F1 Academy have announced the calendar for their fourth season, featuring 14 races across seven rounds in 2026, including one new round and one returning circuit.

All seven rounds will take place on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends. For the second year running, the season will start in Shanghai, China (13-15 March) before teams head to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit for Round 2 (17-19 April). For Round 3, we will then return to the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Canada on May 22-24.

For the first time since its inception, F1 Academy will race at the British Grand Prix with teams competing at the Silverstone Circuit on 3-5 July. Zandvoort will continue its run of hosting a round of F1 Academy in each season since it started, with Round 5 taking place 21-23 August in the Netherlands.   

The final two rounds will take place in the United States, starting with the series' first race at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin on 23-25 since 2023. The season finale will then take place in Las Vegas for the second year in a row on 19-21 November.  

2026 F1 Academy calendar:

In November, it was announced that McLaren would be running two cars in the 2026 F1 Academy season, with 19-year-old Ella Stevens signed to drive alongside Ella Lloyd.

Ella Lloyd finished fourth, as the highest-placed rookie, in her maiden F1 Academy season, winning once in Jeddah and taking a further four podiums. The Welsh racer will remain with Rodin Motorsport for 2026, driving a McLaren Racing-backed entry.

Gloucestershire-born Ella Stevens joins as the first woman to win in the UK’s premier karting class. She topped the inaugural F1 Academy Rookie Test in Spain in September, before being announced as a member of the McLaren Driver Development Programme in November. She will also compete with Rodin Motorsport, driving a McLaren Racing-backed entry.