Watch Williams F1 Academy star Lia Block tear up rally track for Boone Forest Rally prep

Williams F1 Academy star Lia Block took to the wheel of her mother Lucy Block's Ford Fiesta Rally3, at Rally Ready in Austin, Texas.

Block House Racing has shared a behind-the-scenes look at the American driver's preparations for the Boone Forest Rally, which marked her first rally event since 2024.

After taking the Rally3, powered by a 1.5-litre EcoBoost inline three-cylinder, out for the first time, Block enthused, "She's very nimble. So, you can carry a lot of speed where maybe you necessarily wouldn't with a big car."

The 18-year-old driver previously raced in the American Rally Association, becoming the youngest champion in the series' history in 2023, Nitrocross and Extreme E. In 2024, she signed with the Williams Driver Academy and drove for ART Grand Prix in her debut season of F1 Academy. Now in her second and final year of the all-female single-seater championship, Block will be spending the remainder of the season determining which racing series she will move to next, which could be a return to rally.

After time away from rallying and a move into a different discipline, Block still secured a win at the L4WD class and finished third overall.

"WINNERS!!! What a rally, and what a team," the American driver wrote on Instagram. "1st in the L4WD class and even 3rd overall.

"First time in this car and first rally in a year. So nice to be smelling of champagne right now… it’s been a while. Rhianon Gelsomino and I are now 7 for 7 on podiums for rallies we have done together, could never do it without her. Thank you to the sponsors who made this possible."

Block discussed the differences between rally and single-seater racing during the Netflix series F1: The Academy.

"Rally and F1, yeah, they are under the motorsports umbrella but it's like comparing apples and oranges," she explained.

"It's so different. It's a different driving style. In rally, you are swinging the car around the corners, it's a race against time, but now trying F1 Academy and open-wheel, I kind of had to scrap everything and start over."