Chiara Bättig enjoyed a record-breaking weekend at the third round of the 2026 F1 Academy season in Silverstone, becoming the first-ever Wild Card driver to top a session, secure pole position and stand on the podium.
The 16 year-old Swiss driver showed no signs of pressure and never appeared intimidated by the rest of the field, despite competing in her first full season of single-seater racing. Ahead of the weekend, Bättig spoke to F1 Academy and shared her excitement ahead of making her series debut.
She said: “It feels great to be the Wild Card, I’m really excited. It’s the British Grand Prix, so I think it’s one of the most exciting races on the calendar. I was in Monaco this year, but this is my first time driving at a Grand Prix. There are a few more people here, so it’s nice to have a few fans around and it’s a different experience to what I’m used to.”
“It’s quite hard going from karts to cars. I actually did my first race with just a few test days in the Red Bull Driver Search and then I immediately went to F4 Saudi. Then I did the Formula Winter Series with Campos and British F4 with Hitech. I’ve been enjoying it. It’s quite a difficult step to do, but I think we’re getting on quite well.”
Credits British F4 weekend for preparation ahead of debut
“The biggest challenge is you don’t get as much track time. You really need to improve every lap you have. In karting, you’d have like five sessions a day where you can improve and now you get a few laps in the day.”, the Swiss driver said.
“The British F4 round helped me a lot. Silverstone has a lot of straights and there will be a lot of fighting. We’re fast on this track, so I hope I can also be fast this weekend. It’s a great opportunity, especially the atmosphere racing alongside F2 and F3. Going into F3, you’re going to get used to the schedule as well as the grip changes.”
Having claimed her maiden British F4 podium during the Silverstone round’s Race 2, Bättig entered a weekend filled with unknowns as she prepared to drive F1 Academy machinery for the first time. Nonetheless, the 16 year-old remained confident in her chances heading into the weekend.
“A successful weekend starts with Free Practice, I’ve never driven this car before. I think it will all have to be in a flow. We should be looking fast, so might end up on the podium or something.”
Topping Free Practice “a good step for a strong weekend”
Having topped Free Practice on Friday, Bättig immediately showed her pace and potential, setting the fastest time of the session with a 2:02.640. Reflecting on her first taste of the championship after the session, she said: “I’m happy to get a good start. There are still a lot of things that I have to improve. It was my first time driving in this car, so it’s very different to what I’m used to. It’s heavier braking, the steering is heavier and there’s overall more grip in the tyre. I think it is a good step for a strong weekend.”
“It’s just maximising all the track. Maximising all the corner speed, especially through Maggotts and Becketts. There’s a lot of straights, you just need to prep everything very well and prepared early. There’s going to be a huge step in grip probably because the track is really dirty.”
The weekend marked Bättig’s first time competing on a Formula 1 weekend alongside supporting categories such as Formula 2 and Formula 3. As she looked to build on her strong Free Practice performance, she headed into Qualifying later that afternoon with confidence.
“I can’t really tell you because I’ve never really driven with F2 or F3, but I surely expect that there’s going to be a higher grip. There’s going to be higher speeds overall and later braking. I did a lot of sim with grip changes to really get into it.”
“We had a good Free Practice. If we improve on the things we have to improve, I think we’ll be looking strong.”
Bättig: “Really satisfied” with Qualifying performance
Bättig stormed to pole position with a 2:01.775, finishing two tenths ahead of Alisha Palmowski as she stunned the field and dominated both sessions on Friday. The Swiss driver made history by becoming the first-ever Wild Card entrant to claim pole position in F1 Academy.
Reflecting on her session, she said: “For sure, I’m really satisfied. It’s good to know that despite not getting into the car before arriving here, I was still able to show good speed.”
“To be honest, I made a mistake at Copse where I ran off and had fully dirty tyres, so I just had one push. I didn’t maximise what I had. I went purple, purple on my in-lap and four tenths up my fastest lap.”
“So I think if I would have put the lap on the board, we would have been there. I just maximised everything in the end when we swapped tyres. I can be quite happy that it happened to me as I have slightly better tyres, but the tyre drop is quite huge, so I don’t think I could have improved anymore.”
Heading into Saturday’s Reverse Grid Race, Bättig knew she needed to approach the race smartly and learn as much as possible ahead of Sunday’s Feature Race.
“Overall, I have to have a really smart approach in the Reverse Grid Race and overtake as much as I can. Tomorrow is not the race that matters for me because I don’t have to fight for a title.”
Lessons learnt during the Reverse Grid Race
Despite finishing P8 in the Reverse Grid Race, the 16 year-old gained valuable experience from a challenging outing, having struggled with her launch off the line at lights out. However, after making her way through the field, Bättig admitted the race provided plenty of lessons that she would carry into Sunday’s Feature Race.
“We had a tricky first three laps and then got stuck behind Alba [Larsen]. We tried to analyse how we should set it up for today and I think we’ve done a good job on that.”, she said.
“I’ll just take everything I’ve learnt in the Reverse Grid Race, all the mistakes I’ve done, and not do them again in the Feature Race. I’ll be looking to fight with Alisha at the front, but staying calm will be the goal.”
A podium in the Feature Race to round up “an amazing experience”
“I’m happy to get a podium starting from P1. You always want to win, which was the goal today, but I didn’t manage to get a good launch, which probably cost us the win. Then I stayed at the same pace as Alisha. I’m incredibly happy for the team to get this result as well.”, Bättig said when reflecting on Sunday’s Feature Race.
Although Bättig lost the lead to Palmowski heading into Turn 1, the Swiss driver recognised the challenges of overtaking and following closely around Silverstone. Despite that, she left her F1 Academy debut weekend full of appreciation for the opportunity, describing the experience as “amazing”.
“It’s really difficult to really even catch the person ahead. We saw it also in yesterday’s race, when you’re behind the car, you can’t really overtake. The tow is not big enough and through Maggotts and Becketts, you lose so much time because you can’t carry speed. I would have wished for a bit more of a fight but it’s really hard around here.”
“It was an amazing experience. I’m racing with Hitech in British F4 next week in Zandvoort. It has been a great experience with the fans and the surroundings, it was fun!”
Having stunned the field and impressed the paddock as a Wild Card entrant, Bättig has undoubtedly put herself on the radar for a potential full-time F1 Academy seat in the near future. For now, the Swiss driver continues her first British F4 campaign as the 2026 season progresses.
