Léna Bühler announced as first-ever F1 Academy driver

Swiss motor-race driver Léna Bühler has been announced as the first-ever driver of the upcoming F1 Academy. Bühler will drive for ART Grand Prix in the F1 Academy’s inaugural season.

Bühler, who started her career in motor-racing in BMX, switched to karting in 2016. In 2020, she made her single-seater debut at the Spanish Formula 4 Championship before racing in the Formula Regional European Championship for Alpine in 2021. Currently driving in the Formula 4 UAE Championship, Bühler will make her F1 Academy debut with ART Grand Prix. 

The F1 Academy will be an all-female driver series and have 15 drivers on the grid, with the likes of ART, Campos Racing, Carlin, MP Motorsport and PREMA Racing all fielding three cars each. The main goal of the F1 Academy is to develop and grow the young, up-and-coming female drivers and get them ready for the highest level of motorsport.

The inaugural F1 Academy season is set to have seven events with three races each, which means a total of 21 races and 15 days of testing. 

Speaking about becoming an F1 Academy driver, Bühler said:

“It’s with great pleasure that I will be able to discover the first F1 Academy championship and even more so with ART Grand Prix, a team with a fantastic record. It will be a great challenge for me and for the team as we learn more about this new single-seater. I am looking forward to coming to grips with it.

“This will only be my fourth year in motorsport and I still have a lot to learn, but I am ready to give 100% both mentally and physically to honour the trust ART Grand Prix has in me, together with that of my partners, without whom this adventure would not be possible.“

Sébastien Philippe, Team Principal, ART Grand Prix, commented:

“We are happy to welcome Lena to our team. She will be one of the first 15 drivers to write her name in the history books of the F1 Academy. This corresponds perfectly to the philosophy of ART Grand Prix, which is to help young drivers climb the ladder of the junior formulas which lead to the highest level of motorsport.The team will do everything sportingly, humanly and technically possible to take up this new historic challenge with Lena.“