F1 Academy is a female-only, Formula 4 level single-seater racing championship founded by the Formula One Group. The championship is a spec series, meaning that all the teams compete with an identical Tatuus F4-T421 chassis and tyre compounds developed by Pirelli.

On the 18th of November 2022, Formula One announced the creation of F1 Academy, a racing series for women aiming to focus on developing and preparing young drivers to progress to higher levels of competition. 

Whilst the initial season of the series was controversially not broadcasted, with the exception of the season finale at the Circuit of the Americas, every race of the second season was broadcasted with live viewing available from a total of 23 broadcasters in more than 160 international territories.

For the 2023 season, Formula One subsidised the cost of each car, with drivers having to contribute €150,000. This was reduced to €100,000 for the 2024 season. Also from 2024 onwards, all ten Formula One teams agreed to support one driver each who would carry the team’s livery on their car. The remaining five (eight for 2025) drivers are supported by the series’ partners (including the likes of Charlotte Tilbury, Tommy Hilfiger, and PUMA).

Weekend Format

Free Practice

Friday’s proceedings begin with a singular Practice session, lasting for 40 minutes, which helps to give the teams and drivers a chance to acclimatise themselves to the circuit – especially if they have never raced there before – and allows them to optimise their set-ups before the Qualifying session later on in the day.

Qualifying

Later on the Friday, the drivers once again take to the track to complete a 30-minute qualifying session to decide the starting grids for Race 1 on the Saturday and Race 2 on the Sunday. Each of the driver’s fastest laps determines their starting position for Race 1, whilst their second fastest laps will set the starting order for Race 2.

The driver who takes pole position following the final classification of the qualifying session for either race is awarded two additional points.

Race 1

Race 1 takes place on the Saturday and is the only session for F1 Academy that takes place on this day. The race consists of drivers taking to the track for 30 minutes.

The starting grid for Saturday’s Race 1 is determined by the driver’s fastest lap time from the qualifying session that took place the day before.

The top ten classified drivers after the chequered flag is flown are awarded points. First place is awarded the maximum haul of points and then the points are reduced the further down the grid a driver finishes.

Position	Points
1st	25
2nd	18
3rd	15
4th	12
5th	10
6th	8
7th	6
8th	4
9th	2
10th	1

One point will be awarded to the driver who achieves the fastest valid lap time, providing she was in the top 10 positions of the final race classification. No point will be awarded to the driver who achieves the fastest lap but is not within the top 10 classified drivers in the final classification, or if the leader has completed less than 50% of the scheduled race distance.

Race 2

Race 2 takes place on the Sunday and is the only session for F1 Academy that takes place on this day, ahead of the Formula 1 Grand Prix. The race consists of drivers taking to the track for 30 minutes.

The starting grid for Sunday’s Race 2 is determined by the driver’s second fastest lap time from the qualifying session that took place on the Friday.

The top ten classified drivers after the chequered flag is flown are awarded points. First place is awarded the maximum haul of points and then the points are reduced the further down the grid a driver finishes.

Position	Points
1st	25
2nd	18
3rd	15
4th	12
5th	10
6th	8
7th	6
8th	4
9th	2
10th	1

One point will be awarded to the driver who achieves the fastest valid lap time, providing she was in the top 10 positions of the final race classification. No point will be awarded to the driver who achieves the fastest lap but is not within the top 10 classified drivers in the final classification, or if the leader has completed less than 50% of the scheduled race distance.

Tyre Allocation

The sporting regulations state that each driver will be allocated three and a half sets of dry-weather tyres (one of these may be carried over from the previous test or event where applicable) and two sets of wet-weather tyres per event.

Wild Card Entry

From the 2024 season, Wild Card entries were introduced where, working with the race promoters, F1 Academy would identify talented young women from the host region and offer them an entry spot for a specific weekend.

At races where there was a Wild Card entry, reigning Team Champions, Prema Racing, would operate the Wild Card car in addition to their three entries, and offer support and training to the selected driver. The Wild Card entrants would be eligible to score points in the Drivers’ Standings.

From 2025, the Wild Card entry will be hosted by Hitech Grand Prix, who join the championship to bring the grid to 18 cars.

FIA Super Licence Points

The top five classified drivers in the 2024 Drivers’ Standings will receive FIA Super Licence Points. The winner of the 2024 season will receive 10 Super Licence points, whilst the drivers in second and third place will receive seven and five points respectively. Three points will be awarded to the driver who classifies fourth, and the fifth placed driver will receive one point.

Champions

Driver’s:

Year	Drivers’ Champion	Team	Supported by:	Points
2023	Marta Garcia	Prema Racing	N/A	278
2024	Abbi Pulling	Rodin Motorsport	Alpine	338

Teams’:

Year	Teams’ Champion	Points
2023	Prema Racing	419
2024	Prema Racing	423