The highly anticipated 2026 F1 Academy season is finally set to get underway in China this weekend as the series lines up for its opener at Shanghai International Circuit.
Entering the year as the reigning champions, PREMA Racing is competing with an all-new trio of drivers to continue the team's dominant form that has continued since the championship's inception.
Driving the #8 car, German Mathilda Paatz will make her move to the series after a promising F4 debut last year. Paatz will be an Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team™ representative on this year's grid.
Payton Westcott will compete with the #9 car. Supported by the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, the American has already achieved considerable success with PREMA and secured her maiden F4 win in the United Arab Emirates in late 2025.
Spaniard Natalia Granada, who was recently announced as a driver for the #19 car, will be making her full-time single-seaters debut and will be supported by prestige beauty retailer Sephora.
Drivers already had their first taste of the 5.45-kilometer Shanghai track, and pace is expected to be up quickly. A highly complex venue in terms of its technical characteristics, with a mix of slow and fast corners, Shanghai is hosting F1 Academy as a supporting act to the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend.
STEPHEN MITAS - TEAM PRINCIPAL & CEO
“We are very pleased to return to the F1 Academy Series in 2026. In a short space of time, the championship has established itself as a strong and important platform for developing young talent in motorsport. Welcoming three new drivers to the team presents an exciting opportunity, and we look forward to supporting them as they progress and adapt quickly to the environment. Our focus remains on building on the success we have achieved in previous seasons, and the entire team is fully committed to delivering the highest level of performance once again.”