The all-female racing series F1 Academy is set to return to screens next weekend during the Chinese Grand Prix.

F1 Academy has made some key structural changes to the series ahead of its third season running, including the expansion of the grid.

This season is set to be one of the most exciting yet, with fresh faces joining the grid alongside established talents.

Changes to the 2025 F1 Academy calendar

2025 will see F1 Academy run for seven rounds across six countries and three different continents.

The series will kick off in China at the Shanghai International Circuit this weekend before returning to Saudi Arabia in April.

F1 Academy will also return to Miami for Round 3 before racing in Canada for the very first time alongside F1.

The drivers will then return to Zandvoort and Singapore for Rounds 5 and 6, and will wrap up the championship in Las Vegas in November.

The revamped structure of an F1 Academy race weekend

In its third season running, F1 Academy has revamped its race weekend format to include a reverse grid format.

The three-day weekend will begin with two Free Practice sessions on a Friday, lasting up to 40 minutes each.

Qualifying will take place on either Friday or Saturday, with only 30 minutes for drivers to set their fastest times.

F1 Academy has made Race 1 a reverse grid race, set by reversing the top eight drivers’ qualifying times.

Drivers who qualified ninth place and under will start Race 1 in the position they secured during qualifying.

Race 1 will take place on a Saturday, awarding only the top eight drivers with points, and an extra point for the fastest lap.

Race 2 on Sunday will take the traditional race format of drivers starting where they qualified, fighting for the full 25 points on offer.

F1 Academy points allocations

How Formula 1 supports F1 Academy

F1 Academy is a Formula 1 feeder series featured on the ‘support series’ programme, which means they compete during F1 weekends.

Building on the partnership established last season with F1, all ten F1 teams are required to ‘nominate’ a driver to the grid.

This often takes the form of F1 teams adopting these young female drivers into their academies, while some teams may nominate the driver for just one campaign.

Drivers who do not have the backing of F1 teams can be supported by other F1 Academy partners including American Express, Tommy Hilfiger, and Charlotte Tilbury.

What is an F1 Academy Wild Card driver?

F1 Academy introduced Wild Card drivers last season in an effort to showcase local female talent from the regions they race in.

These one-off entries gave drivers like Courtney Crone and Nina Gademan a chance to show their skills on a global scale.

Since its introduction last season, Wild Card entries have been incredibly useful for spotting and signing talent.

Wild Card entrants like Crone and Gademan put in strong debut performances and have been nominated by F1 teams for full-time seats this season.

The first confirmed Wild Card entrant is Chinese driver Wei Shi, who will make her F1 Academy debut in the opening round in Shanghai.

What teams and drivers are competing in 2025?

The expansion of the F1 Academy grid to 18 drivers has added the team of Hitech TGR to the field.

Hitech TGR will host the Wild Card seat alongside two full-time drivers, F1 Academy rookies Nicole Havrda and Aiva Anagnostiadis.

Championship winners, PREMA Racing retain 2024 runner-up Doriane Pin and Aston Martin’s Tina Hausmann while adopting former wild card driver Nina Gademan.

Rodin Motorsport replaced title-winner Abbi Pulling with three new faces; McLaren’s Ella Lloyd, American driver Chloe Chong, and rookie Emma Felbermayr.

Spanish team Campos Racing employ three Red Bull-nominated drivers in Chloe Chambers, Rafaela Ferreira, and Alisha Palmowski.

MP Motorsport has also replaced their line-up with third-place finisher Maya Weug and 16-year-old rookies Joanne Ciconte and Alba Larsen.

Retaining two 2024 drivers in Aurelia Nobels and Lia Block, ART Grand Prix enhanced its line-up with Wild Card driver Courtney Crone.

Where to watch F1 Academy 2025: F1 Academy will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports during Formula 1 race weekends.

The post What to expect from F1 Academy 2025 appeared first on Motorsport Week.

