McLaren Racing has announced an expansion in its Driver Development Programme with two new recruits and a second car in F1 Academy.
The Woking outfit currently fields one car in the all-female racing series, driven by Ella Lloyd. The 20-year-old will be joined by Ella Stevens in 2026 in a second McLaren-backed car operated by Rodin Motorsport. In addition to Stevens, McLaren has also signed Ella Häkkinen to the Driver Development Programme; she will be testing single-seaters in preparation for 2027.
“While I recognise that more remains to be done to increase female representation in motorsport, I’m immensely proud of the progress we’ve made in this space,” McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said.
“I hope this signals to all the amazingly talented female karters, drivers, engineers, mechanics, marketeers and accountants out there that our sport is open to all and deeply committed to keeping up the incredible momentum we have seen over the past few years.
“There are so many opportunities both at and away from track and I want to thank NEOM for partnering with us in this space to help us open more pathways for women. To now have three talented young female drivers in our Driver Development Programme is really exciting, and I cannot wait to see them hit the track.”
Ella Lloyd, Rodin Motorsport
Photo by: Andy Hone / LAT Images via Getty Images
Ella Stevens
At 19 years old, Stevens is the only woman to win in the KZ2 karting class in the United Kingdom. The British driver secured the runner-up position in the 2025 British KZ2 Karting Championship.
Häkkinen, age 14, has become the youngest signing to McLaren’s Driver Development Programme. She is the daughter of two-time Formula 1 champion Mika Häkkinen and has already enjoyed an impressive start to her career, taking her first major international victory at the 2024 Champions of the Future Academy in Cremona.
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