Danish driver Alba Hurup Larsen was fifteen years old when she signed with Tommy Hilfiger to drive in the 2025 F1 Academy season and will be sixteen when the season begins. So what does this mean?
About F1 Academy
F1 Academy is a new racing series specifically made to give more opportunities to women trying to get into F1 and other single-seater racing series. Susie Wolff first brought the idea to F1 team principles and quickly gained support and is now the Managing Director of F1 Academy. The series began in 2023 and quickly gained support from fans. They race at an F4 level, which means that unlike in F1, they all drive the same model car. This puts pressure on drivers as it is extremely clear to see who is driving better and who is not, as the only difference in the cars is the drivers and their strategies. What differentiates this series from other F4 series is that drivers can only race in F1 Academy for a maximum of two seasons, meaning there is a constant rotation of drivers. This is good because it allows new drivers to come in and increases their impact, but means that drivers must excel in two seasons so that they can get picked up by another series. Overall F1 Academy has been an amazing gateway for women into motorsports.
Though the initiative was just launched in 2023, it has already had a huge impact. Comparing 2022 and 2023 there has been a whopping 216% increase in girls qualifying for the British Indoor Karting Championships. They have various initiatives to help women get into motorsport including opportunities to drive and gain engineering or business experience. Most of these opportunities are under their “Discover Your Drive” initiative which is growing more every year as the series grows in popularity. It is also free to watch on their F1 Academy YouTube channel making it more accessible than most other racing series where fans have to pay for subscriptions to view races.
Alba X Tommy Hilfiger
In November 2024 Alba Hurup Larsen signed with Tommy Hilfiger in F1 Academy. This was very exciting news as she is one of the youngest to ever be signed and has promising potential. She began competition racing in her pre-teen years, which is fairly late compared to others, but she quickly excelled and even finished 12th in the Danish Karting League’s X30 Junior Standings series. She also raced on the F4 level in 2024 in the Indian F4 Championship where she won the Rookie of the Race Award in Chennai. In 2023 she was also in the FIA Girls On Track Rising Stars program which has helped her continue her time in single-seaters and helped her make her way to F1 Academy.
Alba Hurup Larsen stands out from the rest of the grid because she will be the youngest on the F1 Academy grid this season. In F1 Academy, drivers must be between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five. The average age for drivers in F4 has traditionally been between fifteen and seventeen years old making her perfectly on track age-wise compared to male counterparts. She is on an excellent trajectory to one day make it to F1, which is the goal for most of these drivers.
The Future is Female
The F1 Academy season begins on March 21 in Shanghai, China. With her being one of six rookies, with more to be announced, she must find a way to stand out from the rest if she wants to make an impact and move up to other series. Be sure to watch the races live on their YouTube channel and keep an eye out for number 12, Alba Hurup Larsen, she’ll be one to watch.