The all-female racing series F1 Academy is set to return for a third season with a mixture of returning drivers and fresh faces for the Shanghai season opener.

Some key changes to the structure and format of the all-female series, most notably the addition of a sixth team to the grid, have been made.

Hitech TGR has joined F1 Academy alongside fellow junior teams ART Grand Prix, Campos Racing, MP Motorsport, PREMA Racing, and Rodin Motorsport.

Only six drivers from last season have returned to the series, including runner-up Doriane Pin and Maya Weug, while championship winner Abbi Pulling moves on to GB3.

With a crop of new female racers looking to make their mark, who are the 18 drivers gearing up for the third F1 Academy season?

PREMA Racing may have the strongest drivers

PREMA Racing has so far won all the Team Championships in F1 Academy, granted we are only two seasons down.

With what appears to be the strongest line-up, PREMA has retained the 2024 runner-up Doriane Pin and Aston Martin’s Tina Hausmann.

Mercedes’ Doriane Pin finished over 100 points behind the 2024 championship winner Abbi Pulling, after a mid-season injury impacted some of her races.

Swiss driver Hausmann achieved a best finish of P4 in the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, securing a 10th place finish in the standings.

Nina Gademan, backed by Alpine, joins the Italian team after her brilliant Wild Card performance in Zandvoort saw her score points in both races.

All three drivers have much to fight for this season, but it could be the Iron Dame Pin who is the greatest threat.

Rodin Motorsport has revamped its line-up

The Teams’ Championship runner-ups Rodin Motorsport has enlisted an entirely new line-up for the 2025 season.

McLaren-supported driver Ella Lloyd joins the Kiwi team after a strong Wild Card performance in Singapore saw her earn points in both races.

The British driver sits alongside returning driver Chloe Chong, who took a break from F1 Academy to compete in British F4 last year.

Chong will be supported by Charlotte Tilbury while teammate Emma Felbermayr joins the grid with Kick Sauber.

18-year-old Felbermayr will make her single-seater debut after making the jump from the WSK-Karting and the World and European Championships.

Can Rodin take the fight to PREMA after their championship-winning driver Abbi Pulling moved on?

Campos Racing employ all three Red Bull drivers

The Spanish Campos team finished third in the standings last year but looks stronger than ever, employing two new drivers for 2025.

American driver Chloe Chambers remains with the team for her second season, but partners with Red Bull Ford for her sophomore campaign.

Chambers picked up a victory in Barcelona and secured three podium finishes in 2024, finishing sixth in the Drivers’ standings.

The team welcomes Brazilian driver Rafaela Ferreira, supported by Racing Bulls, in her first global racing series after competing in South America.

Ferreira joins teammate Alisha Palmowski who was the best performing Wild Card driver in 2024, qualifying sixth and fourth in Lusail before securing a P5 finish.

2024 GB4 vice-champion Palmowski rounds off the Red Bull-supported team, joining forces with the F1 powerhouse for 2025.

MP Motorsport welcomes two new drivers

Dutch team MP Motorsport also has a new line-up for 2025, welcoming two new drivers alongside third-place finisher Maya Weug.

Scuderia Ferrari Academy driver Weug starts a new adventure with MP Motorsport after securing seven podiums and a win with PREMA last year.

The Dutch driver will be joined by newcomer Joanne Ciconte, supported by F1 Academy, who will make the jump from F4 series this year.

Ciconte is the youngest driver on the grid at 16 years old, joining fellow 16-year-old Alba Larsen.

Tommy Hilfiger-supported Larsen will make her full-time single-seater debut this year after being selected as a 2023 FIA Girls On Track Rising Stars finalist.

Weug is most likely to challenge the Iron Dame Pin for the title this year, but can her young teammates cause an upset?

ART Grand Prix retains familiar faces

ART retains two of its 2024 drivers for this season, enhancing its line-up with 2024 Wild Card driver Courtney Crone.

The American driver will be supported by Haas in her first full season of racing single-seaters after winning the 2023/2024 IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship.

