Ella Lloyd confirmed for second F1 Academy season with Rodin Motorsport and McLaren

Ella Lloyd will continue with Rodin Motorsport and the McLaren F1 Team for a second F1 Academy season, building on a strong rookie campaign that featured her first series win and multiple podiums.

Photo credits: McLaren

Ella Lloyd will continue her rise through junior single-seaters as she commits to a second season in F1 Academy, remaining with Rodin Motorsport under the McLaren Formula 1 Team’s now two-car F1 Academy programme. The Welsh driver has enjoyed an strong rookie year and now looks to carry that momentum into 2026.

As the 2025 F1 Academy season heads toward its finale in Las Vegas, Lloyd currently sits third in the championship standings, having delivered an impressive debut campaign, collecting five podium finishes and celebrating her first F1 Academy victory in Jeddah.

Lloyd’s F1 Academy journey began in 2024 when she was selected as the Singapore wild card entry. Despite technical setbacks limiting her running, she immediately showed strong pace and scored points in both races with ninth- and seventh-place finishes. Her performances earned her a place in the McLaren Driver Development Programme, followed by a full-time seat with Rodin Motorsport for 2025.

She quickly delivered, taking her maiden win in the second round at Jeddah and adding four more podium finishes so far.

Alongside her commitments in F1 Academy, Lloyd has also competed in British F4 across 2024 and 2025. Her debut season with JHR Developments saw her emerge as one of the best rookies, taking four podiums, including three second-place finishes, and finishing 11th overall with 99 points. She continued in British F4 in 2025 with Rodin Motorsport, once again demonstrating front-running pace. Lloyd scored another podium at Zandvoort and fought for top honours in the Challenge Cup — class for drivers unable to contest every round — ultimately finishing second with three class victories and 258.5 points.

“I’m super excited to be continuing my journey in papaya with Rodin Motorsport and building on what we have achieved this season together", Ella Lloyd said, reflecting on her contract extension.

Rodin Motorsport Sporting Director Benn Huntingford expressed his enthusiasm for Lloyd’s continued development: “It’s fantastic to continue working with Ella for her second year in F1 Academy. She’s shown great development this season as part of the McLaren programme and with that experience, we’re confident we can take another step forward to fight at the front in 2026.”

McLaren also confirmed that Lloyd will be joined in the Driver Development Programme by Ella Stevens, who will make her F1 Academy debut with the Rodin-run program by McLaren next year, and by Ella Häkkinen, who steps up from karting as the newest addition to the driver development programme.