Taking on her rookie season in F1 Academy, Megan Bruce revealed her goal of steadily improving across each round of the 2026 all-female championship.
Before being announced as TAG Heuer’s 2026 driver, Bruce made her surprise F1 Academy debut at Round 6 of the 2025 season in Singapore. There, she replaced an injured Aiva Anagnostiadis in the Hitech-operated car. The British driver had only just taken part in the rookie test a few weeks earlier, leaving her with limited time to adapt to the weekend’s format and the demanding street circuit.
However, she ultimately finished P12 and P13 and earned a full-time seat in 2026 with Campos Racing, alongside second-year drivers Alisha Palmowski and Rafaela Ferreira.
From Singapore debut to rookie season
Speaking ahead of the opening round at the 2026 F1 Academy Chinese GP, Bruce reflected on the unexpected opportunity that saw her race in Singapore.
“It’s a big opportunity and I’m really glad that I pushed myself last year to be on the grid for this year,” she said. “I think the Rookie Test was really good to prove ourselves and obviously that opportunity got me Singapore.”
“Singapore was such a last-minute decision so it was pretty much just to learn as much as possible from the weekend – how it runs, the format, the races, and the media side.”
Looking ahead to her rookie season, she noted that her goal is to keep improving throughout the year by learning from her teammates, ultimately challenging at the front of the field.
“I think my goal this season is obviously just to keep improving. I’ve got good teammates which I can learn from because they’re both second-year drivers so just to keep improving, learning off them, and to make the top eight each time because you’ve got to be within the reverse grid to have chances in both races for good points.”
She added: “Hopefully score some podiums and finish, I don’t know, like top six or top eight in the Standings – that’d be good.”
Bruce already showed promise in Shanghai as she finished the Reverse Grid Race in P12, before charging from P14 to P9 in the Feature Race. This result helped Campos Racing become the only team to have all its drivers finish inside the top 10.
Bruce on her relationship with Palmowski and Ferreira
When asked about her relationship with the team and her teammates, Palmowski and Ferreira, Bruce shared: “We had one day in Bahrain testing with them just as a taster to see how they work. That was really good just to meet everyone and to see how Alisha and Rafa work as well.”
While Bruce focuses on development in her first F1 Academy campaign, Palmowski and Ferreira have different ambitions. As they enter their final season, they aim to make the most of it by challenging for the title and strengthening their skills for future opportunities.
She continued: “I think we’ve worked really well with them. We’re all trying different things and it’s been good progress. Campos have been really helpful with the sim and on track so yes, it’s exciting.”
