F1 Academy is again for a brand new season this weekend and you’ll watch each race in 2025 reside on Sky Sports activities F1.
After Doriane Pin got here out on prime in an exhilarating battle in opposition to Maya Weug, consideration turns to who will develop into champion in 2026
F1 Academy creates a easy transition from karting up the F1 feeder sequence ladder, with the potential for a girl racing in F1 sooner or later.
The final feminine driver to participate in an F1 weekend was F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff for Williams on the 2014 British GP, when she took half in Apply One.
Lella Lombardi is the final driver to race within the Grand Prix itself, in 1976, and he or she’s the one girl to attain factors when she completed sixth on the 1975 Spanish GP.
What’s F1 Academy?
F1 Academy was launched in November 2022 by Method 1 with the purpose of making ready and growing feminine drivers to allow them to progress to greater ranges of competitors.
The class is designed to “give more access to track time, racing and testing, as well as support with technical, physical, and mental preparations”.
Susie Wolff is the managing director of F1 Academy
It’s hoped the F1 Academy will present the expertise to progress to Method 3, and assist present Method 2 and Method 1 alternatives sooner or later.
Susie Wolff heads up the sequence as managing director.
What automotive is utilized in F1 Academy?
F1 Academy will see all drivers race in an identical automobiles – a Tatuus T421 chassis that can be utilized in Method 4.
The automobiles are powered by turbo-charged engines equipped by Autotecnica and able to 174 horsepower, whereas Pirelli provide the tyres.
The automobiles can have a prime pace of 240kph (149mph).
F1 Academy have used the identical automotive Tatuus F4-T421 since its inaugural season in 2023
What occurred in 2025?
After dominant championship-winning campaigns for Marta Garcia in 2023 and Abbi Pulling in 2024, final yr supplied the fiercest F1 Academy title struggle but between Doriane Pin, Maya Weug and Chloe Chambers.
Pin received the principle race in Shanghai to finish the opening weekend because the championship chief however a second place and victory in Jeddah gave Weug the lead after two occasions.
In Miami, Pin caught again with an excellent efficiency from sixth, then torrential rain cancelled the principle race, that means there have been three races in Montreal.
And the weekend in Canada produced enormous drama with a number of collisions and incidents. Amid the chaos, Weug suffered electrical points so failed to attain factors in two of the races and solely completed sixth within the different. Pin took the championship lead and Chambers was now a title protagonist following her foremost race victory.
On house soil at Zandvoort, Weug started to mount a championship comeback from 36 factors adrift with pole place, a dominant foremost race win and third within the reverse grid race.
The Dutch driver continued her nice kind into Singapore with second within the reverse grid race and a 3rd win of the season after a last-lap overtake on Pin in combined circumstances, that means Pin led Weug by simply 9 factors forward of Las Vegas finale.
The season finale was anticlimactic as Weug crashed on the formation lap of the primary race, which Pin received, and the French driver completed fifth within the final race to safe the title.
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Maya Weug crashed into the again of Tina Hausmann within the F1 Academy season finale
F1 Academy 2026 line-up and groups
The highest three from final yr’s championship – Pin, Weug and Chambers – should not on this yr’s discipline since there’s a two-season restrict on competing in F1 Academy.
F1 Academy options six groups – ART, Campos, Rodin Carlin, MP Motorsport, Prema and Hitech – every coming into three automobiles for each occasion to make up an 18-strong grid.
Prema are the defending groups’ champions and have a brand new 2026 line-up within the type of Germany’s Mathilda Paatz and USA’s Payton Westcott.
Britain’s Alisha Palmowski may be one of many title contenders in F1 Academy this yr (Credit score: Pink Bull Content material Pool)
British drivers Ella Lloyd and Alisha Palmowski, who each completed final yr’s Drivers’ Championship within the prime 5, return for a second marketing campaign, as do Netherlands’ Nina Gademan and Denmark’s Alba Hurup Larsen. They may very well be amongst this yr’s title contenders, given the one yr of expertise.
Megan Bruce, Ella Lloyd, Ella Stevens and Rachel Robertson are the 4 different Brits on the grid of their rookie season.
F1 Academy 2026 calendar
F1 Academy continues to happen on Method 1 weekends this season with seven rounds, beginning in Shanghai on the Chinese language Grand Prix this weekend on March 13-15.
Jeddah follows on April 17-19, earlier than Montreal on Might 22-24 and a primary occasion at Silverstone in the course of the British Grand Prix week on July 3-5.
Following a mid-season break, Zandvoort will get the motion again beneath approach on August 21-23, earlier than F1 Academy returns to Circuit of the Americas on October 23-25 for the primary time since 2023.
Las Vegas will host the ultimate race weekend once more on November 19-21.
F1 Academy weekend format and factors system
A most of 39 factors could be received over a race weekend by a single driver. There may be usually only one follow session for the drivers to stand up to hurry, earlier than heading into on Friday afternoon.
Race 1 on Saturday afternoon is a reverse grid race the place the highest eight in Qualifying are flipped to find out the beginning grid. Those that qualify ninth to 18th will begin in these positions for each races.
Race 2 will happen on Sunday morning with the beginning grid set by the outcomes of Qualifying.
Two factors are awarded for pole place and one level is given for the quickest lap in every race, when you end within the prime eight for Race 1, or prime 10 for Race 2.
The reverse grid race can have much less factors on provide, so solely the highest eight will rating factors: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1.
Race 2 makes use of the identical factors system as F1, so the highest 10 will rating factors: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1.
Watch each spherical of the 2026 F1 Academy season, reside on Sky Sports activities F1. Stream Sky Sports activities with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
