F1 Academy in 2025 will see the debut of a number of new drivers that even the most dedicated motorsport fan may not know. As the fresh crop of talent make their way onto the grid to race on the same weekend as Formula 1, many will be wondering who the newcomers are. Nina Gademan is one of those drivers. After years of racing as well as building an image out of the racing seat, the Dutch driver has cultivated a loyal following and gotten the attention of those in Formula 1. But will Nina Gademan be the next Dutch Superstar?
Here’s what you need to know and why you should know her name.
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Origins
Nina was born in 2003 in Wijster in the Netherlands. She grew up watching Max Verstappen’s rise in Formula 1. This famously brought with it the return of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. It wouldn’t be surprising if both contributed to her dream of wanting to become a racing driver. She first appeared on the karting scene in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, Nina was selected as a finalist for the 2019 FIA Girls On Track Le Mans Shootout, alongside other young women such as Jemima Hepworth and Natalia Lelek.
Nina was then selected as one of six drivers for the Girls on Track European Team. As a result of this, Nina won the opportunity to be supported by the FIA at two driver training camps over the course of the year. At these training camps, Nina underwent a sporting and educational programme designed to support and enhance her career in motorsport.
Later on in the year, she teamed up with fellow Dutch driver Bastiaan van Loenen in the FIA Motorsport Games in Rome. Together, they competed in the Karting Slalom Cup. They secured gold for the Netherlands, beating their nearest rivals from Belgium and Russia. At the FIA prize giving awards at the end of the year, Nina would also then meet Max Verstappen. At this point in time, Verstappen had only eight Grand Prix wins to his name.
Early Racing Career
In 2019, Nina also competed in the GK4 Dutch Karting Championship. Here, she showed her potential as a racer too. In May, during the third race of the weekend in Venray, Nina went from twenty second to eighth place in just three laps, putting on a superb display of race craft. Unfortunately for Nina, her engine broke down after this, ending what was gearing up to be an excellent result. But the raw speed and talent on display prior to that was undeniable.
In 2020 and 2021, Gademan combined competing in karting with racing in the C1 Cup in the Netherlands. Here, she honed her race craft further, achieving some wins and podiums along the way.
In 2022, Nina wrote a piece of motorsport history. She was part of the first women’s team to be on the podium at the 24 Hours of Zolder, racing for the Xwift Racing Events. Nina also crossed paths with the Alpine F1 Team for the first time in 2022. She spent a week with the French outfit learning everything she could from them.
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Nina Goldman – Building a Brand
Karting and some forays back into endurance racing followed. During this time, Nina was also working hard off track to build a following. She did this through sim racing and content creation. This led to Veloce signing her up to be one of their content creators. This also opened the path up for her to move up the next wrung of the motorsport ladder. In October of 2023, Nina got to test a British F4 car at Snetterton. The test proved to be successful as Fortec Motorsports signed her up to race for them in the British F4 Championship for 2024.
British F4
It was a milestone moment for Nina that only a few months before, she didn’t think she would achieve. Love it or hate it, this shows one of the benefits of sim racing and content creation for a racing driver. Motorsport is obviously an expensive sport. Drivers are constantly being forced to find new and attractive ways of advertising themselves to potential partners and sponsors. Through her easily accessible and universally appealing content, Nina managed to build up a fanbase and use it to her advantage.
With a long consistent amount of time outside of the actual racing seat and only a test in a British F4 car recently in her rear-view mirror, the 2024 British F4 Championship was going to be a big challenge for Nina. Competing both in the overall championship and in the rookie cup, Nina’s season can be looked at through two different but complimentary lenses.
While not finishing in any points paying positions overall, Nina did still manage to get points on the board. This was thanks to points being awarded in British F4 for overtakes made on track during a race – something that Nina proved to be rather good at. She tallied twenty five points over the season in this way.
In the rookie cup, she scored points in all but two races that she competed in, with only one retirement. Nina also achieved her first rookie podium in Thruxton during this time.
In amongst all of this, Nina went on to secure her first victory in KZ Karting in July of 2024.
Nina Gademan X F1 Academy
In August 2024, F1 Academy announced that Nina would be getting to race as a Wild Card entry in the F1 Academy Round in Zandvoort.
During qualifying, she became the fastest Wild Card entrant in history. After the first race, became the first Wild Card driver to score points. But she didn’t just score points – Nina finished in a mightily impressive P4 with only Marti, Weug and Pulling ahead of her.
https://everythingtrackside.com/f1-academy-race-1-2024-dutch-gp-pulling-in-p1/
The second race of the weekend also saw her cross the line in P4. Unfortunately, a penalty for an incident with Aurelia Nobels at T11/P12 sent her down the order to be classified as P10. Many thought the penalty harsh at the time. But that’s racing. Had Nina gotten another twelve points on top of those already earned, she would have finished the season ahead of full-time drivers Lola Lovinfosse and Amna Al Qubaisi.
2025
Despite this, she still remained the highest point scorer in the Championship of the Wild Card drivers. Her weekend at Zandvoort impressed those around her. Alpine announced her as their driver in F1 Academy for 2025 – replacing Abbi Pulling. Hitech also announced that she’d be racing for them in the Formula Winter Series 2025.
The first three races of this Winter Series have already been held in Portimão. Across these rounds, Nina has had two point scoring finishes from three races. She finished in sixth, tenth and eleventh respectively. She also won the female trophy for all three races. This currently puts her in eleventh in the Championship, out of twenty nine drivers. Nina is also at present the highest ranked female driver. In what was is a fast paced and rather competitive series, this initial results are not to be sniffed at.
https://everythingtrackside.com/nina-gademan-secures-2025-f1-academy-seat-with-alpine/
The latter Championship is a natural step that a lot of drivers use in order to get more seat time. While obviously competing in the Championship itself, it’s very beneficial to hone race craft, develop on and off track and cultivate new opportunities for the future. With F1 Academy racing in new locations such as Canada and Las Vegas in 2025, driving to impress is of paramount importance.
https://everythingtrackside.com/2025-f1-academy-calendar-announced-with-finale-in-vegas/
Nina Gademan – The Next Dutch Superstar?
What can we expect from Nina Gademan in 2025? The past has showed us that she’s resilient and hardworking in and out of the car. This will keep the teams she races for and her sponsors happy. It will also keep the door open to race in even more categories than has so far been confirmed. On track, Nina’s proven she can qualify well and overtake. As obvious as it might sound, these are two key attributes for a racer. It’s great that she’s been able to hone into these skills early on. Now all she has to do is replicate what she’s done before and adapt to her ever changing surroundings.
As a rookie in F1 Academy, she’ll be granted the benefit of the doubt should she need it. But with nothing to lose and a lot of determination embedded within her, don’t be surprised if Nina Gademan is a bit of a dark horse in 2025. Time will tell.
Feature Image: BWT Alpine F1 Team.
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