Aurelia Nobels is making the step from the Formula 4–spec F1 Academy to FRegional machinery for her maiden GB3 campaign starting later this month. On the latest episode of the Feeder Series Podcast, Nobels discussed the reason so few F1 Academy graduates move up the ladder and what she thinks the series could do to help.

By Cliona Sheerin

After ending her two years in F1 Academy with a podium in the final round at Las Vegas, Nobels is ready for a new chapter. This year, the 19-year-old Brazilian steps up to GB3 with Hillspeed, a move that not many of her counterparts have made in recent years.

Earlier this week, Nobels joined the Feeder Series Podcast to discuss the current landscape of female drivers competing in junior single-seaters. 

“The number of girls racing has increased a lot and we can see a lot of girls racing in F4 now, which is really nice,” Nobels said. “But when you look to higher categories like F3, F2, there’s no women, and in GB3 or Eurocup, there’s only Abbi [Pulling], Bianca [Bustamante] and me so far. So I think the step from F4 to a higher category, it’s where we don’t see a lot of girls doing the step.”

The main reason for this, according to Nobels, is financial. The cost of a season at the FRegional level can approach or even exceed €1 million. National-level F4 campaign costs vary widely within the six-figure range. F1 Academy itself demands only a €100,000 contribution from drivers, and Nobels believes the championship can do more in providing support for a move like hers. 

“It’s very expensive and you need the sponsors and the support,” Nobels continued. “So I think F1 Academy should maybe help more the drivers with this step because that’s where all the girls are struggling. Maybe with the sponsors or with the F1 teams, continue supporting them, the drivers, maybe. I don’t know. But that’s where I see most of the girls kind of stop or do another thing because they don’t have the budget or the support to jump and to go to a higher category.”

Nobels’ proposed solution to this problem would be to change the car itself and help reduce the step between categories. F1 Academy uses a modified version of the Tatuus F4-T421 used in many other F4 championships worldwide.

“Maybe they should change the car and go for a FREC [car] or a high-downforce car [that’s] faster so the girls also get used to a faster car,” Nobels said. “The jump from F4 and this car, it’s kind of big and some girls can’t do this step.”

Before joining F1 Academy in 2024, Nobels spent two years in various national F4 series, the latter as a Ferrari junior after winning Ferrari’s now-defunct Girls on Track – Rising Stars programme. She highlighted the positive effects the all-female series has had for women in motorsport since she began her single-seater career. 

“Looking back maybe five years ago when I was still in karting, motorsport changed a lot,” she said. “You can see a lot more women – not only drivers, but mechanics, team managers, engineers, which is really good. So I think it’s improving a lot.  With the Girls on Track that I participated in – when I won, I entered the Ferrari Driver Academy F1 academy. So I think for sure in the future, it will change and there will be a lot more opportunities for girls in motorsport. I think it’s just about timing.”

Nobels was one of two Ferrari juniors in F1 Academy alongside last year’s runner-up Maya Weug, who officially represented the team in her two seasons in 2024 and 2025. Though Nobels never raced with full Ferrari colours in F1 Academy, representing athletics brand Puma instead, she noted the support from and collaboration with the Scuderia’s F1 outfit as a highlight of her time with the programme. 

“It was amazing,” Nobels said with a smile. “It was a dream come true when they told me I would be part of the Ferrari Driver Academy … working with so many inspiring people, the F1 engineers, the F1 drivers helping us before a race weekend in F1 Academy. I think it was three years that I’ve really enjoyed a lot and really helped me as a person as well. So yeah, I’m very grateful to everyone in Ferrari.”

Interacting and debriefing with her F1 counterparts were some of Nobels’ fondest memories while at Ferrari. 

“Every time I could talk to the F1 drivers, it was really nice, [to] share a few things with Lewis [Hamilton], Charles [Leclerc] or even Carlos [Sainz]. It was really cool to have their support as well.”

Nobels will be hoping to utilise what she has learned from her two F1 Academy seasons in her GB3 campaign with Hillspeed, which kicks off at the end of this month in Silverstone. 

To hear more from Aurelia Nobels on her preparations and expectations for the season, listen to the latest episode of the Feeder Series Podcast with host George Sanderson, available now on all major podcast platforms. 

Header photo credit: Alex Zafro