Written by Sophie Harvey
The final feeder series recap takes on a familiar tone, with teams racing in F1 Academy ringing in the changes ahead of their season opener at Jeddah, along with a wild card entrant set to race for one of the top dogs across feeder series....
Aurélia Nobels completes ART Grand Prix’s lineup
Brazilian Aurélia Nobels is the final driver to be announced as part of ART Grand Prix’s F1 Academy lineup for 2024. Arriving to contend in her debut season, Nobels will be looking to collate her karting and prior single-seater experience to provide some impressive results.
Born in the USA, Nobels began karting in Brazil where she grew up. Having made it to an international level of competition, she competed in both the European and World karting championships before making her F4 debut in 2022. She went on to win the senior category of the ‘Girls on Track — Rising Stars’ programme organised by the FIA Women in Motorsport Commision, making her the third female to ever join the Ferrari Driver Academy.
Nobels stated: “I’m honoured to join ART Grand Prix this year. F1 Academy is an important step forward for my career and I’m motivated to do my best. I will be one of the youngest females on the track – it gives me an extra boost of motivation. I want to thank everybody for making this happen.”
Team Principal of ART Grand Prix, Sébastien Philippe shared his thoughts on Nobels’ new challenge: “Aurélia is still very young, but she has shown her determination by racing on several continents and adapting to the European system. The step is high, but it’s the kind of challenge ART Grand Prix likes to tackle to help young drivers build their careers.”
Lola Lovinfosse joins Rodin Motorsport
Returning for her second season, Lola Lovinfosse has swapped Campos Racing for Rodin Motorsport. As the second driver to be confirmed as part of their 2024 F1 Academy lineup, Lovinfosse will partner Britain’s Abbi Pulling and the recently announced Jessica Edgar in the hope of bringing the team higher in the constructors championship.
Having experienced varying levels of success across the F4 Spanish Championship, W Series and Formula Winter series, she will be looking to make a more prominent mark on F1 Academy by challenging for the title.
Last season, the 18-year-old collected a total of 65 points to secure tenth place in the driver’s standings. With the season fast approaching, the Frenchwoman will be hoping to convert her three prior podiums to first-place finishes.
Lovinfosse shared her excitement and pride at the announcement, stating: “I’m super happy and proud to be joining Charlotte Tilbury operated by Rodin Motorsport Team. I’m really looking forward for the season to start, we have worked a lot with the team. I’m ready to fight!”
Jessica Edgar is confirmed to be the final piece to Rodin Motorsport’s puzzle
Jessica Edgar will remain with Rodin Motorsport to contend in her second season of F1 Academy — in turn, she completes their 2024 lineup.
In response to the news, Edgar said: “I am really excited to be working with Rodin Motorsport once again this year. I would like to say a big thank you to Rodin Motorsport for the opportunity to return to the F1 Academy grid and keep building on what I learned last year.”
Having ended her debut season on a high, the 18-year-old Brit’s decision to continue with the Surrey-based team would have been simple. Edgar secured her first victory in the series at the final round in Austin, acting as a well-earnt addition to the four podiums she achieved across the season. She will be looking to culminate this experience to provide a strong showing in the coming rounds, no doubt hoping to improve on her previous result of eighth in the driver’s championship.
Benn Huntingford, Rodin Motorsport’s Team Manager went on to praise Edgar, stating: “Jess showed brilliant potential in F1 Academy with us last year, and we are really excited to work with her again this season. We ended the 2023 season on a high in Austin, so it will be really exciting to see how Jess develops further with us this season.”
Reema Juffali to act as Saudi Arabia’s wild card entry
As the first driver to be announced as part of F1 Academy’s new ‘wild card’ entries, Reema Juffali will be looking to make her mark on the series during the season’s first round in Jeddah.
Juffali is no stranger to rewriting history — as the first Saudi Arabian woman to ever hold a racing licence, she has achieved point-scoring finishes in British F4, F4 UAE and GB3.
She stated: “It is an honour and a privilege to be representing my country, especially in my hometown. The day F1 arrived in Jeddah was the clash of both my worlds and now I am actually going to be participating!”
Currently competing in the International GT Open, Juffali drives for her own team — Theeba Motorsport. Its purpose is to improve Saudi Arabia’s access to motorsport, creating educational internship and apprenticeship opportunities in the process. The team races Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO’s and has back-to-back victories, aiming to one day become the first Saudi Arabian team to compete in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“As the saying goes: ‘if you can’t see it, you won’t believe it’. So, hopefully Saudi fans can see that there is a Saudi racing driver out there and it will get them to thinking that ‘this is something I can do!’. It is for this reason I have decided to take this challenge on. This is just the beginning!”