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F1 Academy will enter its third full season in 2025. With many of the familiar faces from the past two seasons departing for pastures new, a fresh influx of talent is making its way into the paddock. This is where F1 Academy shines as it introduces us to up and coming racing drivers that we may never have heard of before. On that list for this year is Kick Sauber’s newest recruit – Emma Felbermayr.
https://everythingtrackside.com/f1-academy-2025-expansion-hitech-grand-prix/
Emma Felbermayr – Racing in her DNA
Emma was born in Wels, Austria on the 27th January 2007. It could be argued that the path into motorsport was always inevitable for Emma. Her grandfather, Horst Felbermayr Sr. was a racing driver. He began competing with the Porsche Racing Club back in the 1970s. He continued to race from then all the way into the 2010s in the European Le Man Series. Emma’s father, Horst Felbermayr Jr, kept the tradition alive by becoming a racer himself and competing over the years. Both Horst Jr. and Sr. competed a number of times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Like her father, and his father before him, Emma decided to follow in their footsteps. However, the young Austrian would carve her own path in the motorsport world. Her racing journey began when she was just seven years old when she made her karting debut.
Karting Career
Emma has progressed up the motorsport ladder since then. She competed in the Micro, Mini and Junior Classes of karting to begin with. Emma then finished as the runner-up in her first international race in the 2021 ADAC Ladies Cup. Each of these served as crucial foundations upon which to build her confidence and hone her race craft.
Emma continued to build up her experience in karting and her skill was on full display. In 2023, for example she qualified 23rd out of 119 drivers in the KZ category of the World Championship in Wackersdorf, Germany. One of her other memorable performances from that year came in May when Emma was racing in Genk, Belgium. Here, she began the first race of the weekend down in P19. But by the end of the race, the young Austrian had weaved her way up the grid, crossing the line in an impressive fifth place.
In 2024, Emma competed in all major shifter karting events, including WSK-Karting and the World and European Championships.
Emma Felbermayr graduates to F1 Academy
In December 2024, it was announced that Emma Felbermayr would be making the step up to single seaters for 2025. Not only would she be doing this, but Emma would be making this step by forming part of the grid for the new season of F1 Academy. Emma will be representing the Kick Sauber Formula 1 Team as she drives in the series for Rodin Motorsport. This is the same team that Abbi Pulling competed with last season when she won the title.
“I’m proud and thrilled to be joining KICK Sauber F1 Team for the 2025 F1 Academy season. This is an incredible opportunity to take the next step in my racing career and to challenge myself at this exciting level.” – Emma Felbermayr
While F1 Academy will be where Emma makes her single seater debut, it won’t be the only series that she competes in in 2025. Rodin Motorsport have also signed her up to drive for them in the 2025 Formula Winter Series and the Spanish F4 Championship. Both series will provide Emma with valuable seat time which she can use to develop and grow further as a driver. Much like her methodology from her karting days, it appears that Emma will be attempting to race in as much as possible to get up to speed with her new machinery as quickly as she can.
“Emma is young, but has already shown her potential, and we are looking forward to seeing her represent us on the international scene from next year.” – Mattia Binotto
https://everythingtrackside.com/bortoleto-a-future-f1-world-champion/
What does the future hold?
Drivers in F1 Academy are permitted to race in the series for two seasons. These don’t have to be back-to-back but most choose this option. If Emma impresses in her debut season, there’s no reason why she shouldn’t return in 2026. In the event that that happens, the Formula 1 team she’ll have been representing will have changed. Kick Sauber will have morphed into Audi as they take on the pinnacle of motorsport. Should they decide to retain her as the driver that races under their banner, the potential for Emma as a result could be seismic. With an outfit like Audi backing you, pathways into other series, such as Formula 3 and Indy NXT, may begin to look more within reach. From there, the sky is the limit.
For now though, Emma will be fully focused on the task in hand and adapting to the world of single seater racing. Her promotion from karting into single seaters is a welcome one. It is not always the case that drivers get to go straight from one to the other, without competing in another form of machinery in the interim. This highlights the increasing opportunities for women in motorsport – one of the fundamental tenets of F1 Academy.
https://www.f1academy.com/About/1LycRALmQQ66cwFqPlLONy/champions-of-the-future-academy
While everyone will be intrigued to see how Emma fares in her inaugural season, her promotion from karting straight into single seaters will also inspire those looking to follow in her footsteps. This will be especially true of those competing in this year’s Champions of the Future Academy, backed by F1 Academy. After all, if Emma can move straight from karting into single seater racing, why can’t they?
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Emma Felbermayr’s F1 Academy Season will kick off with the season opener in Shanghai, China on March 21st.
Feature Image: Kick Sauber F1 Team.