ELLA LLOYD Survives McLaren’s Junior Exodus as Three Male Drivers Exit Team

November 11, 2025

• While McLaren cleans house in their junior programme, dumping three male drivers including former ‘next Lewis Hamilton’ Ugo Ugochukwu, ELLA LLOYD remains standing as one of only four drivers retained in the development academy – proving her worth in Formula Academy while others couldn’t deliver.
• The mass exodus includes Ugochukwu (despite two F3 podiums), Martinius Stenshorne, and Brando Badoer, following October’s departure of Alex Dunne, suggesting McLaren’s patience with underperforming male talent has finally run thin while LLOYD continues building her case.
• LLOYD now sits alongside IndyCar’s Pato O’Ward, Formula 4’s Dries Van Langendonck, and new signing Matteo De Palo in McLaren’s streamlined academy, positioning herself as the sole woman in a programme that clearly values results over hype.

fia formula 3, formula academy, junior development, mclaren