Formula 1 have introduced an all new all-female racing series to help generate more opportunities for young female racers to enter the likes of F3, F2 and maybe even Formula 1. It’s a brand new format with 15 drivers racing for 5 different teams (3 drivers per team) and with the unique format, it’s going to be all about consistency when it comes to winning the championship. I will now have a go at predicting this rather unique championship.
P15: Chloe Chong
Chloe Chong is about to make her single-seater debut with F1 in the title of the series. That’s absolutely mad! The 15-year-old British-Canadian racing driver is racing for Prema Racing in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish is none existent as this will be her first year racing single-seaters. Due to this, I really can’t put her any higher because I literally know barely anything about her racing ability.
P14: Amna Al Qubaisi
Amna Al Qubaisi is looking to finish ahead of her teammate and sister in this year’s F1 Academy season. The 22-year-old Emirati racing driver is racing for MP Motorsport in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish was 24th place in the 2021 F3 Asian Championship (she didn’t score any points). I think she’ll definitely have her best year in racing this year, but I’m still not sure she’s going to finish too high up in the championship standings.
P13: Emely de Heus
Emely de Heus is hoping 2023 is going to be the year she finally has a breakout season. The 20-year-old Dutch racing driver is racing for MP Motorsport in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish was 17th in the 2022 W Series. Emely only scored one point in that championship so she’ll be hoping for a much stronger campaign in F1 Academy.
P12: Lola Lovinfosse
Lola Lovinfosse is about to take on a new challenge after competing in Spanish F4 for two seasons. The 17-year-old French racing driver is driving for Campos Racing in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish was P23 in last year’s F4 Spanish Championship. Lola is looking for her first points in single-seaters this year.
P11: Lena Buhler
Lena Buhler enters F1 Academy as a member of the Sauber Academy. The 25-year-old Swiss racing driver is racing for ART Grand Prix in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish was P15 in the 2020 F4 Spanish Championship. Lena is the oldest driver in the field this season and she’ll be hoping to use that experience to battle higher up the field.
P10: Bianca Bustamante
Bianca Bustamante will hope for consistent points finishes in her first season in F1 Academy. The 18-year-old Filipino racing driver is racing for Prema Racing in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish was 15th place in last year’s W Series. Bianca only scored two points so she’ll be hoping to smash that this season (and then some).
P9: Maite Caceres
Maite Caceres is looking to have a positive first season in F1 Academy. The 19-year-old Uruguayan racing driver is racing for Campos Racing in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish was P9 in the 2021 Formula 4 Uruguay Championship. She scored 45 points in that championship and she’ll be hoping to beat that this year.
P8: Hamda Al Qubaisi
Hamda Al Qubaisi is definitely aiming to beat her older sister this season. The 20-year-old Emirati racing driver is racing for MP Motorsport in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish was 4th in both the 2020 and 2021 Formula 4 UAE Championship. Hamda also became the first ever woman in history to achieve a podium in Italian F4 and I think beating her two teammates would be seen as a positive first season in F1 Academy for Al Qubaisi.
P7: Chloe Grant
Chloe Grant is hoping for her first podium in single-seaters this season. The 16-year-old British racing driver is racing for ART Grand Prix in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish was P9 in last year’s GB4 Championship. Even though Chloe’s still ridiculously young, that doesn’t mean she can’t end up on the podium at some point in 2023.
P6: Jessica Edgar
Jessica Edgar is looking to build on a positive first year in single-seaters. The 18-year-old British racing driver is racing for Rodin Carlin in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish was 7th place in the 2022 GB4 Championship. Jessica took a podium in that series and I’d expect her to pick up a couple more in this series.
P5: Megan Gilkes
Megan Gilkes is looking to prove that her one and only season in W Series wasn’t representative of her racing ability. The 22-year-old Canadian racing driver is racing for Rodin Carlin in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish came in both the 2018 Canadian Formula 1200 Championship and the 2020 F1600 Ontario Championship where she finished as the runner-up. It’s hard to know how competitive those series’ were, but I still think Megan is good enough to win a race in F1 Academy this season.
P4: Carrie Schreiner
Carrie Schreiner brings with her an awful lot of experience in GT cars, but not so much in single-seaters. The 24-year-old German racing driver is racing for ART Grand Prix in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish came when she won both the 2018 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Middle East Pro-Am Championship and the DMV Gran Turismo Touring Car Cup. Carrie is actually the only person to have won a championship in this field, but she hasn’t driven in a single-seater championship since 2016 which does raise a few questions surrounding her chances of winning the championship this season.
P3: Marta Garcia
Marta Garcia can definitely fight to become the inaugural F1 Academy Champion. The 22-year-old Spanish racing driver is racing for Prema Racing in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish was P4 in the inaugural season of W Series. Marta is also a race winner in the W Series and she’ll definitely come close to the F1 Academy championship in 2023.
P2: Nerea Marti
Nerea Marti will want to become a champion for the first time ever in 2023 and I think she has a great chance of doing that. The 21-year-old Spanish racing driver is racing for Campos Racing in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish came when she finished second in the 2021-22 GT Winter Series. Nerea won 5 races in that championship and even though I don’t think she’ll win 5 races in F1 Academy this year, I do think she’ll match her best-ever championship finish.
P1: Abbi Pulling
I 100% believe that Abbi Pulling will end 2023 as the first-ever F1 Academy Champion. The 20-year-old British racing driver is racing for Rodin Carlin in 2023 and her highest-ever championship finish was P4 in last year’s W Series. In August last year, I said the Alpine Academy driver was going to win W Series in both 2023 and 2024 and even though W Series isn’t happening this year, I certainly still think she’ll end the year with a championship trophy. The big thing for Abbi right now though is getting her first-ever race victory.
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