2026 F1 Academy – United States – Round 5 Report

Circuit of The Americas, Sunday, 25 October

Find out what happened in Austin at the Circuit of The Americas, and get the thoughts of drivers Ella Lloyd and Ella Stevens.

The weekend began on Thursday for Ella Lloyd and Ella Stevens, as F1 Academy took to the track at COTA a day earlier than usual for Free Practice and Qualifying. Friday's Opening Race saw Stevens come home P9, with Lloyd in P14.

In Saturday's Reverse Grid race, Lloyd climbed from P12 to P8, with Stevens starting in P11 and finishing P12. Lloyd also made good ground in the last of the three F1 Academy races over the weekend, starting the Feature Race in P13 and finishing P8. Stevens started P12 and finished P11.

Ella Lloyd #20

McLaren F1 Academy

“It was a tricky weekend for us. Qualifying didn’t quite go how we wanted, but we made improvements throughout the races, allowing us to steadily chip away, move through the field, and secure valuable points. 

“The key takeaway is that we managed to turn things around when it mattered most. We will take the lessons learned from this weekend, build on the positive technical direction we found with the car here, and aim for a much stronger overall performance in Las Vegas.” 

Ella Stevens #28

McLaren Oxagon F1 Academy

“Overall, an up and down weekend. The weekend started positively. I was strong in Free Practice and felt confident going into Qualifying, but I made a mistake on my last lap, which cost me around half a second. This would have put us much further forward, and it made my races more difficult. We scored some good points in Race 1, but I was hit in Race 2 and I struggled for pace in Race 3.  

“I do think it has been a more positive weekend. I’ve shown better pace and confidence which has helped me all around. Whilst there are still lots of things to improve on, I will take this into the final round in Las Vegas, in order to finish the season on a high.”