Esteban Ocon backs 16-year-old Lisa Billard for F1 Academy wild card entry in Singapore

Haas F1 driver Esteban Ocon has backed 16-year-old Lisa Billard to race as F1 Academy's youngest wild card in Singapore

Haas Formula 1 driver Esteban Ocon has backed Lisa Billard, who has secured the wild card entry for this weekend's F1 Academy round in Singapore.

The all-female racing series announced Billard's entry on 1 October. The 16-year-old, who will represent Gatorade in the race, will become the youngest wild card driver in the championship.

Fellow French driver Ocon shared his support for Billard, revealing that they both grew up racing at the same karting tracks in Normandy.

"I’ve known and have supported Lisa for many years now," Ocon wrote on social media. "We both grew up on the same karting tracks in Normandy. I am very proud to see her taking this big step in her young career with @f1academy this weekend! Allez Lisa!!"

Billard began karting at seven years old before taking part in national competitions. She became the first female to win a French Junior Karting Championship race in 2022, and she finished fifth overall in the championship in the same year. The following year, Billard joined the Alpine F1 team as part of the Rac(H)er programme.

“In terms of communication, it’s a major advantage for me to be able to find sponsors in order to continue,” she explained at the time, according to Females In Motorsport. “Then, of course, they help me a lot. I'm going to go to Enstone to do some training sessions at the academy - sports training but also media training. What they want is to prepare us as well as possible for the car.”

“When I went to Enstone for the first training session, so that they could introduce us to the programme, she told me a bit about her experience and then gave me some advice,” she added about her experience working with 2024 F1 Academy champion and former Alpine-backed driver Abbi Pulling.

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Photo by: Malcolm Griffiths / Formula 1 via Getty Images

Billard also spoke about her relationship with Ocon.

“We started out with the same people, in the same place and so on. In fact, Esteban got his start with my coach, Didier Blot, with whom I am currently working. I had already heard a lot about him from Didier, so I knew a bit about his background.

“When I met him, Didier had mentioned me to him, which means that he already knew a little bit about me. I met him at the presentation of the new F1 car and then I saw him again in Anneville-Ambourville, because he came to do some karting - it's also where he first started.”

In addition to joining the French F1 team family, Billard finished third in the French Junior Karting Championship and took part in Formula 4 testing in 2023.

“It’s fantastic to see our youngest ever F1 ACADEMY Wild Card driver benefiting from our partnership with Gatorade in Singapore," head of commercial operations at F1 Academy, Karin Fink, said. "Our collaboration continues to set new standards in the sport, bringing their sports science expertise directly to the next generation of emerging female talent, and offering invaluable tools and knowledge that will benefit the drivers throughout their careers.”