The new series, which has been created to maximise the opportunity and potential of young female drivers to reach the highest level in motorsport, features five teams - ART, Campos, Carlin, MP Motorsport and Prema - each entering three cars to make up a 15-strong grid
Tuesday 11 April 2023 22:23, UK
F1 Academy cars and drivers took to the track for the first time as pre-season testing for the all-female series began in Barcelona on Tuesday.
Before the series' inaugural season gets under way on April 28 in Austria, the 15 drivers are getting two days to test their new machinery at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The new series, which has been created to maximise the opportunity and potential of young female drivers to reach the highest level in motorsport, features five teams - ART, Campos, Carlin, MP Motorsport and Prema - each entering three cars to make up a 15-strong grid.
No timesheets are being made available from the testing sessions, with the two-day event designed to give drivers the opportunity to get used to cars they have not had the opportunity to drive before.
The season will be contested over 21 races across seven race weekends, the last of which takes place as a support event to Formula 1's US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas in October.
There will also be 13 more days of testing scheduled during the season, while the 2024 championship will run exclusively alongside F1 at Grand Prix weekends.
Chloe Grant, one of four British drivers who will compete in the first F1 Academy season, racing for ART, said following the first test day: "It's a race car so I'm always going to love it, but it's a great car to drive.
"The biggest thing I learned was the limit you can actually push the car to and the tyres reacting differently in different conditions with the new and the old, so it's been a really good learning experience and it's a learning year."
Fellow Brit, Jessica Edgar, who will race for Rodin Carlin, said: "I've really enjoyed it, I've been making big improvements.
"I've never been to Barcelona before, so I really enjoyed being on the track for the first time and hopefully we'll make some more improvements tomorrow."
Stephanie Carlin, Rodin Carlin team principal, said: "The day's gone really positively.
"The drivers were first and foremost comfortable in the cars. It's the first time they've driven these cars and been out on track, so it was really important to do a really good shakedown and make sure everything was as it should be, which it was.
"Then from a setup and pace perspective, we made a nice step forward in the afternoon and everybody's quite happy with the progress that we've made."
