FIA F1 Academy Champions: Who Are They and Where Are They Now?

Winning F1 Academy is just the beginning, but what happens after and how did they even get there? Here’s what you need to know about the last 3 champions

(Image credit to goodwood)

In this series, we will look back on the past junior series’ champions and see where their careers have taken them since their title-winning season, from the pinnacle of Motorsport to other racing categories across the world.

With the FIA F1 Academy 2026 season having just begun, new faces appearing while others disappear from the grid, now would be a good time to look back. What happens after the trophies have been awarded? Where are the past FIA F1 Academy champions over the last 3 years now? In this article we’ll take a closer look at all of these questions, so you can be fully ready for the 2026 FIA F1 Academy season. 

2025 Champion:

Doriane Pin also nicknamed ‘The Pocket Rocket’ was born in Saint-Fargeau-Ponthierry, France on January 6 2004. As one of few girls back then she started karting at the age of nine and already in 2016 she was karting competitively. She was karting until 2020 after having won the French Championship Female series in 2019. Pin made her car racing debut in the one-make championship Renault Clio Cup France with the team GPA Racing where she finished 14th.

Having signed with the all-female project Iron Lynx team in early 2021 she made her debut in endurance racing with them by joining the 2 series, Michelin Le Mans Cup in GT3 and GT World Challenge Europe Endurance where she finished 5th and 23rd overall. In 2021 she also competed in Ferrari Challenge Europe, which is another one-make championship, also with Iron Lynx.

In 2022 she joined 7 different racing series. One of them being Ferrari Challenge Europe, which she returned to and this time, won the series. Pin also competed in European Le Mans Series LMGTE Drivers Trophy where she finished 9th, FIA Endurance Trophy where she finished 28th and GT World Challenge Europe Endurance again where she finished 7th. The other 3 of them have no official result.

The following season, in 2023 she returned to GT World Challenge Europe Endurance in a higher level, where she finished 29th. She also joined FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in the LMP2 class with team PREMA Racing where she had an impressive rookie season and finished 9th in the standings. She was awarded the very honourable 'Revelation of the Year' at the 2023 FIA WEC prize-giving ceremony as the first woman in history to achieve it. In 2023 she also competed in IMSA SportsCar championship where she finished 45th and Intercontinental GT Challenge where her position is not disclosed. This year she also made her single-seater debut by competing in the 2 final rounds out of 3 of the 2023 Formula 4 South East Asia season. Here she had some strong races and finished 2nd in the standings.

After those stand-out campaigns, she joined the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team Junior Programme in early January. She was backed by them as she joined PREMA’s F1 Academy team. She ended up finishing as a runner-up to Abbi Pulling, who dominated that season. While competing in F1 Academy, she also competed in F4 UAE where she finished 10th and Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) where she finished 27th. Pin also made a return to IMSA SportsCar championship where she finished 53rd and FIA Endurance Trophy where she finished 29th.

In 2025 she competed in FRECA again position not disclosed and Formula Regional Middle East where she finished 29th. She also made a return to F1 Academy and after a very competitive season, she managed to clinch the title at the final round in Abu Dhabi in a season where she was the only driver to score points in every race.

On the back of a fresh title-win she signs as a Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team  Development Driver for the 2026 season, where she will focus on simulator work and trackside duties. Pin will also be competing in the 2026 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) in the LMP2 Pro/AM class with the Duqueine Team.

(Image credit to Autohebdo)

2024 champion:

Abbi Pulling was born in Gosberton, United Kingdom on March 21 2003. She started competitively karting in 2016, becoming one of the most successful female karters in history by winning the Super 1 National Junior TKM Championship twice and being the 2016 Junior TKM British Vice Champion.

She was karting until 2020 after having taken part in the first 3 rounds in the Ginetta Junior Championship. She made her single-seater debut in the F4 British Championship with team JHR Developments. She finished 6th in the overall standings. In 2020 she also competed in Formula Renault Eurocup position not disclosed.

