McLaren Racing has confirmed that 14 year-old Ella Häkkinen, daughter of two-time F1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen, joins its Driver Development Programme as she moves toward her single-seater debut.
Set to make the jump from karting to single-seaters in 2027, Häkkinen has already built an impressive karting résumé. She claimed her first major international win at the 2024 Champions of the Future Academy in Cremona. Additionally, the 14 year-old earned her spot as one of nine coveted entries supported by F1 Academy Discover Your Drive at the Circuit of the Americas. This year in the Champions of the Future Academy UAE Series, she also claimed pole position and a podium in the OK-N Senior category at the latest round at the Slovakia Ring.
The 14 year-old appears to be following in her father’s footsteps. Alongside Häkkinen’s announcement, McLaren also confirmed that Ella Lloyd will return to the F1 Academy grid next year, joined by newcomer Ella Stevens, who will race under the McLaren Oxagon name.
Welcoming female talent into the McLaren family
Announcing three new female talents to their roster, McLaren Racing’s CEO Zak Brown spoke briefly about what it means to support Häkkinen’s career and to help raise awareness of the growing involvement of women in the sport.
Brown said: “While I recognise that more remains to be done to increase female representation in motorsport, I’m immensely proud of the progress we’ve made in this space,”
“I hope this signals to all the amazingly talented female karters, drivers, engineers, mechanics, marketeers and accountants out there that our sport is open to all and deeply committed to keeping up the incredible momentum we have seen over the past few years.”
“There are so many opportunities both at and away from track and I want to thank NEOM for partnering with us in this space to help us open more pathways for women. To now have three talented young female drivers in our Driver Development Programme is really exciting, and I cannot wait to see them hit the track.”
