Ella started from the front row of the grid in sweltering conditions at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit but rocketed off the line to comfortably grab the lead before the field even reached the Turn 1 left-hander. Ella swiftly established a buffer of almost three seconds over as many laps, but that gap was wiped out when the Safety Car was deployed due to incidents elsewhere.

Ella excelled at the restart to maintain her position and was able to keep her Rodin-run car at the front of the pack in spite of the advantage her rivals had with the slipstream around the high-speed circuit. Ella crossed the line just 0.176s clear of Maya Weug after half an hour of racing to pick up her maiden F1A victory, and her first sporting the McLaren Racing colours.

F1A visited Montreal for the first time in 2025 and, following a race cancellation in the previous round in Miami, held three races in Canada to compensate. It proved to be a weekend of silvers for Ella. She started from seventh in Race 1 but kept cool amid the chaos to successfully rise to second, while in Race 2, it was a strong getaway that boosted Ella’s prospects, as she surged from fifth to third off the line. A fierce fight for victory involving multiple cars followed across a frantic final lap, and Ella emerged from that battle in second place, finishing just 0.205s behind the race winner.

In Race 3, Ella made another fast start to move into second and spent the majority of proceedings shadowing the leader, before a late Safety Car put paid to her hopes of challenging for victory. Nonetheless, Ella finished runner-up, pocketing a well-earned trio of P2s around the tricky Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The undulating turns of Zandvoort welcomed F1A in the summer, and while it was a weekend of near-misses for Ella, there were still plenty of positive outcomes. Ella battled hard in Race 1 for the podium positions, thrillingly running side-by-side with Weug for several corners, before having to cede the place and come home in fourth spot.

Rapid getaways have been a hallmark of Ella’s season, and in Race 2, she launched into second position – but unfortunately, it was a little too quick, as Ella was judged to have slightly jumped the start, creeping forwards a fraction before the lights went out, resulting in a five-second penalty. Ella finished second on-the-road but was classified in fourth place after the penalty. Nevertheless, successive fourth places banked her more crucial points across a weekend that offered a few lessons.

Ella made her F1A debut around the streets of Singapore’s Marina Bay as a Wildcard in 2024, and successive points finishes earmarked her potential and facilitated her full-time graduation in 2025. A year on from that bow, Ella started Race 2 from fourth on the grid but moved into third position through a battling opening lap.

Ella preserved third place through a mid-race shower that greased the circuit, opting to remain on dry tyres, before the Safety Car neutralised proceedings as the rain intensified. Weather conditions remained tricky across the final two laps, but Ella kept the leaders in sight to follow them home in third position, adding another trophy to her burgeoning collection.

In a difficult Qualifying session around the tricky streets of Las Vegas, Ella could only muster 10th position on the starting grid, but she surged into contention in Race 1 in wet conditions, latching onto the rear of the lead train early on. However, a minor mistake saw her slide into the barriers and ended her race.

Undeterred, Ella showed fight to bounce back strongly in Race 2, rising from 10th place on the grid to finish in sixth position, stylishly passing rivals through the illuminated streets of Sin City. The result not only secured Ella fourth place in the overall standings, having placed inside the points in 12 of the 14 races, but netted her the honour of being the highest-placed rookie in the 2025 campaign, overcoming some tough opposition.

The season sets Ella up strongly to make the next step in 2026, when she will return to F1A, continuing with support from McLaren Racing.