Ava Dobson steps up to full-time F1 Academy seat with American Express and Hitech GP
- RACERS
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After a wild card entry in 2025 and having secured the MSV career contribution fund for the top female in GB4 Championship, American teenager Ava Dobson will make her full-time F1 Academy debut in 2026 with Hitech GP, representing series partner American Express.
Ava Dobson will take on her rookie F1 Academy full season in 2026, with the 17-year-old competing for the series’ official partner American Express in a car operated by Hitech GP.
Dobson made her debut in the all-female series at last year’s Miami Grand Prix as a Wild Card entry. As the 2025 GB4 Championship MSV career contribution winner for top female driver, the American is now set to make her full-time debut on the F1 Academy grid in 2026 with the same team.
The Wisconsin native contested her first full season in European single-seater competition in 2025, racing with Arden Motorsport in the GB4 Championship. She finished in the top ten on three occasions and secured a breakthrough podium with third place at the Donington Park finale, ending the season 19th in the standings with 120 points.
Dobson had transitioned into open-wheel racing in 2023 shortly after turning 15, also with support from the Parella Motorsports Holdings Powering Diversity Scholarship. That year, she made her debut in the F4 US Championship and also contested a handful of USF2000 races. However, her 2024 season was disrupted by a heavy crash that forced her to halt her racing programme and focus on recovery.
Later in 2024, Dobson returned behind the wheel and crossed the Atlantic to join the GB4 Championship, impressing on her series debut at Silverstone with a ninth-place finish.
On the following season, she went on to secure the MSV prize fund, which offers a €50,000 career contribution towards a potential F1 Academy seat for the top-ranked female driver.
On her F1 Academy outing in Miami, Dobson finished 13th in Race 1, before an unfortunate cancellation of the second race. Later in 2025, she maximised her track time in the F4 Saudi Arabian Championship, recording nine top-ten finishes in ten races, with a personal best result of sixth.
Dobson now becomes the fourth Wild Card driver to progress to a full-time seat in F1 Academy. Racing once again with Hitech GP, she now gears up to take the next step in her career.
“I am really excited to be going with F1 Academy this year with American Express,” she said. ”I’m truly super honoured to be chosen to race in the series and having an amazing partnership with American Express. I can’t wait to continue to build off of that throughout the whole year and work really hard with the team, and with American Express to be the best we can be.”
The 2026 F1 Academy season begins in Shanghai, China, on 14-15 March.
