F1 Academy is back for another season, and that means I’ve got some more predicting to do! I actually did decently last year, but I’d also argue that this Championship is very hard to predict because everyone is so young and inexperienced! It’s worth mentioning that there are 17 regular drivers in the field this year, with Hitech TGR providing their third seat to a “Wildcard Driver”, but I won’t be including them in the Predictions! So, without further ado, let’s get going!
P17: Emma Felbermayr
Emma Felbermayr is ready for her first-ever season in single-seaters! The 18-year-old Austrian racing driver is driving for Rodin Motorsport in 2025, and as this is her first season in single-seaters, she doesn’t have a highest Championship finish to talk about! Emma is being supported by Kick Sauber this season, and talk about pressure, I mean this is going to be really hard for her! With not really anything to go on, I simply have to put Felbermayr at the back!
P16: Joanne Ciconte
Joanne Ciconte arrives in F1 Academy at just 16! The 16-year-old Australian racing driver is driving for MP Motorsport in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 16th in the 2024 Australian F4 Championship! Unfortunately, Joanne seems to be the only driver this season that isn’t being supported by someone, and that seems a bit harsh honestly! Ultimately, the fact that Ciconte is 16 is why I have her to finish P16!
P15: Alba Larsen
Alba Larsen is another 16-year-old in the field! The 16-year-old Danish racing driver is driving for MP Motorsport in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 18th in the 2024 F4 Indian Championship! Alba is being supported by Tommy Hilfiger this season, and it’s tricky to back her too much given she doesn’t have much racing experience! However, I do think Larsen will beat one of her MP Motorsport teammates!
P14: Aiva Anagnostiadis
Aiva Anagnostiadis makes it two Australian drivers on this year’s F1 Academy Grid! The 17-year-old Australian racing driver is driving for Hitech TGR in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 10th in last year’s F4 Indian Championship! Aiva is being supported by TAG Heuer this season, and I think the fact she’s with Hitech means it might be a bit of a learning year for the both of them! I’m ultimately putting Anagnostiadis here because I’m unsure of her true ability, but she could do better!
P13: Chloe Chong
After a year away, Chloe Chong is back in F1 Academy! The 17-year-old British racing driver is driving for Rodin Motorsport in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 14th in her Rookie F1 Academy campaign (in 2023)! Chloe is being supported by Charlotte Tilbury this season, and her performances in British F4 last year was enough for Chong to be welcomed back to the paddock! However, I’m still not convinced that it’s going to go much better this time around!
P12: Nicole Havrda
Nicole Havrda is looking to lead Hitech in her debut F1 Academy campaign! The 19-year-old Canadian racing driver is driving for Hitech TGR in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 5th in the 2023 SCCA Majors Championship Western Conference (Formula Atlantic)! Nicole is being supported by American Express this season, and her resume to this point looks decent, I mean she was very consistent in the Formula Regional Americas Championship last year (where she finished 6th)! Ultimately, I’ve held Havrda slightly back due to being unsure how competitive her previous series have been, but I still think she’ll be Hitech’s best!
P11: Aurelia Nobels
Aurelia Nobels is back for her second year in F1 Academy! The 18-year-old Brazilian Belgian racing driver is driving for ART Grand Prix in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 11th in last year’s F4 Saudi Arabian Championship! Aurelia is being supported by Puma again this season, and she’ll be looking to score her first Podium in the series (at least)! Ultimately, I do think Nobels will do slightly better than last year, I think that’s pretty natural, but I still don’t have her to quite make the Top 10!
P10: Tina Hausmann
Tina Hausmann is looking to build off a positive end to her Rookie F1 Academy campaign! The 18-year-old Swiss racing driver is driving for Prema Racing in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 10th in both the 2023 Formula Winter Series and the 2024 F1 Academy Championship! Tina is being supported by Aston Martin again this season, and she’ll be aiming for her first Podium in the series too! If it wasn’t for her P4 in Abu Dhabi, Hausmann would’ve finished a lot lower down in the order, and that’s ultimately why I have her to finish in the same place this year!
P9: Rafaela Ferreira
Rafaela Ferreira enters F1 Academy after impressing in Brazilian F4! The 19-year-old Brazilian racing driver is driving for Campos Racing in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 4th in last year’s F4 Brazilian Championship! Rafaele is being supported by Racing Bulls this season, and you have to say that she did very well last year! However, it was her second year in Brazilian F4, and that combined with her not getting the main Red Bull car is why I’ve got Ferreira down in 9th!
P8: Courtney Crone
Courtney Crone is easily the most experienced driver in this year’s field! The 24-year-old American racing driver is driving for ART Grand Prix in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish came when she won the 2018 Formula Car Challenge National Championship! Courtney is being supported by Haas this season, and she has a mixture of experience in all different types of cars which could prove handy! It’s also worth mentioning that Crone did appear as a Wildcard Driver in Miami last year, so she does have a little bit of experience in F1 Academy, and all in all, I think Courtney Crone will do alright!
