MATHILDA PAATZ Earns Wild Card F1 Academy Spot at Montreal Canadian GP

June 12, 2025

GRRL! SUMMARY:

MATHILDA PAATZ has been named the fourth Wild Card entry for F1 Academy’s 2025 Montreal round, joining Hitech GP alongside AIVA ANAGNOSTIADIS and NICOLE HAVRDA. The 16-year-old German driver secured Gatorade sponsorship for her debut, following successful Wild Cards SHI WEI, FARAH AL YOUSEF, and AVA DOBSON who’ve proven this pathway works—with 2024 Wild Cards NINA GADEMAN, ELLA LLOYD, and ALISHA PALMOWSKI all earning full-time 2025 seats.
Her timing couldn’t be better—PAATZ is having a breakthrough season in F4 Central European Zone after switching from French F4. She’s already scored her first F4 podium with second place at Red Bull Ring and collected three top-five finishes, showing the consistent speed that caught F1 Academy’s attention. Racing with her family-run Mathilda Racing team, she’s proven she can fight back from adversity, recovering from a pit lane start to secure multiple strong results.
PAATZ’s path shows how the junior ladder should work when talent meets opportunity. Her karting credentials include representing Germany at FIA Motorsport Games and racing for Fernando Alonso’s junior team, plus she was a Senior finalist in FIA Girls on Track Rising Stars. Now she gets to showcase her skills on the same weekend as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton—exactly the kind of platform young women drivers need to prove they belong at motorsport’s highest levels.