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GRID QUESTIONS: Which Winter Olympic sport would our drivers take on?

6 February 2026

The F1 ACADEMY field may still be counting down to lights out for the 2026 season, but elsewhere in the sporting world, things are already heating up — or, more accurately, freezing over.

As the Winter Olympics kicks off today, we put the grid in the hot seat to find out which winter sport they’d want to compete in. Unsurprisingly for racing drivers, the lure of adrenaline is never far away…

HITTING THE SLOPES

Turns out, the grid has no shortage of snow pros whose speed clearly carried over from the slopes to the racetrack. In 2019, Ella Lloyd won a gold medal at the Welsh Skiing Championship, while Mathilda Paatz had her sights set on the Winter Olympics before swapping skis for single-seaters.

“I did skiing on a high level as well before deciding to continue with motorsport,” said Paatz. “So that’s something I’m very good at and would probably be doing!”

Williams driver Jade Jacquet echoed her thoughts: “I think I would do skiing because I've been doing it since I was two years old and I love it!”

American Express' Dobson thinks snowboarding is the way to go

Kaylee Countryman added: “Out of all the winter Olympic sports, I’d like to compete in Alpine Skiing because it looks the most fun and they get to go extremely fast."

"I think I would compete in Alpine Skiing," Alba Larsen continued. "I have been skiing since I was three years old. The last couple of years I haven’t because I don’t want to take any risk and all (my) focus is on racing. If not skiing I would pick skeleton because you drive so fast with head first, quite insane!"

They’ll have company on the slopes from Ava Dobson: “The Winter Olympic sport I would choose would be snowboarding. It looks really fun and I’ve always wanted to try it! It’s just cool, I see the TikToks. I would do it just because it looks really cool and they go on the jumps and stuff. It looks fun and an adrenaline rush.”

Not content with one specialism, Lisa Billard wanted to push herself, combining cross-country skiing and rifle shooting in Biathlon.

“For the Olympic winter sport, I would choose biathlon,” she said. “It’s a sport that requires a lot of adaptability and many different skills. I’ve had the chance to do it a few times, and it’s amazing.”

THE NEED FOR SPEED

Chasing the thrill that racing, Esmee Kosterman and Ella Stevens have nerves of steel as they’d dive headfirst, or feetfirst, on to the tight, twisty banked ice tracks.

“I’d go for skeleton,” said Kosterman. “It’s fast, technical and mentally demanding, you have to be fearless while staying fully focused. It looks terrifying, but also incredibly exhilarating. All or nothing, which is exactly why it suits me. I’m truly addicted to adrenaline.”

McLaren Oxagon driver Stevens would love to try her hand at bobsleigh

Stevens added: “I have never tried any winter sports but if I was to be in the Winter Olympics, I reckon I would give skiing or the bobsleigh a go! Purely for the speed and thrill.”

ON THE ICE

For Audi’s Emma Felbermayr, it’s the artistic nature of figure skating that draws her in. By contrast, Rachel Robertson and Nina Gademan have gone for more of a hard-hitting approach — although we’re not sure Gademan’s request will be added to the next Winter Olympics!

“If I had to choose an Olympic sport, I would choose figure skating because it looks really beautiful,” replied Felbermayr. “I like the smooth movements and how it combines sport and music. It’s nice to watch and very impressive.”

Robertson added: “If I could compete in a winter Olympic sport I'd pick ice hockey because it's fast and aggressive, like racing on blades!”

“I would do figure skating,” remarked Gademan. “I think it would give you the same feeling racing does, but I would also love to do MMA so maybe it’s just weird. MMA on the ice — sounds like a plan!”