Interview

Jacquet confident historic French F4 victory can fuel maiden points bid in Austin

21 October 2026

Jade Jacquet insists she can “fight with the fast guys” and bring home her first F1 ACADEMY points in Austin after achieving a breakthrough single-seater victory over the break.

The Williams driver has endured a gruelling rookie season and is the only full-time driver yet to get a point on the board in 2026. Despite this, Jacquet arrives to Austin after her strongest results yet.

Between Rounds 4 and 5, Jacquet claimed her first victory in French F4, becoming the first woman to win a race in the Championship. Qualifying inside the top 10, the 16-year-old found herself on reverse grid pole for Race 2.

Controlling the pace off the line, she fended off a late Safety Car restart to take the historic victory. Handling the challenge in her stride, Jacquet was delighted at proving she can deliver when she has the opportunity.

“I’m super happy about this victory,” she began. “It shows the progress that I made since Zandvoort, and that's really cool. It was an amazing race. I led all the laps and we had a Safety Car, so I needed to do a Safety Car restart for the first time. But it went well and after I won, the feeling was amazing. I'm so happy to have done that.”

Jacquet is hunting down her first points of her rookie season in Austin

Jacquet added: “For sure, I'm more confident. I know that I can be fast and I can fight with the fast guys. I'm more confident right now. I really like this race (in Austin, also the track is really cool. I feel confident, so I'm happy to race this weekend.”

Thursday will mark her first outing around the Circuit of the Americas, a track only one driver in the field has raced at before. Buoyed by the level playing field, Jacquet expressed her excitement at taking on the 5.513km track.

Asked about her favourite part of the circuit, she responded: “The first sector with the fast section and all the esses, it’s going to be amazing. You are ready to be at the limit every time and to be precise, that’s a really cool feeling.”

Jacquet will have an extra opportunity in her pursuit of points, with three races taking place across the four-day weekend. However, she will only have a single Free Practice session to adjust to the unfamiliar circuit, similar to the challenge she faced in Montreal.

The 16-year-old achieved her best finish so far last time out in the Zandvoort Feature Race in P11

However, this time around Jacquet has more experience under her belt and a run of promising results that have given her fresh belief in her capabilities. After qualifying inside the top 10 for the first time in Zandvoort, the Williams driver is convinced that the progress she has made can be a springboard to achieving her maiden points in Austin.

“It will be all about adaptation,” Jacquet explained. “It will be the same for everyone with this car. The goal will be to be the quickest as soon as possible and that's the challenge. It's going to be fun.”

She continued: “I want to score points, obviously! If we can be in the top eight in Qualifying and get on the Reverse Grid (Race), it would be cool.”