F1 Academy in 2024: What you need to know

It’s a female-only race series designed to provide a platform for women drivers to progress through to higher levels of competition. When it was launched in November 2022, organizers said they wished to “give more access to track time, racing and testing, as well as support with technical, physical, and mental preparations.” Unlike Formula One, this series has two races at each venue, which means the drivers will compete at just seven tracks but complete fourteen races. The 15 drivers are split among five teams: Rodin Motorsport, MP Motorsport, Campos Racing, ART Grand Prix and Prema Racing. Spain’s Marta Garcia won the inaugural championship in 2023 for Prema Racing, who took the team title.

Garcia has since won a fully funded drive in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA), a series below Formula Three.

What is different in F1 Academy this year? The relationship with F1 is much closer than in the last campaign, with every F1 team supporting a driver and running a car dressed in its livery. Races will now all be run in conjunction with F1 Grand Prix weekends, starting on March 8 in Saudi Arabia, where women have only been able to drive since 2018. F1 is also providing F1 Academy with some funding.

Drivers must be between the ages of 16 and 25 and can now only compete for two seasons before moving elsewhere. Other than the 10 F1 teams having a driver on the grid, five companies — Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, Red Bull and Charlotte Tilbury — are also supporting drivers. Regional wildcard entrants will also be present at select races in 2024, such as Reema Juffali, the wildcard for the opening race in Jeddah. The series also has a new broadcast deal, with races shown on YouTube and various channels in different countries.