WHAT ARE WILD CARDS?

Wild Card entries were introduced for the 2024 season, with a driver being granted a seat for a specific weekend. The initiative was designed to help strengthen the talent pool in the regions where F1 ACADEMY races and prioritises talented young drivers from each race region.

At races where a Wild Card entry was present in 2024, PREMA Racing operated a fourth Wild Card car in addition to their three full-time entries, offering support and training to the selected driver. Drivers were eligible to score points in the Drivers' Standings but not the Teams' Standings.

Six Wild Card entries were fielded, of which four drivers scored points in their respective rounds. Additionally, four drivers have progressed from being Wild Card entries last season to full-time seats on the 2025 grid - Courtney Crone (Miami), Nina Gademan (Zandvoort), Ella Lloyd (Singapore). and Alisha Palmowski (Lusail).

This season, the Wild Card entry will feature at all seven rounds and will be operated by Hitech TGR as part of their trio of cars. As a result, the Wild Card entry will also now be eligible to score points in the Teams' Standings alongside the Drivers' Standings.

MEET OUR WILD CARD DRIVERS

LISA BILLARD, SINGAPORE (2025)

The youngest-ever Wild Card driver, Lisa Billard soon made her presence known around the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Discovering karting for the first time aged seven, Billard entered France's national karting scene in 2018 and four years later became the first female to win a French Junior Karting Championship race.

Further success followed the next year when she scored a her maiden podium at an international level in the FIA Academy Trophy at Cremona and was selected for the Alpine Formula 1 Team's Rac(H)er Programme.

Her single-seater debut came during the latter half of 2025 with appearances in the French F4 Championship. A full campaign in 2025 saw her claim a points finish at Spa-Francorchamps and the Female Trophy title.

Participating in F1 ACADEMY's inaugural Rookie Test, Billard finished with the second-fastest overall time.

Making her F1 ACADEMY debut for Round 6 in the #60 Gatorade operated by Hitech TGR car, 16-year-old Billard became the first Wild Card of the season to qualify in the top five. The Iron Dames-backed racer put in a valiant effort but lost out on two points finishes after suffering damage in Race 1 and pitting for wet tyres towards the end of a tricky Race 2.

ESMEE KOSTERMAN, ZANDVOORT (2025)

Esmee Kosterman gave the Dutch crowd something to cheer about when she brought home points on her F1 ACADEMY debut at the Circuit Zandvoort.

After climbing through the national and international karting ranks, Kosterman made it to the final eight in the Senior category of the 2020 FIA Girls on Track Rising Stars programme. Progressing into cars the following year, she competed in three consecutive seasons of the Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup Benelux. Kosterman became the first woman to win in the series before going on to finish second in the Junior Cup and third in the overall Standings in 2023.

Kosterman continued to hone her craft in the Dutch Supercar Challenge, BMW M2 Cup and the Lamera Cup, alongside a points-scoring single-seater debut in Indian F4. This season saw the 20-year-old make appearances in British F4 and she was selected as the Wild Card entry for Round 4 of the F1 ACADEMY season.

Representing TeamViewer, Kosterman quickly got to work, becoming the first Wild Card driver to score points in 2024, achieving a P7 finish in Race 2.

MATHILDA PAATZ, MONTREAL (2025)

Mathilda Paatz was full of fighting spirit as she made her F1 ACADEMY debut at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

Alongside progressing up through European and World level karting, the German racer competed in the 2022 FIA Motorsport Games, finishing 13th in the Junior Karting Sprint Cup. Paatz was also a two-time finalist in the FIA Girls on Track - Rising Stars program, in the Junior category in 2022 and in the Senior category a year later.

Climbing into single-seaters in 2024, she competed in the French F4 Championship, earning a best result of 10th. In 2025, the then-16-year-old has been honing her craft in the Formula Winter Series and F4 CEZ Championship, scoring her first podium with a second-place finish at the Red Bull Ring.

Although the both the Canadian track and the series were new to Paatz, she swiftly picked up the pace in the #8 Gatorade operated by Hitech TGR car. After finishing the one and only Free Practice in P16, she improved by two places in Qualifying, but wasn't able to make more progress up the order. Early retirements in Races 1 and 3 were accompanied by a P11 finish in Race 2.

AVA DOBSON, MIAMI (2025)

Putting on a show in front of the home crowds, American racer Ava Dobson stepped on to the F1 ACADEMY grid as the Wild Card entry for Round 3 in Miami.

After starting out in karting aged seven, Dobson steadily began racking up wins and podiums across World Karting Association, USPKS, SKUSA, ROK Cup and the Route 66 Sprint Series events. Progressing to open-wheel racing in 2023, she contested the F4 United States Championship alongside participating in the USF Juniors, USF 2000 and the YACademy Winter Series.

Moving over to race in Europe in 2024, Dobson scored points on her GB4 Championship debut before returning for a full campaign this year.

Racing in the #90 Morgan Stanley operated by Hitech TGR car, the then-16-year-old quickly found more pace. Improving across the four sessions, Dobson finished Free Practice 1 in P17 and moved up one place in FP2. Qualifying in P15, she made inroads in Race 1 to take the chequered flag in P13.

FARAH AL YOUSEF, JEDDAH (2025)

Learning with every lap, Farah AlYousef took to the track as the Wild Card entry for her home event around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia.

After being crowned Champion at the Saudi Women’s Karting Championship in 2022, AlYousef secured 26th place at the Karting World Finals. A rising talent in Saudi motorsport, she also raced in the F4 Middle East Championship prior to her F1 ACADEMY debut..

The then-22-year-old focused on the job in hand, driving the #4 MUHRA car operated by Hitech TGR for Round 2. P18 in Free Practice was followed by a P17 result in Qualifying, with AlYousef taking the chequered flag in 16th and 18th place in each of the respective races.

SHI WEI, SHANGHAI (2025)

Inspiring local fans to chase their dreams, Shi Wei, also known as 'Tie Dou', became the first Chinese driver to race in F1 ACADEMY when she competed at the 2025 season opener in Shanghai.

Racing the #24 Juss Sports car operated by Hitech TGR, Shi finished Free Practice in P16 before going on to qualify in P17. Two tough races followed, with an early DNF in Race 1 followed by a P14 finish in Race 2.

Prior to her appearance in F1 ACADEMY, Shi won the Challenge Cup at the 2024 FIA F4 Chinese Championship in Shanghai and finished third in the CFGP category. Alongside this, she has also competed in the Toyota Gazoo Racing GR86 Cup and the China Endurance Championship.