P7: Ella Lloyd
Ella Lloyd is raring to go for McLaren! The 19-year-old British (Welsh) racing driver is driving for Rodin Motorsport in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish was second in the 2023 Ginetta GT5 Challenge – Pro Championship! Ella is being supported by McLaren this season, and it’s worth mentioning that she did manage to score points in both Races at Singapore last year (when she appeared as a Wildcard Driver)! Lloyd was also the second-highest female in British F4 last year, and the only person who was higher was reigning F1 Academy Champion Abbi Pulling! Ella Lloyd looks like a good driver, I expect her to score Podiums in her debut season, but I think she’ll miss out on being Rookie of the Year (not by much though)!
P6: Alisha Palmowski
Alisha Palmowski looks to have a promising future ahead of her! The 18-year-old British racing driver is driving for Campos Racing in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish was second in the 2022 Ginetta Junior Winter Championship and last year’s GB4 Championship! Alisha is being supported by Red Bull Racing this season, and her Junior Career up to this point has been really impressive! I mean, Palmowski managed 12 Podiums in the Ginetta Junior Championship, 11 Podiums in GB4 which included 3 Wins, and she finished 5th in her Wildcard appearance in Qatar last year! Whilst I haven’t put Alisha Palmowski as the best Rookie, I am excited by her, and I’m really intrigued to see how she gets on!
P5: Lia Block
Lia Block is looking to build on a positive first year in single-seaters! The 18-year-old American racing driver is driving for ART Grand Prix in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish came when she won the 2023 American Rally Association – O2WD Championship! Lia is being supported by Williams again this season, and she’s coming off a decent Rookie Season where she managed to finish 8th! Firstly, Block has more experience this year which will definitely help her rise up the order, and I would expect to see her score at least her first Podium this year! Secondly, Lia is with Williams, and we all know by now that that always excites me! However, despite all of that, I can’t quite see Lia Block in the Championship hunt!
P4: Nina Gademan
Nina Gademan is definitely a driver to keep an eye on! The 21-year-old Dutch racing driver is driving for Prema Racing in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 15th in this year’s Formula Winter Series! Nina is being supported by Alpine this season, and whilst her resume might not look that great at first glance, it’s actually pretty impressive when you dive into it! See, Gademan was by far the best Female Driver in Formula Winter Series earlier this year, in fact, she was the only female to score any points at all! Also, Nina was the best Wildcard Driver in F1 Academy last year, finishing 4th on debut, and the fact she’s with Alpine should be seen as a positive (at least at this stage of her career)! Ultimately, I think Nina Gademan has it in her to be the Number 1 Rookie in 2025!
P3: Chloe Chambers
Chloe Chambers enters her sophomore season of F1 Academy aiming to at least be inside the Top 3! The 20-year-old American racing driver is driving for Campos Racing in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 6th in both the 2023 Porsche Sprint Challenge North America – Cayman Pro/Am and last year’s F1 Academy Championships! Chloe is being supported by Red Bull Ford this season, and that’s actually a change as she was with Haas in 2024! Chambers stepped up last year, she did well, and if it wasn’t for a poor end to the season, she would’ve and really should’ve finished 4th! Given her experience, I would expect Chloe Chambers to improve again this year, and that’s why I expect her to score multiple Podiums (and Wins)!
P2: Maya Weug
Maya Weug enters 2025 as a genuine Title Contender! The 20-year-old Dutch, Belgian, and Spanish racing driver is driving for MP Motorsport in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish was third in F1 Academy last year! Maya is being supported by Ferrari again this season, and expectations should be high given she found herself on the Podium 8 times in 2024! It also helps that Weug secured her first win in the series in the final Race at Abu Dhabi last year, so that should give her a large boost in confidence. I could see a world where Maya Weug wins F1 Academy this year, I really could, but I just think there’s someone else that I feel a lot more confident in backing!
P1: Doriane Pin
For me, Doriane Pin is the favourite to win F1 Academy this year! The 21-year-old French racing driver is driving for Prema Racing in 2025, and her highest-ever Championship finish came when she won the 2022 Ferrari Challenge Europe – Trofeo Pirelli (Pro) Championship! Doriane is being supported by Mercedes again this season, and she’s coming off the back of finishing as Runner-Up in F1 Academy last year! Pin managed 3 Wins and another 5 Podiums last year, she scored points in every single Race, and the expectation from both Mercedes and herself is to win it all this year! Ultimately, I think Doriane Pin is a step above the rest which is why I have her to end the year as the 2025 F1 Academy Champion!
Comments