Puma-supported driver Aurelia Nobels embarks on her second F1 Academy season after securing a best finish of fifth place and six appearances in the points last year.

Lia Block continues her single-seater excursion with support from Williams Racing, continuing the transition from rallying.

The American rally champion secured two P4 finishes in Singapore last season, finishing eighth overall in the standings.

ART hope to use their experienced returning drivers to earn more points this season, and target a third-place finish in the standings.

New team Hitech TGR brings three new rookies

Newcomers Hitech TGR joins F1 Academy in its third season, welcoming three new drivers to the grid.

Canadian driver Nicole Havrda joins the pack supported by American Express after securing three titles in Formula Pro USA Winter Series, SFR FA2.

Hitech also welcomes Tag Heuer-supported driver Aiva Anagnostiadis who secured a place in the 2023 Alpine Rac(H)er Academy Programme.

Rounding off the grid, Shi Wei is the first Chinese driver to compete in F1 Academy with support from Juss Sports.

Wei is a FIA F4 Chinese Championship Challenge Cup winner, and has competed in the Toyota Gazoo Racing GR86 Cup and the China Endurance Championship.

With fresh faces ready to make their marks, Hitech has a line-up full of rookies that could potentially change the game.

The series kicks off on March 21 with a season opening round in Shanghai, China.

READ MORE – Susie Wolff discusses the “F1 Academy effect” in grassroots motorsport

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F1 Academy Managing Director Susie Wolff discusses the “F1 Academy effect” in grassroots motorsports with female participation levels increasing to 25%.

Wolff took to the F1 Acacemy helm shortly before its inaugural season in 2023 and set out to diversify motorsport’s playing field.

In two years Wolff has sent two champions to FRECA and GB3, facilitated driver signings in F1 team driver programmes, and helped boost female participation levels in motorsport.

During an interview with Goodwood, Wolff explained: “We’ve never had so much female participation – 25 per cent – and when you speak to those in the world of karting, they’re calling it the F1 Academy effect.” 

“We’re giving that huge female fan base the impression that, ‘Okay, this sport isn’t just for men’, and I think that’s one of the big hurdles that we have to break down, particularly for the next generation.

“They need to see these young women in race suits, on the pit wall and in the garages for them to believe that they can do it.

“I don’t have the hard numbers and the data, but I certainly feel a wave of impact.”

The “F1 Academy effect” in karting

Not only does Wolff run the single-seater racing series, but she has also created several new opportunities for females participating in grassroots motorsport.

F1 Academy scouts female drivers from karting centres across the world, offering them sponsorships and connections with their number of high-profile partners.

Some of F1 Academy’s partners include Tommy Hilfiger, Charlotte Tilbury, Puma, Pirelli, Red Bull, and American Express.

Wolff continued: “With the huge exposure we’ve managed to gather in year one, and bearing in mind that we have nearly all the F1 broadcasters with us, the fact we’re racing with F1, that we have brands like Charlotte Tilbury and Tommy Hilfiger helping us reach a brand new audience, I think we really are changing that perception.

“I think we’ve achieved a lot this year. We’ve already announced we’re increasing to more cars for next season.

“So I think we’re off to a very solid start. But this is a long-term project, and we’ll only see the results kind of mid-term.

“So, it’s about continuing to progress, continuing to make sure we make the right decisions, to make sure, for example, that our champion progresses in the right way.”

Wolff on F1 Academy’s exposure for drivers

Exposure is not just limited to brands, female drivers spotted by F1 Academy have the chance of building relationships with F1 teams.

The sophomore season of F1 Academy saw the relationship with F1 broaden, with all ten teams required to sponsor an F1 Academy driver on the grid.

This has given drivers like Abbi Pulling and Doriane Pin the chance to be signed into both Alpine and Mercedes’ driver programmes respectively.

“I was always very ambitious with my plans for F1 Academy, racing, with F1, getting the F1 teams on board, and of course, it was up to us to show them that this was a platform that was going to be impactful.

