New Faces of F1 Academy: Ella Stevens

Prepare for Ella and make her papaya! As McLaren doubled their cars for the 2026 F1 Academy season with Oxagon, they introduced a new face, a new “Ella” to the grid. This article covers the newest McLaren and Rodin Motorsport rookie, Ella Stevens.

(Image credit to mclaren.com)

The 19-year old British driver was born in Kingswood, Gloucestershire. Her interest in karting began growing when she was 6 years old. In 2017, she won her first karting title in the BirelART UK Cadet series, showing early signs of great potential. One of the former engineers of Ferrari, Rob Smedley, became aware of her early talent and made her a part of his organisation, Electroheads Talent Academy. Much like Esmée Kosterman and many other former F1 Academy drivers, she took part in the FIA Girls on Track - Rising Star programme in 2020 and 2021. 

(Image credit to edition.cnn.com)

Afterwards, by winning regional and national karting series around the UK, Stevens truly started to make a name for herself in karting. The British driver became a two-time English KZ2 champion and in her latest British KZ2 campaign in 2025, she made history. The young Brit became the vice-champion and the first female driver to win a race in the series.

(Image credit to ellastevensracing.co.uk)

Her increasing success in karting opened her the gates of the single-seater racing world in 2025. In the inaugural F1 Academy Rookie Test, Stevens caught everyone’s attention by setting the fastest lap overall. With another McLaren car added to the grid for the 2026 F1 Academy season, the Woking-based team decided to invest in Stevens’ potential and signed her for the McLaren Driver Development Programme. Under the mentoring of Alice Powell, an experienced and important female figure in British motorsports, she’s in the seat of #28 McLaren Oxagon cars operated by Rodin Motorsport for the 2026 season.

(Image credit to marca.com)

In summary, Ella Stevens has proven herself as a potential star in her very young career. The 19-years old driver had a rather challenging start to her rookie season by qualifying 11th, finishing both races in 11th and 12th positions, a few seconds behind the points-paying positions. We’ll see how the young Brit progresses over her first full-season in the F1 Academy.

Article written by Emre Albas © Emre Albas 2026