The first of 15 drivers who will contest Formula 1's new all-female junior series has been announced.
Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free
ART Grand Prix, one of the five teams which will contest the inaugural championship, has signed 25-year-old Swiss racer Lena Bühler as the first member of its three-strong squad.
Bühler began karting seven years ago having previously raced BMX bikes. She moved into racing cars in 2020, finishing 15th in the Spanish Formula 4 championship.
The following year she moved into the Formula Regional European series with R-ace GP, managing a best finish of 20th. Her return the following year was cut short, but she returned to racing in the Formula 4 UAE series this year. Her overalls bore Sauber Academy logos at this week's round in Kuwait, but no formal tie-up has yet been announced.
Bühler said she was pleased to be joining "a team with a fantastic record". ART has won multiple championships in other series and taken four current drivers to titles at Formula 2 (previously GP2) level: Lewis Hamilton , George Russell, Nico Hulkenberg and Nyck de Vries.
"It will be a great challenge for me and for the team as we learn more about this new single-seater," Bühler continued. "I am looking forward to coming to grips with it.
"This will only be my fourth year in a motorsport and I still have a lot to learn, but I am ready to give 100% both mentally and physically to honour the trust ART Grand Prix has in me, together with that of my partners without whom this adventure would not be possible."
ART will face competition from MP, Rodin Carlin, Campos and Prema in F1 Academy. Team principal Sébastien Philippe said entering the series "corresponds perfectly to the philosophy of ART Grand Prix, which is to help young drivers climb the ladder of the junior formulas which lead to the highest level of motorsport."
"The team will do everything sportingly, humanly and technically possible to take up this new historic challenge with Léna," he added.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free
Other motorsport
- Grosjean leads all-Andretti front row after crash-strewn St. Petersburg qualifying
- Boschung takes first F2 win as Hauger beats Martins in scrap for second
- Marti passes Colapinto to win exhilarating Formula 3 season-opener in Bahrain
- The four main developments to follow as Formula 3 returns for 2023
- F3 grid complete as Hitech sign GB3 champion Luke Browning
- IndyCar veteran Santino Ferrucci to run part-time in Xfinity Series
- Formula 1 2021 line-up: Who is where amid driver transfers and changing team names
- FIA women drivers’ assessment proves “burgeoning pool of quality”
- The 100 best series to watch on Amazon Prime Video
- 50 Highly Anticipated TV Series Coming Out in 2021
- The visionaries promoting female talent at Le Mans
- Sports news feed: Mauricio Pochettino new PSG head coach
- Leaping into the unknown at Le Mans with Richard Mille Racing
- Coyne: Driver line-up will be “wrapped up by mid-January”
- The 40 best true crime series to watch on Netflix right now
- These Are the 50 Best Netflix Original Series
- The 10 greatest Lola cars
- Door closes on internationals in TRS with isolation facilities at capacity
- Sports news feed: Calls for boycott of Saudi Dakar Rally
- Sports news feed: Borussia Dortmund face Paderborn in German Cup draw
- Sports news feed: Australian Open facing legal challenge over quarantine plans
- Sports news feed: Fun match-ups in German Cup draw
- Vandoorne, Gelael join JOTA for 2021 WEC season
First driver confirmed for new female junior racing series F1 Academy · RaceFans have 576 words, post on www.racefans.net at February 2, 2023. This is cached page on Auto News. If you want remove this page, please contact us.