Jade Jacquet secures Williams seat in F1 Academy
- RACERS
- 2 minutes ago
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French racer Jade Jacquet will represent Williams Racing in the 2026 F1 Academy season, competing with ART Grand Prix as the 16-year-old, who has just completed her first full year in single-seaters in French F4, will also join the Williams Racing Driver Academy.
Williams Racing has confirmed that French racer Jade Jacquet will represent the team in the 2026 F1 Academy season, competing with ART Grand Prix. The 16-year-old, who has just completed her first full year in single-seaters in French F4, will also join the Williams Racing Driver Academy as she continues her development through the junior ranks.
“I’m super excited to be joining the Williams Racing Driver Academy and F1 Academy for the 2026 season", Jacquet stated, expressing her excitement at joining the British squad. "The team has been very welcoming and I’m looking forward to working with them to learn as much as I can throughout my debut season. Thank you to Atlassian Williams Racing for believing in me and I can’t wait to get on track.”
Having only debuted in international karting in 2023, Jacquet quickly made a name for herself in the 2024 French Junior Karting Championship, where her performances attracted the attention of top teams. At just 15 years old, she stepped into French Formula 4 for 2025, launching her single-seater career with an encouraging debut season.
During her rookie campaign, Jacquet in fact claimed multiple top-20 finishes, including a strong 12th place at Circuit de Nogaro and an 11th place result in the reverse-grid race at Le Mans in her personal best result. She also secured the Female Trophy victory at Dijon-Prenois and stood on several Female Trophy podiums across the year, ultimately finishing second in the Female Trophy classification.
For 2026, Jacquet will race with ART Grand Prix alongside fellow French talent Lisa Billard, succeeding Lia Block as the Williams Racing F1 Academy entrant. As part of the Williams Racing Driver Academy, she will work closely with the team at Grove, gaining access to the full facility of training, performance analysis, and development tools designed to support her progression in her second season in single-seaters.
Williams has been involved in the F1 Academy project since 2024, supporting American driver Lia Block for two seasons before her return to rallying at the conclusion of her F1 Academy stint.
“We are proud to welcome Jade to our team as our Atlassian Williams Racing driver in F1 Academy", said Sven Smeets, Sporting Director of Atlassian Williams Racing. "Jade has made rapid progress in her motorsport career and has strong potential for the future, already demonstrating her ability to learn and adapt in her transition to single seaters."
"As a member of the Williams Racing Driver Academy, we’ll be working closely with her to nurture her development both on and off the track. As a team, we continue to support Formula 1 and F1 Academy’s shared mission to advance female representation in motorsport and look forward to seeing Jade start her 2026 campaign.”
With support from one of Formula 1’s most historic teams, Jade Jacquet now prepares for her biggest challenge yet as she steps onto the international stage of the F1 Academy grid in 2026.