“In the end, I don’t want the success of F1 Academy to be judged on if I get one girl into Formula 1.

“I think it will come down to finding that exceptional talent because to make it to F1 you need to be exceptional.

“But you also need to have the right trajectory, and that means having the funding, getting into the right team and getting noticed by the right people.

“The more that we are existing, the more the involvement from the Formula 1 teams, means they will know when we come across an outstanding talent.”

The third season of the all-female series is set to kick off on the 21st of March with a season-opener at the Shanghai International Circuit.

READ MORE – Red Bull sign Alisha Palmowski for 2025 F1 Academy assault

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Retired Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya said that Oscar Piastri has “the most to prove next season” after claiming that the Australian fell short of his teammate Lando Norris in 2024.

The former McLaren race winner claimed that he was surprised with Piastri’s performance this season, not being able to match Norris’ qualifying feats.

In a season where McLaren launched themselves to the top of the tables, Montoya expected both papaya drivers to be in the fight for the title.

Montoya told LuckyBlock: “Oscar Piastri is the driver with the most to prove next season.

“I really expected him to step up this year and I am a little surprised he didn’t.

“I really felt that this year he would be better than Lando, but Lando took a massive step forward and Oscar didn’t.”

The Australian driver managed to secure his maiden victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix in dramatic fashion, and earned a second victory in Azerbaijan.

However, Piastri failed to take the fight directly to his teammate and fell short of Norris in points, race results, and qualifying results.

Norris beat Piastri in 2024 head-to-heads

Although Piastri snagged two race victories and eight podiums to land a P4 finish in the drivers’ standings, he lost the qualifying head-to-head 20-4 against Norris.

Norris managed to score more points than his teammate, two more race wins, and 16 better race results in addition to the 20 better qualifying results.

In what became a glorious comeback year for McLaren, Piastri fell short of his more experienced teammate this season.

Despite Piastri’s consistency during races, Montoya admitted to being surprised at the head-to-head comparisons this year.

Several drivers including seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton have admitted to struggling during qualifying and Piastri has been one of them.

The young driver has just finished his second full season in F1 and contributed to securing McLaren’s first constructors’ title in 26 years.

In 2025 Piastri will be expected to prove his spot on a championship-winning team, hopefully taking the fight a bit closer to his teammate Norris.

Still, with a career in F1 just two seasons young, Piastri’s progression has been consistently on an upward trajectory and he knows where he needs to improve next term.

“The biggest one has been leaving a few too many positions on the table in qualifying,” Piastri said.

“I don’t think I’ve ever really made life easy for myself in the races, in that aspect.

“So, I think that’s definitely the big focus of the off-season, just trying to get those last hundredths, last tenths.”

READ MORE – Oscar Piastri shares unusual signing spot for McLaren F1 contract

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Zhou Guanyu is focused on regaining a Formula 1 seat in 2026 and has expressed interest in the new Cadillac outfit joining the grid.

Guanyu was recently dropped by Sauber for Formula 2 title-winner Gabriel Bortoleto after a season plagued by an uncompetitive car.

Zhou scored the Swiss-based team’s only points of the season with eighth in the Qatar Grand Prix, but that was all too late having come after confirmation Bortoleto had claimed his drive for next year.

During the Qatar GP press conference, Guanyu shared that he is fully focused on finding a full-time F1 seat in 2026, expressing interest in Cadillac.

“I’m fully aware of, you know, that GM and Cadillac joined the grid,” he said.

“I think it’s very good for the sport in general because a lot of people are always talking about having probably not enough seats for the young drivers available.

“Clearly, I think we have a lot of young drivers for next year. And then, I think from my position, it’s a great opportunity and a great chance for next season that I’m not having a seat.

“So I can probably think about what the future will be and try to have an opportunity there.”

