F1 Academy to hold inaugural prize giving at Autosport Awards

Following the all-female championship's launch late last year, it has completed its maiden season with 21 races across seven events.

The last of these ran alongside Formula 1 at the United States Grand Prix, with Marta Garcia clinching the title as, for the first time, the races were broadcast live.

The Spaniard will receive the championship trophy on 3 December, at a ceremony held at Grosvenor House in London.

“We are delighted to host our inaugural F1 Academy Prize Giving at the Autosport Awards,” said F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff.

“After a great season of racing, we look forward to formally crowning our champions, Marta Garcia and Prema Racing, and honouring our second and third-placed drivers, Lena Buhler and Hamda Al Qubaisi.”

Garcia won seven races across the season, including three of the last five, to close out her championship year, winning with a margin of 56 points.

But with 13 podium appearances to her name, runner-up Buhler stood on the podium more than any other driver. The Swiss won twice for ART Grand Prix, finishing second on seven occasions and third four times.

Garcia was the driver to beat from the word go in 2023, winning two of the opening three races at the Red Bull Ring. Despite enduring a six-race period without a win across the Barcelona and Zandvoort weekends, she continued to build a points tally, notably leaving Spain having achieved to highest points tally of any driver with a trio of podium appearances.

Photo by: Prema

Marta Garcia, Léna Bühler, Hamda Al Qubaisi

As a result of her success, Garcia has been awarded a fully funded seat in Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine [FRECA] for 2024, where she will continue to compete with Prema.

Speaking after clinching the title, Garcia said: “When I crossed the finish line my eyes were watering.

“I was crying, but it’s because of all of the work that we’ve been doing during this year, working with the team so hard, in the simulator, outside of the track.

“On track, there were a lot of tough days. We had a lot of months as well from May to July, working a lot through a lot of racing, so it’s great, it’s like this feeling of ‘we did it’ after all this work.”