F1 Academy is expanding its Rookie Test for 2026, adding a three-day Training Camp at Loughborough University before on-track sessions at Circuito de Navarra. Eighteen female drivers will undergo physiological profiling, cognitive testing, and performance screening alongside workshops on strength and conditioning, resilience, and the mental side of elite racing. Last year's inaugural test produced seven full-time F1 Academy seats and two wild card entries for 2026 — a conversion rate that validates the model.
The camp runs August 25-27 before drivers head to Spain for the September 9-11 test, where they'll be embedded in team operations, sit in on engineering sessions, and log track time in F1 Academy machinery. The Loughborough partnership brings science-backed athlete development to a series already proving it can move drivers up. With competition tightening, this infrastructure matters for grid depth in 2027 and beyond.
Read the full story at formula1.com