Graeme Lowdon: Zhou’s manager and Cadillac’s Team Principal

Although Guanyu is out of an F1 seat for next season, he has a potential ‘in’ with Cadillac through his manager.

The former Marussia Sporting Director, Graeme Lowdon, has been appointed as the Team Principal of the Cadillac F1 project.

Cadillac has also signed a customer engine deal with Ferrari for 2026 and ’27 and speculation links Zhou with a reserve driver role at the Scuderia next year.

So, the pieces could be falling nicely into place for Zhou to land a drive at Cadillac.

In the meantime, Zhou stated his “priority is trying to, like I always said, having another chance of coming back on the grid.

“So for me, I don’t really have where I go, but if there’s a chance to grab, I will absolutely take it. So let’s see how the future is.”

In addition to waiting for another seat on the grid to open up, Guanyu has chosen to avoid racing in another series in 2025.

“I kind of decided not to take another series,” he explained. “I feel like with so many doors that could be potentially open, not just during next year, but also the year after.

“I want to make sure if there’s a chance for me in case, you know, to be stepping back into seat for one race or not, I’ll be fully here to do so. So that’s very important.”

READ MORE – Who should Cadillac charge with leading the American F1 dream?

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Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was the most selected driver in the EA SPORTS F1 24 sim racing game career mode, beating out Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

The F1 24 game saw a significant revision to the career mode, allowing players to compete as real-life drivers.

Previously, players were only allowed to create their own virtual characters to race alongside the real F1 stars.

It was recently revealed that Hamilton was the most selected driver in the career mode this year, beating out 2025 Ferrari team-mate Leclerc.

F1 24 players were most likely to select the seven-time world champion for several reasons, including the chance to win an eighth title.

Moreover, F1 24 gave gamers the last chance to pilot Hamilton as a Mercedes driver ahead of his much-talked-about move to Ferrari.

In addition, SportsPro named Hamilton as the most marketable athlete in motorsport in 2024 and it goes without saying he is one of the most recognizable faces in F1.

Fans were able to select drivers from the Formula 2 grid, as well as legends such as Ayrton Senna through the ‘icon pack’.

While Hamilton led the pack, drivers such as Max Verstappen were also highly sought-after, alongside rookie Oliver Bearman.

Change afoot in EA Sports’ F1 franchise

The shift towards driver-focused gaming is part of EA SPORTS’ new vision for their F1 games, set to focus on ‘live service’ offerings – this includes limited-time events in games like F1 World game mode.

EA SPORTS Senior Creative Director Lee Mather said (via Traxion): “Fans completed 2.21 billion miles, executed 23.62 million pit stops and demonstrated strong engagement with the game’s new features and live service content.

“We are grateful for our players and look forward to providing even more engaging experiences as the real-world drama of Formula 1 unfolds.”

The first three circuits (Bahrain International Circuit, Albert Park Circuit, and the Jeddah Corniche Circuit) on the 2024 F1 calendar were the most-played tracks in the game.

While classic circuits like Imola, Monza, and Spa-Francorchamps were less driven by users of the F1 24 game.

The next game, F1 25, is expected to be released on May 23, 2025, with several potential new features like the return of story mode.

Fans have been begging for the return of the story mode since it morphed into the ‘Braking Point’ narrative-based game mode three years ago.

With Hamilton switching to Ferrari, fans will jump at the chance to play the world champion in red.

So it would be no surprise if history repeats itself next year and the seven-time world champion is once again the most-selected player.

READ MORE – F1 legend Lewis Hamilton most marketable athlete in motorsport

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Max Verstappen has won a new accolade by becoming the first driver ever to have unanimously been voted as the best driver of the year by all F1 team bosses.

The F1 team bosses were asked to rank their top drivers, with points awarded as they would be in a Grand Prix from 25 down to one for first through 10th.

Once all 10 team bosses handed in their rankings, the scores were combined to create a final points table to determine the top-10 drivers of the year.

F1 team principals unanimously voted for Verstappen as 2024’s top driver, receiving the full maximum of points in the polls.

