Ella Stevens on joining McLaren and stepping up to F1 Academy

It was in September 2025 when Ella Stevens announced herself to the motorsport world during the inaugural F1 Academy Rookie Test at Spain’s Circuito de Navarra. Up against some of the finest up-and-coming female talents, Ella set the quickest time of the test. This, despite her inexperience within the landscape of single-seater competition, and with F1 Academy’s Tatuus F4-T421 chassis, the tyres, and the circuit. It alerted the paddock to her innate talent and ability behind the wheel.

It was quite the eye-opening experience for Ella.

“The F1 Academy rookie test was my first time in a paddock with so many female drivers,” Ella says. “It was very amazing to see so many women coming together, and I was really happy with my progress on the day, as I managed to top the time sheets.”

In the aftermath of the Rookie Test, 19-year-old Ella was welcomed into the McLaren family as one of the latest members of the Driver Development Programme.

“It was a big milestone in my career,” Ella says. “I’ll need to put a lot of effort into the next few years, and I am really looking forward to getting the chance to be able to do that.”

The programme, run by motorsport veteran Alessandro Alunni Bravi, is structured to identify young talents, harness their inherent abilities, and guide them through the next step of their nascent careers.

“The McLaren Driver Development Programme is the right place for me – they’ve always been one of my favourite teams!” remarked Ella. “I look up to them - they’ve had so many good drivers in the past and have so many good drivers now, across their various series and in the Driver Development Programme. It’s such a successful team. I really value their support and am excited by how they can help me develop.

Signing with McLaren meant getting accustomed to fresh surroundings for Ella, who admits that she was taken aback the first time she visited the team’s famous McLaren Technology Centre headquarters.

“When I first stepped foot into the McLaren Technology Centre it was a lot to take in,” Ella says. “It's one of the most impressive places I've ever been to - it's very cool.”

It was the latest stepping stone on a rapid-fire journey for Ella, who first started out in karting in the early 2010s, though the initial experience was perhaps not quite a case of love at first sight.

“I started in a Bambino kart when I was six years old,” Ella recalls. “I don't really remember much of the experience, but my brother told me that I screamed when they turned the engine on. He pulled me around the track with a rope.”

After the initial adjustment, Ella quickly improved and began climbing the ranks through the hotly contested karting scene. Both at home in Britain and across Europe, she was making a name for herself and building a mounting trophy collection, which included her becoming the Birel ART British Cadet Champion in 2017.

“That was the biggest success I’d had in my career at the time,” Ella says. “It was an amazing experience, and it really helped with my career moving forward.”

Ella’s rise continued as she moved into IAME Cadet and once again took leading honours, becoming the first female racer to triumph in KZ2 in 2023, before closing out 2025 as the Vice British Champion.

“I've basically worked through the ranks and karting all the way up to KZ, where I'm a two-time English Champion and Vice British Champion,” Ella says proudly.

After a prolific career in karting, Ella has now taken the tried-and-tested pathway into single-seaters, as she continues her climb up the ladder.

Ahead of her full-time F1 Academy debut, the Gloucestershire native made her competitive debut in single-seater racing during a one-off round of the Formula Winter Series earlier in 2026, contesting a trio of races at Portugal’s Portimao Circuit, enabling her to gather crucial mileage and know-how.

“There's definitely a lot of preparation that's gone into 2026,” Ella says. “I'm really looking forward to putting in the dedication and working with McLaren.

“As a whole, everything on and off track is taking a step up this year. Moving from karting into single-seaters, everything will increase and become more intense – time on the simulator, in the gym, my nutrition and testing days – it’s a lot, but it’s important for my preparation, and I am excited to get into it.”

Ella will join her fellow McLaren Development Driver, Ella Lloyd, in the F1 Academy this season, who has a year’s experience in the series. In collaboration with NEOM, Ella Stevens will be driving the F1 Academy McLaren Oxagon entry, operated by Rodin Motorsport, and she says she’s keen to make her mark, describing her driving style as “clean and quick”.

“I do sometimes have an aggressive side, but only when it needs to come out,” she says, smiling.

After a promising pre-season campaign, Ella’s F1 Academy debut arrived in the season opener in Shanghai, where she displayed encouraging pace and progress through the course of the weekend at a brand-new venue, recording 11^th position in Race 1 and 12^th place in Race 2. Although she narrowly missed out on a points-paying result, she gained valuable experience and a greater understanding of what is required moving forward through the campaign. Next up will be a trio of races on new ground in Montreal.