Three Young Female Drivers Join McLaren Development Programme

Formula One team McLaren has added 14-year-old Ella Hakkinen, daughter of Finnish double world champion Mika Hakkinen, to its Driver Development Programme. British teenager Ella Stevens has also been included in the programme, joining British driver Ella Lloyd, who has been racing in the all-female F1 Academy series this season. With this, McLaren will have three talented young female drivers on its books for next year.

Ella Hakkinen has already shown her potential in karting competitions across Europe. She made a significant impact at the 2024 Champions of the Future Academy in Italy and has achieved multiple wins and podium finishes. At 14, she will be the youngest driver to join the McLaren programme, a major step in her path toward single-seater racing.

Mika Hakkinen, who won the Formula One world championship in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren, expressed pride in his daughter’s achievement. He suggested that Ella could become Formula One’s first female driver since Lella Lombardi in 1976. “Ella is an extremely talented racing driver. I’m not just saying this as a father, but based on my observations as a former top driver,” he told Finnish media.

McLaren has announced that Hakkinen will start testing single-seater cars in preparation for the 2027 racing season. This is a part of the team’s broader goal of developing young talent and supporting the growth of female drivers in motorsport.

Ella Stevens, 19, has already made history as the only woman to win in Britain’s premier karting class. She will compete in F1 Academy with McLaren operating a second car, alongside Lloyd, in collaboration with Rodin Motorsport. This initiative allows young female drivers to gain experience in competitive racing environments and prepares them for higher levels of motorsport.

Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, highlighted the importance of promoting female representation in motorsport. “While I recognise that more remains to be done to increase female representation in motorsport, I’m immensely proud of the progress we’ve made in this space,” Brown said. He added that having three young and talented female drivers in the development programme is exciting and expressed his enthusiasm for seeing them perform on the track.

The inclusion of Ella Hakkinen and other young drivers reflects McLaren’s commitment to identifying and nurturing talent from an early age. The programme provides the drivers with access to top-tier training, coaching, and resources, helping them develop the skills required to succeed in Formula One or other high-level racing series.

With McLaren supporting their progress, these young drivers will gain invaluable experience in single-seaters and competitive racing environments, setting a foundation for a potential future in Formula One. The programme also reinforces McLaren’s role in encouraging diversity and providing opportunities for women to pursue careers in motorsport, an area historically dominated by men.