Marta Garcia has been announced as the final driver to take to the track, completing the F1 Academy Grid for the inaugural season.
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Garcia takes the final seat available in PREMA Racing’s F1 Academy team alongside Bianca Bustamante and Chloe Chong, completing the F1 Academy Grid. The 15-driver line up for the first season of the all-female feeder series has now been announced, as has the race locations and points system.
Starting in Austria at the end of next month, five teams will race at seven tracks around the world. The tracks have been chosen to help the drivers develop their skills on a range of circuits. This will help prepare them to progress to higher levels of competition.
The Race Layout
Each race weekend will see the 15 drivers complete two Free Practice sessions of 40 minutes each and two 15 minute Qualifying sessions. Each weekend will have three F1 Academy races: Races 1 and 3 will be 30 minutes long, and Race 2 will be 20 minutes.
According to F1;
The first Qualifying session will set the grid for Race 1, while the second will set the order for Race 3 and the drivers who achieve pole position in each of these sessions will receive two points. Race 2’s grid will be set by reversing the top eight drivers from Qualifying 1, with ninth and below lining up in the positions they qualified in.”
The drivers who take pole position for Races 1 and 3 will be awarded with two points. As in other series, a point will be awarded for a fastest lap in each race providing they finish in the top ten.
Garcia is no stranger to race weekends alongside Formula 1, having competed in the W Series Championships in 2019, 2021 and 2022. During her rookie season, she was able to get a race win and also two podiums under her belt.
A Great Opportunity
Garcia is looking forward to a new challenge this season with PREMA;
“I’m super happy to be racing for PREMA in F1 Academy,” said Garcia. “I think this is a great opportunity for me to show what I am capable of and it’s great to do it with PREMA, which is one of the best operations in motorsport. I’m looking forward to working with them and putting their colours at the front in this new series.”
PREMA Team Principal Rene Rosin said: “We are looking forward to racing together with Garcia as she had some impressive showings in the past. We think she can be a leading competitor in the F1 Academy field so to join forces was really natural. She also has a good amount of experience which is a bonus asset for the whole team.”
F1 Academy Full Lineup
Garcia will drive alongside Bianca Bustamante and Chloe Chong at the Italian team. ART Grand Prix have locked in Lena Buhler, Carrie Shreiner and Chloe Grant. Campos Racing have signed Nerea Martí, Lola Lovinfosse and Maite Cáceres. Amna Al Qubaisi, Hamda Al Qubaisi and Emely de Heus will take to the track for MP Motorsport. Finally, Jessica Edgar, Abbi Pulling and Megan Gilkes complete the grid racing for Rodin Carlin.
F1 Academy will race at the following tracks:
Speilberg, Austria: 28 – 29 April
Valencia, Spain: 05 – 07 May
Barcelona, Spain: 19 – 21 May
Zandvoort, Netherlands: 23 – 25 June
Monza, Italy: 07 – 09 July
Le Castellet, France: 29 – 30 July
Austin, USA: 20 – 22 October
Image courtesy of WSeries
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