Motorsport UK Academy driver, Ella Stevens, has been signed by McLaren as part of the all-female F1 ACADEMY series for the 2026 season.

Stevens recently became the Vice-Champion in the 2025 British KZ2 Karting Championship and is the only woman to win in the UK’s premier karting class. In September, she topped the timesheets in the inaugural F1 ACADEMY Rookie Test.

The 19-year-old started her Karting career in the Motorsport UK Bambino Championship,and continued to race in the BKC before her finish this season in P2 in the Wera Tools KZ2 British Kart Championship, after a nail-biting Kimbolton showdown.

Her talent and commitment to the sport will see her join a packed grid of all-female talent.

Dan Parker, Head of Karting, Motorsport UK, comments “Ella is an incredibly talented driver, who we are lucky to have as a member of our Motorsport UK Academy. We are thrilled that she has been selected to join the F1 Academy – having first worked with Ella in the Bambino class all those years ago, it’s fantastic to see how she has progressed through the karting pathway to this opportunity in F1 Academy”

Cameron Biggs, Coaching and Academy Pathway Manager, adds, “Karting is the ideal pathway into motorsport, and its thanks to programmes such as our Girls Karting Academy that we can welcome even more females into our sport. We wish Ella a successful 2026 season.”

Find out more about how to get into motorsport through our Girls Karting Academy here