Ella Lloyd has already enjoyed a number of major victories in her fledgling racing career, but the promising young driver from South Wales has now bagged another impressive accolade: a spot on McLaren’s Driver Development programme.
The prestigious programme is run by the McLaren team, one of the premier teams in professional motor racing, and aims to nurture the racing stars of the future, with former graduates of the talent pathway including now-household names like Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.
As part of the programme, 17-year-old Ella, who began racing competitively in the 2022 Ginetta Junior Championship, will represent McLaren for the 2025 F1 Academy season, a series of seven competitive races in venues spread across three continents. Alongside this, Ella will also compete in Formula E’s first ever all-women test session at Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, Spain.
Ella is one of only ten drivers currently enlisted on McLaren’s Driver Development programme, and only the second female driver to join the development pathway since it was created – originally under a different title – back in 1998. She will hope to follow in the footsteps of other drivers who have come through the scheme and gone on to enjoy fruitful careers in Formula 1, IndyCar and Formula E.
Speaking about joining the programme, Ella said, ‘I’m really excited to be joining the McLaren Driver Development programme as the team’s F1 Academy driver in 2025. It’s an honour to drive for a team that has such a great racing history, and also a long track record for developing talent.’
‘With McLaren, I now have everything I need to keep developing and pushing the boundaries as a female in motorsport,’ she added.
Though Ella looks like she’s on the fast track to a sterling career in motorsport, the Welsh teen is an impressive all-round athlete, having also competed in major competitions in both skiing and show jumping, alongside her racing events.
And with this new chapter at McLaren just beginning, who knows how far – and how fast – she’ll go.
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