Formula 1 has recently unveiled a new project for its development categories, adding precisely one: it is the F1 Academy, comparable in level to a Formula 4 and with extremely interesting peculiarities. Let's go and discover them.
An Academy for young pilots
The first thing to underline is that this Academy is reserved for young drivers, who often find themselves in difficulty with regard to the minor formulas. The new series will be dedicated to them, like the W Series, and will consist of 7 events, each with three races within it (as for the other Formula 4 series such as Italian F4 and British F4). One of the events should be within a Formula 1 weekend.
There will be five teams, and each will have to put three cars on the track, for a total of 15 single-seaters on the starting grid. The teams will be managed by current Formula 2 and Formula 3 teams, with great experience in the world of feederseries.
The huge difference between this series and the others is related to the budget: the F1 Academy, in fact, has limited the amount of money needed to race to €150.000, a negligible amount compared to other series of a similar level. Formula 1 will directly contribute another €150.000 per car, while the remaining budget will be provided by the teams.
As mentioned, the Academy positions itself at a level comparable to Formula 4. In this sense, the car chosen for the new series is the Tatuus F4-T421, already in use in all the other F4 series. The engine will be developed by Autotecnica and will be turbocharged, with an output of 165 horsepower. Pirelli, as in the main series, will be the tire supplier.
Why a new series?
One of the questions that often circulated on the web concerned the possibility of survival of WSeries following the birth of the F1 Academy. The Academy is at a lower level than the W Series, so much so that in the presentation of the series the new category was mentioned as a first step. The potential that such a series has is reflected in the press release, which reads: “Given the barriers that young drivers have in entering the path that points to Formula 1, it has been seen that often there is not the same experience as the male counterpart. The aim of the F1 Academy is to fill this void and offer much more track time, both in testing and racing. Female drivers will be able to race with famous motorsport teams.".