Read time: 10 minutes

“It was definitely getting thrown into the deep end!” says Ella Lloyd, a year on from her F1 Academy debut at the Singapore Grand Prix. Sitting at the MTC, Ella, who has since turned 20, still has the event fresh in her memory. “Having done a year now, I’d say Marina Bay has probably the most technical sections of any track we visit, so it wasn’t straightforward: my first weekend, just the one Free Practice session, and on a street circuit!” 

F1 Academy’s Wild Card is an interesting quirk - a seat set aside for a one-off entry, offering a promising driver a chance to impress and earn themselves a full-time entry. With little preparation, it’s a fraught opportunity, but that only makes those who do succeed all the more notable.  

Around 7,000 miles from her home in Wales, fresh from a brace of podium finishes in British F4, Ella grasped the opportunity with both hands. The then-teenager scored points in both Singapore races, which caught the attention of the McLaren Driver Development Programme and led to her becoming our driver in the 2025 F1 Academy season.  

It’s a remarkably rapid rise for a driver who didn’t pursue the usual route through the karting grades, instead competing in skiing and showjumping, both of which, she says, provided a surprisingly useful grounding.   

“When I first jumped into a proper race car, I knew this was what I wanted to try and do,” she says. “I think maybe the first two years of driving, I was a step behind everyone, because I hadn’t spent the previous 10 years karting – but I don’t think it really affected me.  

“I caught-up well, and I do think that showjumping and skiing helped the transition. They’re both ‘feel’ sports, like motor racing. When skiing you have to feel the surface beneath you and adapt quickly because it could be ice or something a bit more powdery… and, then when you’re riding a horse, you don’t really know what they’re going to do at any point! You need that feel in the car as well, so those experiences helped.” 

Ella started well in her first full F1 Academy season, winning as early as Round 2 to become the first McLaren racer in any series to record a victory in Saudi Arabia. She has followed this up with three more podiums, all notched in Canada, and steady improvement in Qualifying - Ella is now regularly in the mix with more experienced competitors at the top end of the field.

“I think I’ve improved consistently as the season as gone on,” she agrees. “Shanghai [sixth and seventh] wasn’t the best start, and honestly, my expectations were a bit higher – but we’ve come a long way. Winning in Jeddah was satisfying, I had a consistent weekend in Canada [second, second and second], and last time out in Zandvoort [fourth and fourth] was pretty good too. I think I’m getting progressively better and more consistent.” 

Returning to Marina Bay, a year on from her F1 Academy debut, is an opportunity to demonstrate her development as a racing driver: “I’m looking forward to this weekend as an opportunity to show that progress. I was competitive here last year, and have done a lot of racing since then, particularly on street circuits, which are a different sort of racing experience. Hopefully this weekend will be pretty good.” 

Alongside her F1 Academy campaign, Ella also competes in British F4, where she has multiple points finishes and five podiums from two seasons in the series. Hopping between the two series isn’t entirely straightforward: F1 Academy is based on an F4 car and, like the British F4 Championship, uses a Tatuus F4-T41 chassis – but the two series still differ in many ways. A combination of differing tyres, engines, aero packs and rules makes the challenge of switching between the series a little disconcerting.  

“I would say that it was a little bit of a struggle to start with - the two cars are different,” she says. “The main challenge, to begin with, was trying to find the right setup for me with the F1 Academy car – I was trying to find my feet a little bit in that respect.  

“The camber and caster on the F1 Academy car are limited at the front, and the aerodynamic options move in big steps, so you need to have a lot of mechanical grip. It’s different to the British F4 car, where you can balance that out with aero. This results in quite different characteristics, which require two different driving styles: the F1 Academy car doesn’t have a lot of front end, whereas the British F4 car rotates really well.   

“After the first few rounds, I learned to adapt relatively quickly. Having to jump from car to car, with only one practice session in each, has made me a better driver. I am now better at adapting quickly, and am able to be fast straight away. It was hard work initially, but is definitely an advantage for me.” 

 

        View this post on Instagram                      

A post shared by Ella Lloyd🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@ella_lloyd05)

The handling of the car, of course, isn’t the only difference. British F4 sits on the support bill of the British Touring Car Championship, while F1 Academy faces international exposure on F1 Grand Prix weekends. It is a different environment in which to learn your craft.  

“The spotlight is on you more in F1 Academy, and with that there is always going to be pressure,” says Ella. “There’s a lot of media involvement, both because it’s relatively new, but also because it’s supported by all of the F1 teams. It’s important to remain focused on your driving, and I think I’ve done that well.” 

Learning to deal with the media is one way the McLaren Driver Development Programme will support a young driver. It will also help with practicalities like organising an effective strength and conditioning programme, and dietary regimen. Head of the Driver Development Programme, Warren Hughes, will also offer advice via words of wisdom, watching and feeding back on her every session.  

“There is a lot of support on the fitness and media side of racing, while it helps me a lot to have Warren trackside at races,” says Ella. “His perspective as a racer is really useful and very different from that of an engineer. Getting both sides is helpful, he offers support when I need it: if there’s anything he sees, and has previous experience of, he’ll jump in.”

F1 Academy has four races to run, with Las Vegas hosting the season finale after the round in Singapore. Ella’s goals for the rest of the year are a mix of personal and professional. “I think this year is primarily all about improving myself,” she says. “If I can carry on this learning process, make more improvements, then I'll be happy.  

“Hopefully, we can keep pushing forward - keep improving in Qualifying, keep improving our race pace and be smart with the moves that I'm making while cutting out the mistakes. 

“I’m fourth in the Championship, not far behind third. For the rest of the season, I want to keep pushing forward and try to break into that top three. I'm not far behind in points, so it’s possible. The goal is to keep pushing forward.” 

And beyond Las Vegas? “I will just continue what I’m doing. The more seat time you get in a car, the more you're going to improve. I’m not planning on having too much of a break. I want to keep progressing and developing, trying to be better, to be stronger. I want to be ready for the next step.”