That result is unsurprising given the Dutchman took his fourth consecutive title this season, albeit with an RB20 machine that struggled against the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and sometimes even Mercedes throughout the 2024 campaign.

Alas, Verstappen capitalised on a pace advantage at the start of the season to take seven wins from the first 10 races and an astonishing six straight pole positions.

As Red Bull’s pace faded, Verstappen was able to execute damage limitation, along with stunning drives in Sao Paulo and Qatar to ensure he became just the sixth driver to win at least four titles.

The Red Bull ace joined Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton in the history books.

Remarkably, Verstappen hasn’t left the top two spots in the team boss rankings since his debut in F1, the only exception being his rookie season in Toro Rosso, ranking fourth.

F1 team boss rankings reflect championship standings

Much like the drivers’ standings, Verstappen edged McLaren’s Lando Norris to win the driver of the year title.

Norris fell short of Verstappen by 72 points, climbing one spot from his P3 finish in the polls based on his 2023 performances.

The young Briton aided McLaren in winning its first constructors’ title in 26 years, almost taking the Drivers’ title fight down to the wire.

The two title rivals finished ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc who climbed a spot in the rankings, beating both Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz.

His future teammate Lewis Hamilton dropped two places in the rankings from last year, falling to seventh behind George Russell.

The team principals who took part in the vote were Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Christian Horner, Ayao Komatsu, Mike Krack, Laurent Mekies, Oliver Oakes, Andrea Stella, Fred Vasseur, James Vowles, and Toto Wolff.

Beyond the usual suspects, noteworthy inclusions in the top-10 driver rankings were Nico Hulkenberg after an impressive campaign with Haas.

Behind the German, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top-10 performers in the eyes of the team bosses.

READ MORE – Max Verstappen: F1 drivers not willing to ‘cross the line’ don’t have ‘champion mentality’

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Williams explained that despite results proving otherwise, its 2024 Formula 1 challenger performed better than its predecessor.

Finishing ninth in the 2024 Constructor’s standings, Williams amassed a total of 17 points across 24 races this year.

Compared to its seventh-place finish last year with 28 points, the British team suffered far beyond expectations.

With 17 incidents this season, Williams has racked up an estimated £11,471,990 in damages that certainly hindered its car development.

In what seemed like a step back for the team, Williams is confident that the FW46 was a big step up from its predecessor.

Williams’ Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson told select media including Motorsport Week: “It’s been a bit mixed.

“Fundamentally the car is better but we haven’t seen that bear out in terms of the final results.

“There’s a few reasons for that, one is I guess we did go a little bit backwards in order to go forwards in how we develop the car.”

F1 Season of ‘attrition’ hurt Williams’ progress

Robson explained that Williams started the season on the wrong foot, already overweight heading into the season opener in Bahrain.

While the team intended to improve the car’s balance over the winter, the time taken to develop a shift in concept resulted in a heavier car in Bahrain.

What shortly followed was Alex Albon’s infamous Friday practice crash in Melbourne, and Williams began digging themselves into a soon-to-be very deep hole.

The damage was so severe that Albon was given Logan Sargeant’s car to drive for the remainder of the weekend as the team had only one working chassis.

Robson continued: “The attrition from Melbourne onwards has held us back a bit in terms of bringing new parts to the car, and the fact we started with the programme a bit delayed last year, the car was overweight, some parts got rushed through.

“That’s set us back both in terms of lap time and then development, effort and time in taking the weight off rather than bringing the big upgrades.

“That has definitely held us back in terms of the results, which is a bit frustrating, but I’m confident the car is better than the sort of headline race results would have you believe at the moment.”

Between the sheer number of incidents on track to strict budget limitations, Williams has endured a rough battle with the FW46.

The Grove-based outfit ended the 2024 F1 campaign topping the table for most damages over the season.

Moreover, Williams failed to score a single point in the last five races and suffered at least one retirement in each of those Grands Prix.

