One of the stars of F1 Academy in 2024 is American rookie Chloe Chambers, Motorsport Week spoke exclusively with the Haas-nominated driver.
Chambers sits fourth in the F1 Academy Drivers’ standings and is one of only three drivers to win a race this year – outside of Abbi Pulling and Doriane Pin.
Racing with Campos under the Haas Formula 1 banner, Chambers, 19, has demonstrated her ability to develop throughout the 2024 campaign. After starting karting at age eight, Chambers made her single-seater debut in 2021 in the F4 United States Championship. Her career took her to the W Series in 2022 before competing in the 2023 Porsche Sprint Challenge North America, winning seven races and scoring nine podiums in 12 starts. Chambers also competed in the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship in 2023, becoming the first female polesitter and race winner.
How Chloe Chambers’ F1 Academy journey began
The American driver signed with Fernando Alonso’s A14 Management last December, a crucial first step in partnering with Haas for this year’s F1 Academy campaign.
“A14 were a big part in helping me kind of get known to the teams that run the cars, and then that helped me get into contact with the F1 teams,” Chambers said. “Of course, with Haas being American, they naturally were gonna try to find an American driver to kind of keep the representation up, and of course I came across their radar, and from then on, it was just kind of up to A14 and I to discuss with the teams and find the right fit for me, which I think we found this year.”
Chambers has had the benefit of witnessing a Haas grand prix weekend first-hand at Silverstone. “I got to sit in on the driver debriefs pre and post-session,” the American explained. “I got to watch all the sessions from the garage, listen to the radios, and speak to the engineers, and it was a good experience for me, because hopefully, it’s a position where I’ll be in the future. So, yeah, it was nice to kind of be able to take away my part of the weekend and just focus on kind of the F1 side, and just get that kind of experience.”
Inside the F1 Academy experience
As a rookie, Chambers is finding out what makes F1 Academy tick for the very first time in 2024. It’s no secret the series has changed dramatically since last year, an evolution that the likes of championship leader Pulling have gone through. Chambers meanwhile has been thrust straight into a series on the F1 calendar with an F1 livery adorned on her Campos Racing machine.
“I’ve had nothing but positive things to say about it,” Chambers said. “I’ve loved being on the F1 calendar and going to the rounds that we’ve already gone to, and I can’t wait to go to the ones that we have for the rest of the year. Of course, Miami was a highlight for me, racing at home, and then Barcelona was my win. So I think the rest of the season has a lot left going for it, and yeah, I’m excited to kind of see how it all plays out.”
The F1 Academy calendar has featured an eclectic mix of circuits from Jeddah to Miami, Barcelona to Zandvoort and Singapore – the calendar has been a mixed bag so far and the remaining rounds at Qatar and Abu Dhabi will ensure the 15 full-time drivers experience a wide array of circuit configurations.
“It’s for sure very beneficial in our development,” Chambers said. “It’s something that not many other series get the chance to do. A lot of the series are based in the country that they’re based in, or like kind of just the region that they’re based in, so to be having such an international calendar is really good for our development, to have the tracks just differ so much from each other, being able to experience all of the different characteristics of each track, and the weather, too is something that a driver who is in a feeder series and developing, I think it’s kind of everything that they could ask for.”
READ MORE: Chambers clinches maiden F1 Academy win in Barcelona Race 2
Chambers assesses her rookie F1 Academy campaign
A podium-les run in Zandvoort and Singapore aside, Chambers has enjoyed a steady rate of progression this season, accumulating rostrums and scoring a maiden win at Barcelona.
“It’s definitely a good feeling to be just getting better and better throughout the year,” Chambers said. “Now that I’ve gotten a win, I just need to try to maintain where I am, and of course, you’re not guaranteed to win a race every weekend, but I think as long as you maximise your potential on that specific weekend, then that’s the best that you could ask for. I don’t think you necessarily need to be going out on track and being like, yeah, ‘I just need to win,’ because sometimes things may go wrong, and I think that my approach to it this year has helped me ultimately to have that nice upwards trajectory.”
Chambers’ impressive rookie campaign is putting her in good stead to have a strong title charge in 2025.
“I would love to come back for a second year,” the American said. “There’s just so much to gain in F1 Academy, and I think it sets you up really well to go into that next step, so I would love to come back for a second year if given the chance.” Of course, this year I’m trying to do as well as I can in the championship, but either way, if I don’t win the championship, then, of course, I’d be happy to come back.”
How F1 Academy is inspiring the next generation
Chambers’ global exposure thanks to F1 Academy, alongside her fellow 14 full-time drivers is here to inspire the next generation of female racers. Chambers is now the role model young girls can look up to. One that perhaps wasn’t afforded to her when she started out in karting. Asked how it feels to be part of the F1 academy movement, Chambers said “it’s very humbling to be able to be part of the movement in such an early stage.
“You come out and see all the fans, and a lot of them are younger girls who want to get into racing. You get a lot of comments on social media of, like, ‘oh, I want to start racing, how can I do that?’ It’s not necessarily just young girls, but it’s also, you know, just young kids who want to get into racing in general, and we’re part of being able to show them how they can do that and make that dream a reality.”
In summary, Chambers’ final remarks encapsulate the very purpose of F1 Academy, making dreams a reality.
READ MORE: Abbi Pulling Exclusive: F1 Academy champion in waiting
