We are counting down the days until the 2025 F1 Academy season kicks off March 21st in Shanghai, China. As more drivers are announced each day, let's take a look at everything you need to know before the season begins.
What is F1 Academy?
If you have no idea what I am talking about, F1 Academy is an all-female racing series built to develop female talents and showcase their abilities. The goal being that one day soon, these women can compete at a higher level of the sport, for example in Formula 2 and Formula 1. The series provides more funding and opportunities for women and allows young girls to watch women in motorsports compete at a junior level.
The series previously consisted of fifteen drivers (unless a wild card entry was present) and five teams. This year the series will expand to eighteen drivers and six teams, with Hitech Grand Prix joining the field alongside Prema Racing, Rodin Motorsport, Campos Racing, ART Grand Prix, and MP Motorsport. Differently from Formula 1, each team runs three cars as opposed to two. Each Formula 1 team sponsors an F1 Academy driver, with those drivers also sporting their F1 team’s livery on their car. The drivers without sponsorship from an F1 team are sponsored from big name brands, like Puma or American Express.
F1 Academy is a “one-make” series where all of the women drive identical Formula 4 cars. F1 Academy has an age range for their participants, with only drivers between the ages of 16 to 25 being allowed to compete. Each driver is also only eligible to participate for two years.
Each race weekend consists of two free practice sessions, one qualifying session, and two thirty-minute races.
Susie Wolff, former Team Principal of Venturi Racing in Formula E and former Williams F1 Development driver is the Managing Director of F1 Academy. She is easily one of the most inspiring people in motorsports right now.
The 2024 season saw Abbi Pulling take the title of F1 Academy champion. Abbi will make the move to the GB3 Championship series this year alongside fellow former F1 Academy driver Bianca Bustamonte. Given the two year participation limit, both drivers have completed their eligibility period and are moving up to another level of single seater competition.
Doriane Pin, who finished P2 in the driver’s standings, has renewed her contract with Mercedes and will return to race in F1 Academy this year. The French driver will likely be the one to beat this year. She won many races this year and was the one to put up a fight with Abbi Pulling for the title. Another driver to watch this year will be Maya Weug with Scuderia Ferrari HP, who finished P3 in last year’s standings. Chloe Chambers will also be returning to the series this year but has joined the Red Bull Racing Junior Development program, switching away from her Haas gear. Chambers had some tight battles on track last season and secured her first F1 Academy win. It will be interesting to see how she performs this year with the same team, but a new sponsor.
F1 Academy Netflix Documentary
As we all know, Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive was a big hit and brought millions of people into the sport. Get excited because F1 Academy is now putting out their own documentary series coming to Netflix this year. The series will follow F1 Academy’s 2024 season, the drivers, and how the racing series came to be. The series is developed by Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine.
"We want to inspire and empower the next generation of young women, and Netflix will open up F1 ACADEMY to a global audience of existing and future fans" Susie Wolff stated. When asked about the ever-changing narrative in sports, Reese Witherspoon said, "We started Hello Sunshine to change the narrative for women, and Susie Wolff and F1 ACADEMY are doing just that by creating new opportunities in the thrilling world of motorsport.”
What’s Coming in 2025?
This year there will be fourteen races across seven rounds, all taking place as Formula 1 support races. At this point most teams are yet to announce their second and third drivers, with six spots still left on the grid. Hitech Grand Prix is yet to name any of their drivers for this upcoming season. Since drivers are only eligible for two years and this will be F1 Academy’s third season, many familiar faces will be leaving the series this season who have competed since its inaugural season. This means we will see some new faces on the grid, with more women being able to showcase their talents and for previous drivers to move on to the next stage of their careers. This is what F1 Academy is all about.
Where can I watch?
So, I know what you’re thinking, where can I watch? All F1 Academy races can be streamed on their Youtube Channel and on F1 TV. Be sure to check out the new season when it begins on March 21st in Shanghai, China.
Edited by Neha Grewal
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