READ MORE – How Williams crashes impacted its 2025 F1 development plans

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McLaren is set to face a hiked Formula 1 entry fee thanks to clinching the Constructors’ title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Lando Norris’ victory at the Yas Marina Circuit last Sunday sealed McLaren’s first Constructors’ title in 26 years, albeit just fractionally ahead of age-old rivals Ferrari (14 points)

McLaren’s Constructor’s Championship win has caused a steep hike in its F1 entry fee, raising the price to £4.8 million ($6.1 million) for 2025.

The highest-placed constructor in F1 is expected to pay the FIA the highest entry fee, which has been raised over the last few years.

In 2025 all 10 teams must pay a base fee of $680,203, but as the best-placed team, McLaren has to pay an additional $8161 per point scored in 2024.

The remainder of the grid pays an additional $6799 per point.

The maths plays out to land McLaren with its $6.1 million bill for 2025 which totals more than its last three entry fees.

The FIA has raised the entry fee in F1, collecting £20.3 million ($25.7 million) from constructors in the new year.

This is a steep rise compared to fees from five years ago, and even £1.5 million ($2 million) more than the 2023 fee.

McLaren is set to pay more in entry fees than Aston Martin, Alpine, Haas, RB, Williams and Sauber combined.

McLaren receives biggest slice of the F1 prize pot following title success

While the nearly £5 million fare for McLaren is high, Red Bull paid the FIA £5.8 million ($7.4 million) to enter the 2024 F1 season.

That’s down to its dominant 2023 campaign, where Red Bull scored all but one Grand Prix and scored a total of 860 points, more than double that of the nearest competitor.

The Milton Keynes-based team fell to third in the Constructor’s Championship in 2024, hampered by poor car balance and Sergio Perez’s alarming form.

The net result was a points tally of 589 points and a fee of £3.6 million ($4.6 million).

While this is a positive in terms of smaller outgoing finances, Red Bull will receive a smaller some of the prize money for finishing third.

Winners McLaren takes the biggest slice of the prize pot, $140 million to Ferrari’s $131 million, while Red Bull receives $122 million.

READ MORE – McLaren adopting ‘brave risk’ approach to 2025 F1 development

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The BWT Alpine Formula One Team has announced Nina Gademan as their nominated driver for their 2025 F1 Academy campaign.

The young Dutch driver previously raced in the series this year, earning a spot as the Round 4 Wild Card driver in Zandvoort.

She finished fourth in Race 1, securing the best finish for a Wild Card driver in F1 Academy, and tenth in Race 2.

Gademan earned 13 points in her debut F1 Academy weekend, cementing herself as a prime candidate for a full-time seat.

The 21-year-old driver has a strong background in karting, winning the FIA Motorsport Games Slalom Cup in 2019 for Team Netherlands.

Gademan shared: “I am incredibly proud to be representing BWT Alpine Formula One Team in the 2025 F1 Academy season.

“This is a moment I once thought might never come, and it is a dream come true. Having the support of a team with such an incredible legacy means the world to me.

“I am deeply grateful for Alpine’s trust and belief in me, and I can’t wait to make the 2025 season an unforgettable chapter in this journey.”

She made an impressive single-seater debut earlier this year, driving in British Formula 4, earning a podium at Round 4 in Thruxton.

Gademan is set to compete in the Formula Winter Series for Hitech GP before making her F1 Academy debut next year.

The Formula Winter Series takes place from January 30 to March 9, racing in Portimão, Valencia, Aragon, and Barcelona.

Team Principal Oliver Oakes said: “We are happy to have Nina coming on board as our F1 Academy driver selection for the 2025 season.

“It was great to see her step up into single-seaters at the start of 2024 and to claim points on her F1 Academy debut as the wildcard in Zandvoort.

“We are excited to see what she can do in the series next year. Nina will be a fantastic addition to our line-up of junior drivers, and we look forward to working with her throughout 2025.”

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