Ella Lloyd

Ella Lloyd is one of the most exciting young talents to emerge from Wales in modern motorsport. Born on 20 July 2005 in Pontypridd, Ella has made a remarkable rise through the racing ranks despite having no prior competitive karting experience. In just a few years, she progressed from club-level car racing to becoming a McLaren development driver and a front-running competitor in the F1 Academy.

Her journey to single-seater racing is particularly unusual. Before dedicating herself to motorsport, Ella established herself as a talented showjumper and skier, competing successfully in both sports. She comes from a family with a strong sporting pedigree: her father is a Paralympic skier and also holds a rallying licence. That sporting environment helped foster Ella’s competitive nature from an early age.

Early Sporting Career

Long before she became known for her achievements on a race circuit, Ella Lloyd was a successful skier and equestrian competitor.

In skiing, Ella represented Wales and achieved one of her notable early sporting successes in 2019, when she won gold at the Welsh Skiing Championship.

She also competed in showjumping, where she developed another competitive sporting career. In 2019, she achieved success in the 148 Bronze League Area 35 Wales with her horse, Elvira.

Although skiing, showjumping and motorsport may appear to be very different disciplines, Ella’s experience across all three has contributed to her development as an athlete, requiring balance, concentration, precision, confidence and the ability to perform under pressure.

Beginning Her Motorsport Career

Ella’s competitive motorsport career began in 2022, when she entered the Ginetta Junior Championship.

Remarkably, she did so without having previously competed in competitive karting. Despite being relatively new to circuit racing, Ella quickly demonstrated her potential, scoring points in 15 of the 25 races during her first season.

Rather than following the traditional karting-to-single-seaters pathway, Ella’s progression came through production-based racing, making her rapid development particularly notable.

In 2023, she stepped up to the Ginetta GT Championship. Competing against a competitive field, Ella continued to develop rapidly and finished the season as vice-champion.

Her performances in Ginetta racing established her as a driver capable of adapting quickly to new machinery and competing successfully against more experienced opposition.

2024: The Move to Single-Seaters

The beginning of 2024 marked a major turning point in Ella’s career as she made her single-seater debut in the Formula Winter Series.

She immediately showed promise, securing the Female Driver Trophy on multiple occasions and demonstrating that her performances in Ginetta machinery could translate successfully into formula cars.

Her progress earned her a place in the British F4 Championship with JHR Developments.

During her British F4 campaign, Ella produced a series of strong performances and regularly fought for points. Her standout results included:

* P2 – Race 2, Silverstone

* P2 – Race 2, Knockhill

* P2 – Race 3, Brands Hatch GP

* P3 – Race 3, Donington Park

She ultimately finished 11th in the championship, recording 13 points finishes and four podiums.

F1 Academy Debut

Ella’s breakthrough onto the international stage came in 2024, when she joined the F1 Academy grid in Singapore as the series’ Wild Card entry.

Despite making her debut at one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar, Ella immediately made an impression. She finished in the points in both races, demonstrating that she could adapt quickly to the level of competition and the challenges of single-seater racing.

Her performances in Singapore helped attract the attention of the McLaren Driver Development Programme.

Joining McLaren

In October 2024, Ella was officially announced as a member of the McLaren Driver Development Programme.

The announcement represented a major milestone in her career. From beginning competitive racing only two years earlier, Ella had progressed to becoming part of one of the world’s most recognisable Formula 1 organisations.

Ahead of the 2025 season, she was confirmed as McLaren’s driver in the F1 Academy, while also continuing her development through a dual programme in F1 Academy and British F4 with Rodin Motorsport.

2025: Breakthrough F1 Academy Season

The 2025 season became a defining year in Ella’s career.

Competing in F1 Academy with Rodin Motorsport, she established herself as a genuine competitive force and began regularly challenging towards the front of the field.

One of the biggest highlights of the season came at Jeddah, where Ella claimed her maiden F1 Academy victory, winning Race 1 of the second round.

The victory represented another significant step in her rapid progression and confirmed her ability to convert her pace into major results on the international stage.

Across her rookie F1 Academy campaign, Ella continued to develop throughout the season and ultimately finished an impressive fourth in the Drivers’ Championship.

Most significantly, she finished as the highest-placed rookie in the 2025 championship.

Her rookie campaign established Ella as one of the leading emerging drivers in the series and gave her a strong platform from which to attack the following season.

McLaren Formula E Experience

Ella’s development with McLaren also extended beyond F1 Academy.

In 2025, she gained valuable experience with McLaren’s Formula E programme, beginning with an appearance at the all-electric championship’s Women’s Test at Jarama in Madrid.

Ella finished seventh during the test, gaining experience of Formula E machinery and working within a professional electric racing environment.

Later in the year, she returned to Formula E machinery for the Berlin Rookie Test, giving her further experience of the technology, procedures and demands of the all-electric championship.

These opportunities formed an important part of Ella’s wider development as a professional racing driver and exposed her to a different category of high-level single-seater competition.

Looking Ahead to 2026

Following her impressive 2025 rookie season, Ella continued in F1 Academy for 2026.

Having finished fourth in the Drivers’ Championship and as the highest-placed rookie in her debut season, Ella entered 2026 with considerably more experience and a clear ambition to fight for the championship.

Her goal is no longer simply to establish herself in F1 Academy. She has made it clear that she is targeting ultimate honours and wants to challenge for the championship.

Her progression has been exceptionally rapid. In the space of only a few seasons, she has gone from beginning competitive car racing with no competitive karting background to winning races in F1 Academy, becoming a McLaren development driver and gaining experience in Formula E machinery.