After only competing in six rounds of the 2021 F4 British Championship, she was forced to pull out due to lack of funding. “Absolutely heartbroken” she explained on Instagram. Pulling then moved to the W series where she finished 7th overall, despite only having participated in 4 rounds.

The following season in 2022 she made a return to the W-Series. This time the full season. She had a very good season and finished 4th in the overall standings. Early in the year Pulling joined Alpine’s Affiliate Driver programme

Being backed by Alpine now as an Alpine Academy Driver, she moved up to F1 Academy with the team then Rodin Carlin. She finished 5th overall in her rookie season after 7 podiums and 3 pole positions.

In 2024 she had another season in F1 Academy, where she dominated from the start of the season till the end of the season. Pulling did not lose the championship lead once that season, even with a very competitive grid. Alongside F1 Academy, she also partly returned to the F4 British Championship, where she made history by becoming the first ever female to win a race in F4 British Championship. Shortly after she announced that she had chosen not to renew her contract with Alpine and was then released.

After those very impressive campaigns she graduated to the GB3 Championship, still with Rodin Motorsport, as her prize for winning F1 Academy. She made history yet again by becoming the first female to achieve a podium in GB3 at Brands Hatch GP. She finished 12th in the overall standings.

After that solid first campaign in GB3, she signed with Rodin Motorsport again for another GB3 season here in 2026, where she’s aiming to be competing at the front of the field.

(Image credit to f1 academy)

2023 Champion:

Marta García was born in Dénia, Spain on August 9 2000. At the age of 10 in 2011 she started karting competitively and over the years collected many different trophies from both national and international series.

After some impressive seasons of karting, she moved up to Spanish F4 in 2016, where she competed in the final four rounds to make her single-seater debut. She was a regular points scorer in the series and despite only being there for half a season, she finished 5th overall.

The following season, she joined the then Renault Sport Academy in early 2017, to make a return to Spanish F4, but was already dropped from the academy in December as she finished 9th overall. That same year, she also competed in selected rounds of the 2017 SMP F4 Championship to gain experience in a tight field, with drivers like Christian Lundgaard and Bent Viscaal on the grid.

After a very challenging 2017, she returned to karting after struggling to find secure funding for a full-time seat in higher-level single-seater racing. She competed in the CIK-FIA European Championship where she finished 56th and the Spanish KZ2 Championship where she finished 8th.

García then moved up to the all-female single-seater championship, W-Series, where she competed in all its seasons. In the inaugural season, in 2019, she had a standout season, finishing 4th overall with one win and a pole position. In 2020 she was supposed to return to the W-Series, but it got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 and 2022 she finished 12th with 21 points and 6th with 45 points.

In March 2023 announced that she would be completing the F1 Academy grid for its inaugural season with Prema Racing. She dominated that season by securing 7 wins out of the 20 races, 12 podiums and 5 pole positions totaling 278 points. García won the championship at the final round in COTA, Austin.

On the 16th of April, she officially signed with Iron Dames. With the support from Iron Dames and the fully funded seat as a prize for her championship title, García went on to race in FRECA with Prema Racing, alongside Doriane Pin. This was another tough season for Marta García, as she finished 28th overall with her best result that season being 14th in a race. Following that season, her future in single-seaters seemed uncertain. “I’m a bit emotional as tomorrow is probably my last race in a single seater, at least for the near future…My dream was always to get to F1 and this dream will stay forever in me” she posted on her social media before her last race in FRECA. The same year she also took part in the Formula E Berlin Rookie Test where she placed 21st in morning and 18th in the afternoon, and in the Formula E pre-season women's test she placed 8th. In that same year she joined the single-make endurance championship, Ligier European Series, for two rounds in which she won in both rounds.

In 2025 she competed in the Michelin Le Mans Cup with Iron Dames, which really highlighted her shift from single-seater to endurance racing. Here she finished 4th overall. 

For the first time since 2024 Marta García is looking to make a return to single-seaters after testing the new Tatuus T-326, which will be used in FRECA where she will most likely be racing in 2026. She is still active in Formula E where she took part in another pre-season women's test, this time she placed 10th.

Article written by Laura Friis