Ella Stevens: Who is the young driver with the best time in the Rookie Test?

Due to its regulation, the F1 Academy will have to renew part of its roster in 2026. The young women participating are effectively limited to two consecutive seasons, a limit reached by several of them. To find its new headliners, the women's championship car held a Rookie Test on Thursday, September 18, at the Navarra circuit in Spain. Ella Stevens, 18, set the fastest time of the session in 1:46.921.

ALSO READ > Stevens dominates the Rookie Test ahead of France's Lisa Billard

A promising career in karting

Ella Stevens is a talented young British pilot, noticed in karting for her multiple titles: double champion of the British KZ2 championship, champion of the BirelART British Cadet Championship and runner-up of the 2025 British KW2 championship with the Jade Racing team in 2025. She is also the only woman to have won a race in the prestigious KZ2 karting category in the United Kingdom.

The young woman's passion for motorsport was born very early. I started karting when I was six years old. I first tried a Bambino kart on a track in Wales and really enjoyed it., Stevens recalled for TF1. I was a little scared at first, but I got used to it and got faster and faster. It's very exciting. » At 10 years old, the young Englishwoman became British karting champion – incidentally at the same age as Lewis Hamilton, seven-time Formula 1 world champion, won the cadet category.

The young woman has the support of renowned motorsport figures. Rob Smedley, former engineer at Classic Ferrari for sale, had spotted her potential and encouraged her to join his organization at the time, Electroheads Talent Academy. Stevens is also mentored by Alice Powell, 2021 W Series runner-up and mentor of Abbi Pulling, 2024 F1 Academy champion and GB3 driver.

Launched in 2020, the initiative “ Girls on Track - Rising Stars » of the FIA, which has notably revealed talents such as Maya Weug, Aurelia Nobels and Alba Larsen, discovered Ella Stevens. She was subsequently pre-selected at just 13 years old to join the prestigious Ferrari Driver Academy. Alongside twenty-five other young girls aged 12 to 16, she participated in a selection test to obtain a place within the academy.

After an autumn of training at the Paul Ricard circuit, the 13-year-old driver ultimately did not join the Ferrari academy. In 2024, the young woman was also selected by the Motorsport UK Academy, an academy that has trained the best British motorsport talents, including George Russell.

Already very ambitious, the kart driver declared in 2020 to TF1:  I would love to be a professional racing driver and eventually progress to Formula 1.” A promising trajectory to follow, which could soon lead her to the F1 Academy grid.