Dutch racing talent Emely de Heus is participating in the first season of the F1 Academy, a new racing class for young female drivers set up by Formula 1. The 20-year-old De Heus will drive for the Dutch team MP Motorsport. Last year, the driver from Mijnsheerenland took part in the W Series, the racing class for women.
The new F1 Academy is mainly intended to give young talents a better chance of a career in the highest class of motorsport. Formula 1 finances the project with 2.25 million euros. Five teams will participate in the first season, each with three cars. De Heus is joined by two women from the United Arab Emirates at MP Motorsport.
The season starts at the end of April at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. Three races will be held there. This also happens at the other six race weekends. From 23 to 25 June, the women from the F1 Academy will drive on the Zandvoort circuit. The season ends on October 22 in Austin (Texas), where the United States GP in Formula 1 will also be held that day.
“It feels great to be back at MP, this is a kind of second home for me,” said De Heus, who drove for the Dutch team in the Spanish Formula 4 in 2021. “With the extra experience I now I am looking forward to putting it to good use in my first season in the F1 Academy.”
Formula 1 announced in November that it would set up the F1 Academy for young women. The class mainly serves as a possible stepping stone to Formula 2 and 3.
Money is still a problem in efforts to raise the profile of women’s racing. Last season, the last three races in the W Series had to be canceled due to lack of money. With De Heus and Beitske Visser, two Dutch women drove in this class, which was set up a few years ago to give women the opportunity to make the transition to Formula 1.
In 1976 a woman took part in a race in Formula 1 for the last time. That was the Italian Lella Lombardi.
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