Ferrari signs up first female driver to academy

FILE – The logo of Ferrari is pictured in the paddock of the Autodromo Nazionale circuit in Monza on September 5, 2019 ahead of the Italian Formula One Grand Prix. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)

Ferrari on Friday signed up 16-year-old Maya Weug, the first female to join their academy which has nurtured the talent of Formula One drivers like Charles Leclerc.

Weug, born and raised in Spain, will compete in Formula 4 this year backed by the academy which also counts Formula One rookie Mick Schumacher among its success stories.

The teenager of Dutch-Belgian origins began racing in a secondhand kart shared with her brother at the age of seven in 2011.

While a number of women drivers have attempted to qualify for a Formula One Grand Prix the last to succeed was Italian Lella Lombardi in 1976.

Female test and development drivers with F1 teams have included Susie Wolff, wife of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.