First created in 2023, F1 ACADEMY is a single-seater, all-female racing series, launched by Formula One to develop and promote female talent, serving as a crucial stepping stone to higher levels of motorsport.
Robertson first impressed the paddock with her standout appearance at the Las Vegas series finale in November 2025, where she was called up to replace the injured Aiva Anagnostiadis in the #11 Hitech TGR entry. Robertson was the protagonist of an outstanding debut, finishing fourth in Race One, securing her team’s highest result of the season as well as the best finish ever achieved by a replacement or wildcard driver in the series.
Robertson’s move to a full‑season seat in the F1 ACADEMY marks an exciting next step in her flourishing motorsport career that began with indoor karting just three years ago. After progressing to the British Kart Championships (BKC), where she established herself as a front-runner in the Senior Rotax class, she was awarded a factory drive with Radical Motorsport - going on to finish an impressive third overall in the Radical Cup UK season. Robertson’s performances earned her an invitation to the inaugural F1 ACADEMY Rookie Test at Circuito de Navarra, where she impressed again by setting top-five times across both sessions.
A key pillar of Robertson’s recent successes and future development is her use of Ansible Motion’s Driver‑in‑the‑Loop (DIL) simulators, providing a truly immersive environment to accelerate her learning and to make the most of limited and costly track time. The partnership also gives her valuable experience of working in a simulator environment, a crucial skill that today’s aspiring drivers need in their toolkit.
Dan Clark, Managing Director at Ansible Motion, comments:
Rachel’s rise through the ranks has been incredibly impressive, especially given how recently she began racing. With limited seat time compared to many of her peers, simulator time will be absolutely vital this year. A full season in F1 Academy is well deserved and we wish her every success this year.
Robertson adds:
I’m incredibly excited to be joining F1 Academy. It’s been an amazing journey to get here, just three years ago I was coming off my novice kart plates, having only got into the sport after persuading my dad to take me indoor rental karting. So much hard work has gone into this from my family and so many amazing people, and I’m hugely grateful for everything.
Robertson is the eleventh driver announced for the 2026 F1 ACADEMY season, and the first to be confirmed by Hitech TGR, as the team prepares for its second season in the championship. Her 2026 campaign begins with official testing in Shanghai from 11–13 February, where she will take her first laps in championship machinery ahead of the season opener.
Read more about Rachel Robertson’s F1 ACADEMY seat on the RACERS website.