After finishing her final season in F1 Academy in third, Chloe Chambers will be opening a new chapter in her career. The American driver’s first outing this year was the Formula E rookie free practice session in Miami, where she tested for Mahindra Racing. Feeder Series caught up with her in the Miami paddock to talk about the session, her F1 Academy career and her thoughts on the exemption that would allow a driver to race in a third season of F1 Academy.

By Kaylene Lau

In her second year in F1 Academy, Chambers finished third overall in the championship with a total of 127 points, four pole positions, two victories and seven total podiums from 14 races. 

The American raced with backing from Haas in 2024, but she made a move to Red Bull Ford for her 2025 campaign. In both seasons, she raced with Campos, being the team’s lead driver in her second year and an outside contender for the title. She closed off her F1 Academy career by converting pole to victory on home soil in the final race of the season at Las Vegas. 

“I don’t really have any regrets from F1 Academy. I think I put in as good of a performance as I could within everything that I could have controlled last year,” Chambers told Feeder Series. 

“There were some things that happened that were a little bit outside of my own control that took away my championship hopes, but I think in the end, I showed what I could do and what I was capable of, and I think that’s what I can take from F1 Academy with me.”

Three weeks prior to the finale in Las Vegas, Chambers participated in the Formula E women’s test with Mahindra Racing in Valencia, topping the times with a 1:22.767. She returned to the team to participate in the rookie free practice in Miami this year at the end of January, ahead of the Miami E-Prix. 

Speaking to Feeder Series in the paddock just 20 minutes after the free practice session ended, Chambers said the session was mainly about ‘building up to the pace’ and ’‘giving as much feedback’ as possible. 

“One of my strong suits as a driver is the feedback that I can give, and I think that that’s magnified in the importance this weekend,” she said. “And [it’s a] new track, so I was just trying to give as much feedback as I could while also working on my own driving.” 

While Formula E has never raced at the Miami International Autodrome, Chambers is no stranger to the circuit. The 21-year-old raced here in both of her F1 Academy seasons, finishing third and fourth in 2024 before taking another third-place finish in 2025. The second race last year was cancelled because of adverse weather conditions.

She also raced at the track during its inaugural year in 2022, when she was competing in the W Series. She finished 14th and 10th, the latter being her only points finish that year. 

On her return to the circuit this year, though, Chambers would be racing in a Formula E car, not the Formula Regional or F4 cars that she had driven previously on the track. She was also driving a different configuration, this one featuring 14 turns at a length of 2.320 kilometres rather than 19 turns at a length of 5.412 km.

“It’s definitely difficult to have to go through some of the same corners I’ve gone through in the past in a completely different style. It’s very unique, the way you have to drive a Formula E car. It’s an electric car, it has instant torque, so you want to use that to your advantage,” Chambers explained.

“But also the Formula E car doesn’t have much aero, much downforce, so the minimum speed in the corners cannot be the same as even in the F4 car, a low-level single-seater car. They still carry a higher minimum speed than the Formula E cars would carry, so that’s a lot to get used to.

“The Formula 4 car is very low-power, so you kind of have to play with that in order to be fast in that car. It’s a completely different way to do it than in a car that has a ton of power, a ton of torque, and is one of those low-downforce, real mechanical-grip kind of cars.” 

The Formula E Gen3 Evo car is an electric car with a maximum power output of 350 kW and a top speed of 320 km/h. In comparison, the F1 Academy car Chambers raced in 2024 and 2025 has a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine, which can deliver an energy output of 130 kW at 5500 rpm, and has a top speed of roughly 240 km/h. 

“Even just in terms of when you’re doing push laps, that’s definitely a big difference. I’m not going to get to race these cars, but it’s definitely a complete difference to the level of racing I’ve done in my career, so having to learn the energy management is definitely a big one,” Chambers said. “But also just in terms of [the] general driving style required to go quick in these cars is completely different to anything I’ve ever driven.” 

In November of last year, F1 Academy announced that drivers could be granted an exemption to race in the series for a third year if doing so was perceived as being good for their development as a driver. Previously, drivers were only allowed to race in two seasons of the championship.

Chambers, 21, departed the series after her second season, along with the six other drivers on the grid who were in the same position. While she was uncertain about whether she would go back, she said she felt the rule change was a ‘good thing’ for the longevity of the series.

“I think that they’ve decided to do that because a lot of the girls that are starting to race now are quite a bit younger than what the current grid is,” Chambers said. “There’s a bit of a gap in the years where there’s not many female drivers, so I think it’s more so to prevent the series from running out of drivers in a way while we wait for those younger girls to be old enough, experienced enough to race in F1 Academy. 

“I think it’s a good thing. I don’t know if I’ll ever go back – I’m starting to get a little bit older now, so I’d rather be progressing in something else. But if I do ever find myself in a position where I need to go back to F1 Academy, I know that that’s definitely a place I would love to go back in, but I think it’s more so for the next generation, preparing them.” 

As for her plans for 2026, Chambers doesn’t have anything set in stone just yet. 

“At this point, I’m not 100 per cent sure. I’m still working some things out, but I’m hoping to be back in a race car, keep winning, [and] keep winning championships,” she said. “That’s my main thing – to be ready for taking on the challenge of trying to win a championship everywhere I race.”

Interview by Michael McClure 

Header photo credit: Red Bull Content Pool