‘Seat time is always going to be valuable’ – Countryman explains how she’s balancing F1 ACADEMY with racing in the US

Racing your rookie season in F1 ACADEMY is an exhilarating challenge in itself, but Kaylee Countryman has decided to go one step further and compete in another series simultaneously.

The Haas driver, who previously participated in last year’s in-season test at Navarra, will balance her commitments in F1 ACADEMY with a stint in the USF2000 Championship after competing in two rounds of the 2025 campaign.

As another single-seater series, it will offer Countryman the chance to hone her skills across an even greater range of circuits and formats, but will also come with the obstacle of more travelling between each round.

Nevertheless, the American is embracing the task ahead of her, saying: “It feels amazing. I've never had this opportunity before, so this year I'm looking to make the best of it.

“I think that seat time is always going to be valuable, which is the main reason why I'm going to be doing it back in the US. I think it's going to be hard to go back and forth so much, but I think that with all the seat time that I'm going to be getting, it's really going to prepare me for 2027 and my next years of racing.”

Although an issue in Qualifying at Round 1 in Shanghai hampered her weekend, Countryman managed to improve to P16 and P13 across the Reverse Grid and Feature Race respectively, leaving her keen to take another step forward and claim her first points with ART Grand Prix.

Her next chance will come in Montreal, but unlike Shanghai, the drivers will not be able to test at the circuit beforehand. This is where the simulator becomes especially useful – something which Countryman has already identified.

READ MORE: ‘I want to make them proud’ – Paatz shares her hopes of becoming Top Rookie with Aston Martin

“Based on my previous campaigns, I did want to implement more sim training,” she said. “Thankfully with F1 ACADEMY, ART has a great programme with their simulator, and I'm able to get practice for the F1 ACADEMY tracks, but not the same thing for USF.

“Some of their tracks aren't on the sim, so that's also really going to teach me to adapt quickly. I think that's going to be another area that I get to practice in, since I'll be working on that style back in the US.

“As any rookie would say, I think we want to win the Best Rookie of the Year award and just get as many points finishes as possible and try and sneak in a podium here or there.”