How does F1 Academy work? Teams, Drivers, Wild Card Seat & Points System Explained

F1 Academy, established by Formula 1, is an all-female, Formula 4-level racing series aimed at developing and promoting female talent in motorsport. Launched in 2023, the space and series provides a platform for female drivers to progress through the racing, with the ultimate goal of reaching higher tiers of motorsport, including Formula 1!

The women are all limited to 2 seasons of competition and the winner cannot return to the series! The series will also have a TV show coming to our screens VERY soon!

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F1 Academy Teams in 2025

The 2025 season features six teams, each fielding three drivers:​

PREMA Racing

PREMA is one of the most famous names in motorsports when it comes to junior categories - with basically the only category that they do not compete in being Formula 1. PREMA even has a new IndyCar team as of 2025.

In the context of F1 Academy, they have set the standard from the START in 2023. They finished in 1st place in 2024 with 425 points - fielding the incredibly talented Dorianne Pin (2nd overall), Maya Weug (3rd overall), and Tina Hausmann.

PREMA will be looking to repeat their domination in 2025 with a lineup of the returning Dorianne Pin and Tina Hausmann - alongside the addition of Nina Gademan!

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Rodin Motorsport

Rodin Motorsport (formerly Carlin Motorsport) was founded in 1996 and have competed in not just Formula series but similar sporting championships including IndyCar. They currently compete in Formula 2, Formula 3, GB3, F1 Academy, F4 British Championship, and Spanish F4 Championship.

Rodin (Carlin) joined F1 Academy in 2023 and finished 3rd with 320 points. They only improved their performance during the 2024 season, finishing in 2nd place with 385 points. MORE importantly, Rodin was the home to 2024 F1 Academy Champion, Abby Pulling. They also fielded Lola Lovinfosse and Jessica Edgar.

Rodin is looking for another champion this season, fielding newcomers Ella Lloyd and Emma Felbermayr and Chloe Chong - who competed in F1 Academy in 2023 as the youngest driver on the grid, that season.

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Campos Racing

After retiring from racing, former F1 Driver Adrian Campos founded his own racing organization in 1997. Campos Racing is based in Valencia, Spain and has had a successful record in Formula 3 and GP2 before joining the F1 Academy grid in 2023.

Campos Racing finished in 5th place in 2023 but dramatically improved their performance in 2024, finishing in 3rd place with 292 points. Last year, they fielded the talented Chloe Chambers, Carrie Schreiner, and Nerea Marti.

Campos is looking to improve yet again and has brought back Chloe Chambers as well as newcomers Rafaela Ferreira and Alisha Palmowski.

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MP Motorsport

MP Motorsport is a Dutch team that was founded in 1994 and has raced in nearly all Formula 1 junior categories including F4, Eurocup-3, FRECA, F3, F2, and F1 academy. They only have one former driver on the F1 Grid... that driver is Max Verstappen... So let's say MP Motorsport may be tiny, but they are mighty.

MP Motorsport finished 2nd in their first season of F1 Academy, but fell onto the back foot during the 2024 season - finishing 4th with 178 points. Last year, they fielded Emely De Heus, Hamda Al Qubaisi, and her sister (YES SISTER!) Amna Al Qubaisi!

This year, MP Motorsport is looking for a serious comeback. Their lineup consists of 3rd place finisher in 2024, Maya Weug (formerly PREMA) alongside two newcomers: Alba Larsen and Joanne Ciconte.

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ART Grand Prix

ART Grand Prix was founded in 1996 under the original name of ASM F3, by Frédéric Vasseur...

YES THAT Fred Vasseur... the Team Principal of Ferrari.

His aim was to develop an expertise in training young talents so that they would be able to reach the highest level of motorsport. ART runs teams in F2, F3, F4, F1 Academy and many other feeder series.

ART Grand Prix hasn't been the most successful team in F1 Academy - finishing 4th in 2023 and 5th in 2024 with 146 points. Their lineup consisted of Bianca Bustamante, Aurelia Nobels, and Lia Block.

This year, Aurelia Nobels and Lia Block will both be returning to the team, alongside newcomer Courtney Crone.

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HiTech TGR

HiTech is the new team on the F1 Academy Grid! HiTech is a VERY famous and storied team throughout many of the junior formulas and are excited to break in to F1 Academy in 2025.

Their team will be made up of 2 permanent drivers - Nicole Havrda, and Alva Anagnostiadis - while their 3rd seat will change each race weekend with the Wild Card Seat that is explained below!

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F1 Academy 2025 Drivers

The 2025 grid showcases a diverse lineup of talent from around the world:​

Something very exciting about F1 Academy is that while each driver has a team that they race for, 10 of the drivers on the grid are also supported directly by one of the 10 Formula 1 teams! Each of these girls will race under that teams' livery throughout the season! For the other drivers, they are sponsored by LARGE brands connected directly with Formula 1 such as PUMA, Tommy Hilfiger, and TAG Heuer.

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The F1 Academy Wild Card Seat

Something very unique that F1 Academy does - tested in 2024 - is give a Wild Card seat - managed by Hitech!

The goal of this seat is to provide emerging talents with the opportunity to compete on an international platform. Each round features a different Wild Card driver, offering them invaluable experience and exposure. Especially for those who might not have the same resources or financial backing as other F1 Academy drivers who were given full time seats.

For example: Shi Wei is the Wild Card entry for the opening round at the Chinese Grand Prix.

This initiative allows drivers to showcase their skills and potentially secure full-time seats in future seasons. ​This is especially true for Courtney Crone, Ella Lloyd, Alisha Palmowski, and Nina Gademan - who were all Wild Card entries in 2024!‍

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F1 Academy Weekend Structure

F1 Academy is structured a bit differently than Formula 1 throughout the weekend - and is much more similar to F2 or F3 in terms of weekend structure.

There are practice sessions, qualifying, and TWO races.

Qualifying

F1 Academy Qualifying is VERY different from Formula 1 Qualifying!

In Qualifying, each driver’s fastest lap will set the grid for Race 2.

The starting grid for Race 1 will be set by reversing the top eight drivers from Qualifying, with drivers in 9th to 18th starting where they qualified.

**It's also important to note that the races and point allocations are slightly different than Formula 1 - we will discuss this below!

What races can I watch F1 Academy at this F1 Season?

Watching all of the F1 Academy sessions is included in the cost of your general F1 Race ticket as with every other support series! You can catch these races at the Chinese Grand Prix, Saudi Grand Prix, Miami Grand Prix, Canadian Grand Prix, Dutch Grand Prix, Singapore Grand Prix, or the Las Vegas Grand Prix!

How are points earned in F1 Academy?

Points are allocated in a similar way to Formula 1 - the better your position, the better your points - with some caveats

NOTE: Whoever scores Pole for RACE 2 (the actual grid order not reverse grid) will earn 2 points!

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Don't miss out on other Formula 1 content on our site! If you have any questions about how F1 works, similar to this content: Check out our guide to Learning the Basics of F1.