The championship traces its roots to 2004, when Formula Woman was established to address the lack of female drivers in other series. In 2019 the W Series was created for the same purpose; the planned 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and after the 2022 season the series was placed into administration and liquidated. On 18 November 2022, Formula One announced the creation of F1 Academy to develop and prepare young women drivers for higher levels of competition and to smooth the transition from karting to the single-seater ladder. On 1 March 2023, Susie Wolff was appointed managing director of the series.
The five teams that participated in the first two seasons are ART Grand Prix, Campos Racing, Rodin Motorsport, MP Motorsport, and Prema Racing. Hitech Grand Prix joined the series in 2025 as a sixth team with two full-time drivers, also taking over Prema's 2024 role of running wild card entries.
The inaugural 2023 season was controversially not broadcast except for the season finale, which supported the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. Every race of the 2024 season was broadcast live to 23 broadcasters across more than 160 international territories. Formula E presenter Nicki Shields became lead commentator, with Alex Brundle and Jordan King as co-commentators.
The 2023 season ran over seven event weekends with three races each (21 races total), plus fifteen days of official testing. Each weekend included two 30-minute races and one 20-minute reverse-grid race, where the top eight qualifiers had their starting positions reversed. The season finale supported the United States Grand Prix.
For 2024, Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali announced on 31 March 2023 that the series would move exclusively to select Formula One weekends, joining Formula 2, Formula 3, and the Porsche Supercup on the support bill. The reverse-grid race was removed, reducing each weekend to two races. The 2024 season also introduced FIA Super Licence points: 10 for the champion, 7 for the runner-up, 5 for third, 3 for fourth, and 1 for fifth. Wild card entries were also introduced.
For 2025, the first race became a reverse-grid race, aligning the format more closely with Formula 2 and Formula 3.
Drivers must be between 16 and 25 years of age and cannot race in the series for more than two seasons. From 2027, an exemption may be granted for a third season where beneficial to development, provided the driver's second season was 2026.
The Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) has guaranteed a fourth team entry to any outfit signing a driver who finished in the top three of the F1 Academy standings. 2023 champion Marta García received a fully funded FRECA seat for 2024. 2024 champion Abbi Pulling received a fully funded seat with Rodin Motorsport in the 2025 GB3 Championship. 2025 runner-up Maya Weug received a fully funded opportunity to test a Ferrari 296 GT3 with AF Corse.
F1 Academy has been credited with increasing female participation in kart racing, supporting nine drivers in the Champions of the Future Academy Program (COTFA) until 2025, later increasing to 27 for 2026. In 2024, Luna Fluxá won the OK-N class of COTFA, becoming the fifth woman in history to win a major senior international karting title and the first in a global championship since Susanna Raganelli in 1966.
On 3 May 2023, it was announced that Reese Witherspoon's production company, Hello Sunshine, would create a docuseries about F1 Academy. The resulting show, F1: The Academy, was released on Netflix on 28 May 2025.
The series is supported by commercial partners including Charlotte Tilbury and TAG Heuer. On 11 March 2026, Sephora — a beauty retailer owned by LVMH — became an official partner and official beauty retail partner of F1 Academy.
Cars are built on the Tatuus F4-T421 chassis, which has been used in Formula 4 championships globally since 2022. Modified front and rear wings make the aero package unique to the series. The Autotecnica Motori engine is a 1.4-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder delivering 130 kW (174 hp) at 5500 rpm.
| Season | Drivers' champion | Teams' champion | |--------|------------------|-----------------| | 2023 | Marta García | Prema Racing | | 2024 | Abbi Pulling (Rodin Motorsport) | Prema Racing | | 2025 | Doriane Pin | Prema Racing |
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