Formula 1
Ferrari have confirmed Maya Weug will join their Driver Academy in 2021, starting racing in an F4 championship this year.
16 year old Dutch/Belgian driver Maya Weug has been signed to the Ferrari Driver Academy for 2021.
Ferrari, together with the FIA’s Women in Motorsport Commission, embarked on an extensive scouting programme in 2020, whittling down a list of 20 initial candidates to emerge with four finalists.
The programme had to be briefly postponed in November 2020, as one of the four finalists tested positive for COVID-19. Resuming in January, the four candidates went through a week of training and evaluation at Ferrari’s base at Maranello.
Weug, 16, who was born in Spain to a Belgian mother and a Dutch father, beat out four other finalists – 17-year-old Doriane Pin of France, and Antonella Bassani (14) and Julia Ayoub (15), both from Brazil – to land the coveted spot in the FDA, which will see her competing in an F4 Championship season this year.
All four underwent a series of tests to assess not only their pure speed but also their potential, at an evaluation camp which took place last week at the Scuderia s headquarters in Maranello.
The process began with 20 drivers from five continents, before they were whittled down to a final four. And Weug, who tried a kart for the first time aged just seven – and who lists former FDA graduate Charles Leclerc as her favourite driver – eventually came out on top.
Ferrari Driver Academy signs its first female driver in history
22-01-2021 18:08 | Updated: 22-01-2021 22:12
First female driver at Ferrari Driver Academy
Weug was born in Spain to a Dutch father and Belgian mother. She is the first woman to join the Ferrari Driver Academy, Ferrari reports on their
The Girls on Track program was created by the FIA in collaboration with Ferrari, in an effort to get more female racing talent on the track. Girls between the ages of 12 and 16 from around the world participated in the program.
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In the end, four girls reached the finals. They all received an introduction to the Ferrari Driver Academy and were allowed to test in a Formula 4 car in the process. In November the program was postponed because one of the four finalists tested positive for the coronavirus, but it resumed in January.
Button backs Mick to ‘shine’ against Mazepin
Date published:
January 16 2021
Jenson Button believes Mick Schumacher will “shine” in his debut Formula 1 season at Haas alongside Nikita Mazepin.
Haas went for an all-new line-up for 2021, and one that was completely new to Formula 1 in the shape of two rookie drivers.
Mick, son of seven-time former World Champion Michael Schumacher, secured the 2020 Formula 2 title under the Ferrari Driver Academy banner, earning himself a Haas seat for 2021.
Mazepin meanwhile finished P5 in the same F2 season and was a more surprising selection from Haas, even before the grotesque social media video which could have cost Mazepin his seat before even making an appearance in Formula 1.