The 2025 F1 Academy season marked Ella Lloyd’s first full campaign in the series, following an impressive Wild Card appearance in Singapore. Lloyd joined Rodin Motorsport with backing from McLaren and delivered a strong debut season. She finished the year fourth in the Championship Standings, with 109 points. Speaking in a media session attended by Pit Debrief, Lloyd reflected on her season and offered insight into her future ambitions.
Improvement through Rodin and McLaren
Lloyd described her move to Rodin Motorsport for 2025 as a positive step in her development. She credited both Rodin and McLaren for playing key roles in her progress as a driver. A significant part of that growth came through the continued support of McLaren representative Warren, who attended every race weekend.
“Yeah, I think working with McLaren and Rodin together has been pretty positive this year. I’ve had Warren with me, which is from McLaren at every race weekend, just there to support. But yeah, I think everything, you know, McLaren are bringing to develop me as a driver, you know, I can’t thank them enough. And then obviously being with Rodin as well, you know, a professional team, you know, they’ve developed me so much as a driver over the last year. It’s probably the most development I’ve done, you know, from last year. So, yeah, I think, you know, I’ve developed so much with them.“
Both Rodin Motorsport and McLaren invested significant effort behind the scenes to ensure Lloyd had the right environment to succeed. She also highlighted the value of working with reigning F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling, whose experience proved instrumental throughout the season.
“They’ve put a lot of work in behind the scenes just to get everything right. And yeah, being able to work with Abbi as well has been amazing because she knows the track, she knows the car. It’s just, you know, every little bit helps and just trying to get the, you know, I’ve got the right support around me and just trying to use every part to, you know, maximize the, you know, the track time or not the track time, you know, the pace and out on track.”
Formula E Rookie Tests
Lloyd has taken part in the Formula E Rookie and Women’s Test for the past two years and addressed whether the all-electric series could feature in her future. While she acknowledged Formula E as a viable option, she reaffirmed that Formula 1 remains her primary goal.
“I think it’s always an option and something to consider for the future. Obviously, my goal is Formula 1, but it’s always something that I can look into and have a career down. So it’s just my aim is Formula 1 and I’m going to try and pursue that until there’s no longer possible. And then it’s always a route that I could look down.”
