McLaren’s Triple Threat: ELLA HAKKINEN, ELLA STEVENS & ELLA LLOYD Set for 2025

November 17, 2025

• McLaren just made a statement we’ve been waiting decades to hear – they’re doubling down on female talent with ELLA HAKKINEN and ELLA STEVENS joining their Driver Development Program. At 14, HAKKINEN becomes the youngest driver in the program after dominating European karting, while STEVENS brings the rare distinction of being the only woman to win in Britain’s premier karting class.
• The numbers tell the real story here: McLaren will run three women in their development pipeline next year, with ELLA LLOYD continuing her F1 Academy campaign for a second season. That’s not tokenism – that’s building a pipeline. STEVENS gets her own F1 Academy seat operated by Rodin Motorsport, giving McLaren a legitimate two-car women’s program while HAKKINEN preps for single-seaters by 2027.
• Here’s where it gets interesting – Mika Hakkinen isn’t just proud papa here, he’s making bold predictions about his daughter potentially becoming F1’s first female driver since 1976. When a two-time world champion says his kid has what it takes “based on observations as a former top driver,” we pay attention. McLaren’s Zak Brown acknowledging “more remains to be done” while actually doing something about it? That’s the kind of leadership change we need to see across the paddock.

all-female f1 academy, driver development program, fia karting, mclaren