Jade Jacquet to drive for Williams for 2026 F1 ACADEMY campaign

Jade Jacquet will make her F1 ACADEMY debut next year, as Williams have announced that the French racer will be representing the team on the 2026 grid in the ART Grand Prix-operated car.

The 16-year-old will also be joining the Williams Racing Driver Academy, giving her access to the full spectrum of Academy support, as well as working closely with the team at Grove.

Beginning her career in international karting in 2023, she progressed through the French Junior Karting Championship before stepping up to single-seaters this year. Her 2025 French F4 campaign saw her score 12 top 20 finishes, including a best result of P11 Circuit des 24 Heures. She also achieved the Female Trophy at the Dijon-Prenois circuit.

Earlier this year, Jacquet was selected for the inaugural F1 ACADEMY Rookie Test. Completing 83 laps around the Circuito de Navarra, she finished with the seventh-fastest time in the afternoon running.

Speaking on the announcement, Jacquet said: “I’m super excited to be joining the Williams Racing Driver Academy and F1 ACADEMY for the 2026 season. The team has been very welcoming and I’m looking forward to working with them to learn as much as I can throughout my debut season. Thank you to Atlassian Williams Racing for believing in me and I can’t wait to get on track.”

Sven Smeets, Sporting Director at Atlassian Williams Racing, added: “We are proud to welcome Jade to our team as our Atlassian Williams Racing driver in F1 ACADEMY. Jade has made rapid progress in her motorsport career and has strong potential for the future, already demonstrating her ability to learn and adapt in her transition to single-seaters.

"As a member of the Williams Racing Driver Academy, we’ll be working closely with her to nurture her development both on and off the track. As a team, we continue to support Formula 1 and F1 ACADEMY’s shared mission to advance female representation in motorsport and look forward to seeing Jade start her 2026 campaign.”