Atlassian Williams Racing is delighted to announce that Jade Jacquet will represent the team for the 2026 F1 Academy season, racing with ART Grand Prix. The French driver, who turned 16 yesterday, will also be joining the Williams Racing Driver Academy.
 

First gaining attention during the 2024 French Junior Karting Championship, Jade has had an impressive start to her early racing career. Despite only starting out in international karting in 2023, she excelled in the French Junior Karting Championship and transitioned to single-seaters this year at just 15 years old.
 

Jade’s 2025 campaign in French Formula 4 has seen her secure multiple top 20 finishes, including 12th at Circuit de Nogaro and 11th in the reverse grid race at Circuit des 24 Heures. She also claimed the Female Trophy at the Dijon-Prenois circuit, which recognised her as one of the highest-achieving female drivers in the championship.
 

As part of the Williams Racing Driver Academy, the team will be supporting Jade’s learning and development to maximise her potential throughout the F1 Academy season. She will work closely with the team at Grove to hone her skills, with access to the full spectrum of Academy support.
 

Williams has been part of the F1 Academy project since 2024 and supported Lia Block as an Atlassian Williams Racing driver for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, which saw the American make her single-seat debut after starting her career in rally. Lia has made significant strides, achieving a 2nd place feature race finish in Zandvoort and her maiden victory in Singapore this year.
 

Drivers in F1 Academy are limited to two seasons in the series to provide more opportunities for emerging female talent, and the team bid farewell to Lia following the final race in Las Vegas.
 

Jade Jacquet: “I’m super excited to be joining the Williams Racing Driver Academy and F1 Academy for the 2026 season. The team has been very welcoming, and I’m looking forward to working with them to learn as much as I can throughout my debut season. Thank you to Atlassian Williams Racing for believing in me, and I can’t wait to get on track.”
 

Sven Smeets, Sporting Director, Atlassian Williams Racing: “We are proud to welcome Jade to our team as our Atlassian Williams Racing driver in F1 Academy. Jade has made rapid progress in her motorsport career and has strong potential for the future, already demonstrating her ability to learn and adapt in her transition to single-seaters. As a member of the Williams Racing Driver Academy, we’ll be working closely with her to nurture her development both on and off the track. As a team, we continue to support Formula 1 and F1 Academy’s shared mission to advance female representation in motorsport and look forward to seeing Jade start her 2026 campaign.”