McLaren Racing announced on Tuesday that Ella Lloyd has joined the McLaren Driver Development Program and will represent the team in the 2025 F1 Academy season with Rodin Motorsport.
Lloyd, 19, began racing competitively in the 2022 Ginetta Junior Championship, earning points in 15 of 25 races that season. The following year she competed in the Ginetta GT Championship and finished the year as runner-up.
Earlier this year, Lloyd competed in the Formula Winter Series, where she won several female driver trophies. She competed in British F4, finishing the 2024 season with three P2 results, one P3 and several points. The Welsh racer also entered the Singapore F1 Academy weekend as a wildcard driver, scoring points in both races.
In line with F1 Academy regulations that limit drivers to a maximum of two years in the series, Lloyd will represent McLaren in the 2025 F1 Academy season and race with Rodin Motorsport.
Having participated in the McLaren Driver Development Program led by Stephanie Carlin, she will take part in Formula E’s first female test for the NEOM McLaren Formula E team on 7 November 2024 in Valencia, Spain.
Carlin, Director of F1 Business Operations at McLaren Racing, said: “Ella has great talent and potential and is already well-established in the series, having performed brilliantly as a wild card entrant in Singapore, so we are excited to see what she can do. Join us. We look forward to supporting her development.”
Lloyd himself said: “It’s an honor to drive for a team with a great racing history and a long track record of developing talent. Now I have everything I need to continue to develop and push boundaries as a woman in motorsport with McLaren.
“Thank you Jack Brown [McLaren CEO]Stephanie Carlin and the entire McLaren team believed in me. “I want to run a race wearing papaya.”
