies and making her KIC Motorsport’s only driver to score points all season. In 2021, Weug became the first woman to join the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy, and she will continue to race in Ferrari colours this year. 

Joining MP for her maiden season in F1 Academy is Denmark’s Alba Hurup Larsen (#12), who will be supported by Tommy Hilfiger, Martí’s sponsor last year. Larsen, 16, will embark on her first full year in single-seater racing after racing in two rounds of Indian F4 last year, with a best finish of sixth in race two at Chennai. Larsen also started off her 2025 season by racing in three rounds of the Formula Winter Series, with a best finish of 14th in race one at Aragón. 

Joanne Ciconte (#25) rounds out MP’s line-up for the 2025 season. The Australian driver made her single-seater debut in 2024, racing in selected rounds of Australian F4, Australian Formula Open, F4 CEZ and Spanish F4. Most recently, 16-year-old Ciconte – the youngest driver in the field – raced in the first two rounds of the Formula Winter Series as preparation for the F1 Academy season, with a best result of 16th in race three at Valencia. She does not yet have a title sponsor for her car.

ART Grand Prix 

Having finished fifth and last in the teams’ championship last year, ART will look to be more competitive this season. Two of their drivers will remain with the French outfit for their sophomore seasons in the series as they also add a rookie to their line-up to replace the departing Bianca Bustamante, who has moved up to GB3.

Courtney Crone (#7) joins ART for her debut season in F1 Academy. Crone, 24, was the wild card entry in Miami last season, with a best finish of 11th in the second race. Racing with Haas support this year, the American driver will return to single-seater racing full-time this year after having raced in prototypes and sports cars since 2021. Before her F1 Academy appearances, Crone last raced in single-seaters in 2020, finishing fourth overall with 96 points in the F4 class of the Formula Pro USA Western Championship.

Aurelia Nobels (#22) will contest her sophomore season in F1 Academy with ART. Though she is a member of the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy, Nobels will once again race with backing from Puma. The 18-year-old Brazilian finished 12th in F1 Academy last year with a best finish of fifth in race two at Zandvoort, and she made appearances in four other F4-level series during the year. She started 2025 by racing in rounds one and two of the Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship, with a best finish of 14th in race one at Portimão. 

Williams junior Lia Block (#57) rounds out ART’s line-up for the 2025 F1 Academy season. She finished eighth in her maiden season, with 44 points and best finishes of fourth in both Singapore races. Like Nobels, Block, a rallying convert, raced in several other F4 series last year to gain mileage alongside her F1 Academy campaign. The 18-year-old American also raced in rounds one and two of the Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship earlier this year, with a best finish of 17th in both race two at Jerez and race two in Portimão. 

Hitech

The newest team entering the series this year are Hitech, who will field two full-time drivers while also operating the car for the wild card driver at every round. Hitech’s two full-time drivers are both contesting their first seasons in F1 Academy. 

Nicole Havrda (#2) joins Hitech for her maiden season in F1 Academy and will race with backing from American Express, Edgar’s former sponsor. The Canadian driver of Czech heritage last competed in FR Americas, finishing sixth in the championship for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport with four podiums and 139.5 points. Alongside competing in F1 Academy, Havrda, 19, will also run a joint campaign in FR Americas, understood to be with Kiwi Motorsport.

Rounding out Hitech’s full-time line-up is Aiva Anagnostiadis (#11), who will be supported by new sponsor TAG Heuer. Australia’s Anagnostiadis, 17, finished 10th in Indian F4 last year, with her highest race finish being fifth in race two at Madras. She competed for Cram Motorsport in two rounds of the Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship and one round of the Formula Winter Series over the winter, and she will continue with the team in Spanish F4 this year.  

Wild card entries will be operated by Hitech this year rather than Prema as in 2024. The initiative showcases talent from the host region of each race on the calendar, but on two occasions last year when no eligible local drivers were available, drivers from outside the host region with interest in competing in F1 Academy were selected.

Shi Wei (#24) will be the wild card driver for the opening round in Shanghai. Known online as ‘Tie Dou’, she will be the first Chinese driver on the F1 Academy grid. Shi raced in Chinese F4 last season with Geeke, finishing 19th in the standings with a best finish of sixth in race one at Shanghai. 

The identities of further wild card drivers have yet to be publicly announced. Saudi Arabian media reported in December that Farah Al Yousef would assume the role for F1 Academy’s Jeddah round, but this has not been confirmed by either the driver or the series. Al Yousef raced in F4 Middle East this winter.

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency