The all-female racing series F1 Academy is set to return for a third season with a mixture of returning drivers and fresh faces for the Shanghai season opener.
Some key changes to the structure and format of the all-female series, most notably the addition of a sixth team to the grid, have been made.
Hitech TGR has joined F1 Academy alongside fellow junior teams ART Grand Prix, Campos Racing, MP Motorsport, PREMA Racing, and Rodin Motorsport.
Only six drivers from last season have returned to the series, including runner-up Doriane Pin and Maya Weug, while championship winner Abbi Pulling moves on to GB3.
With a crop of new female racers looking to make their mark, who are the 18 drivers gearing up for the third F1 Academy season?
PREMA Racing may have the strongest drivers
PREMA Racing has so far won all the Team Championships in F1 Academy, granted we are only two seasons down.
With what appears to be the strongest line-up, PREMA has retained the 2024 runner-up Doriane Pin and Aston Martin’s Tina Hausmann.
Mercedes’ Doriane Pin finished over 100 points behind the 2024 championship winner Abbi Pulling, after a mid-season injury impacted some of her races.
Swiss driver Hausmann achieved a best finish of P4 in the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, securing a 10th place finish in the standings.
Nina Gademan, backed by Alpine, joins the Italian team after her brilliant Wild Card performance in Zandvoort saw her score points in both races.
All three drivers have much to fight for this season, but it could be the Iron Dame Pin who is the greatest threat.
Rodin Motorsport has revamped its line-up
The Teams’ Championship runner-ups Rodin Motorsport has enlisted an entirely new line-up for the 2025 season.
McLaren-supported driver Ella Lloyd joins the Kiwi team after a strong Wild Card performance in Singapore saw her earn points in both races.
The British driver sits alongside returning driver Chloe Chong, who took a break from F1 Academy to compete in British F4 last year.
Chong will be supported by Charlotte Tilbury while teammate Emma Felbermayr joins the grid with Kick Sauber.
18-year-old Felbermayr will make her single-seater debut after making the jump from the WSK-Karting and the World and European Championships.
Can Rodin take the fight to PREMA after their championship-winning driver Abbi Pulling moved on?
Campos Racing employ all three Red Bull drivers
The Spanish Campos team finished third in the standings last year but looks stronger than ever, employing two new drivers for 2025.
American driver Chloe Chambers remains with the team for her second season, but partners with Red Bull Ford for her sophomore campaign.
Chambers picked up a victory in Barcelona and secured three podium finishes in 2024, finishing sixth in the Drivers’ standings.
The team welcomes Brazilian driver Rafaela Ferreira, supported by Racing Bulls, in her first global racing series after competing in South America.
Ferreira joins teammate Alisha Palmowski who was the best performing Wild Card driver in 2024, qualifying sixth and fourth in Lusail before securing a P5 finish.
2024 GB4 vice-champion Palmowski rounds off the Red Bull-supported team, joining forces with the F1 powerhouse for 2025.
MP Motorsport welcomes two new drivers
Dutch team MP Motorsport also has a new line-up for 2025, welcoming two new drivers alongside third-place finisher Maya Weug.
Scuderia Ferrari Academy driver Weug starts a new adventure with MP Motorsport after securing seven podiums and a win with PREMA last year.
The Dutch driver will be joined by newcomer Joanne Ciconte, supported by F1 Academy, who will make the jump from F4 series this year.
Ciconte is the youngest driver on the grid at 16 years old, joining fellow 16-year-old Alba Larsen.
Tommy Hilfiger-supported Larsen will make her full-time single-seater debut this year after being selected as a 2023 FIA Girls On Track Rising Stars finalist.
Weug is most likely to challenge the Iron Dame Pin for the title this year, but can her young teammates cause an upset?
ART Grand Prix retains familiar faces
ART retains two of its 2024 drivers for this season, enhancing its line-up with 2024 Wild Card driver Courtney Crone.
The American driver will be supported by Haas in her first full season of racing single-seaters after winning the 2023/2024 IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship.
Puma-supported driver Aurelia Nobels embarks on her second F1 Academy season after securing a best finish of fifth place and six appearances in the points last year.
Lia Block continues her single-seater excursion with support from Williams Racing, continuing the transition from rallying.
The American rally champion secured two P4 finishes in Singapore last season, finishing eighth overall in the standings.
ART hope to use their experienced returning drivers to earn more points this season, and target a third-place finish in the standings.
New team Hitech TGR brings three new rookies
Newcomers Hitech TGR joins F1 Academy in its third season, welcoming three new drivers to the grid.
Canadian driver Nicole Havrda joins the pack supported by American Express after securing three titles in Formula Pro USA Winter Series, SFR FA2.
Hitech also welcomes Tag Heuer-supported driver Aiva Anagnostiadis who secured a place in the 2023 Alpine Rac(H)er Academy Programme.
Rounding off the grid, Shi Wei is the first Chinese driver to compete in F1 Academy with support from Juss Sports.
Wei is a FIA F4 Chinese Championship Challenge Cup winner, and has competed in the Toyota Gazoo Racing GR86 Cup and the China Endurance Championship.
With fresh faces ready to make their marks, Hitech has a line-up full of rookies that could potentially change the game.
The series kicks off on March 21 with a season opening round in Shanghai, China.
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