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Emma Felbermayr is an Austrian racing driver making waves as the first woman from her country to compete in F1 Academy, bringing a third-generation motorsport legacy into the next chapter of women’s racing.

EARLY YEARS

Born January 27, 2007, in Wels, Oberösterreich, Austria, Emma Felbermayr didn’t have to look far for racing inspiration—it was literally in her DNA. Her father and grandfather both competed in multiple editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which means endurance racing conversation likely started before she could walk. Growing up in Wels surrounded by this rich motorsport heritage, the question wasn’t whether she’d race, but when.

That “when” came at age seven, when she climbed into a kart for the first time. A year later, at just eight years old, she entered her first national race in the Micro Class. While other kids were mastering multiplication tables, Emma was learning racing lines and brake points—a childhood that was equal parts normal Austrian upbringing and high-speed apprenticeship in the family business.

OTHER INTERESTS

Beyond the cockpit, Emma’s interests remain largely private. What is documented is a rib injury she sustained at the beginning of 2023—a reminder that even when she’s not racing, the physical demands of the sport follow her everywhere. The injury required recovery time, but like most racers worth their salt, she bounced back.

EARLY SUCCESS

Emma progressed methodically through karting’s ranks—Micro, Mini, Junior, and Senior classes—honing her craft in the German Championship, ADAC Kart Masters, WSK, and World and European Championships. Her first taste of international competition came in 2021 with the ADAC Ladies Cup, where she finished runner-up in her debut. Not a bad introduction to racing beyond Austria’s borders.

Between 2019 and 2021, she raced with Solgat Motorsport in the OKJ category, then moved to TB Racing Team for her Senior karting campaign in 2022, competing in the German Championship, WSK, and World Championship. By 2024, she’d stepped up to the demanding KZ2 category—gearbox karts that separate the serious from the Sunday drivers—running the German Kart Championship and FIA Karting World Cup with TB Racing Team, piloting a Kart Republic chassis with TM engine on Dunlop tyres. At the 2023 World Championship KZ category in Wackersdorf, she qualified 23rd out of 119 drivers, a performance that proved she could hold her own in one of karting’s most competitive arenas.

Then came 2025, and everything accelerated. Emma made the leap to single-seaters with Rodin Motorsport in the Formula Winter Series and Spanish F4 Championship, then added the F4 British Championship with Virtuosi Racing. She also tackled the Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship with Rodin. It was a steep learning curve against drivers with three or four years more single-seater experience, but she adapted race by race. At the F4 British Championship opener in Montreal, she scored her first podium in the opening race—only to be disqualified when her car was found underweight. Frustrating? Absolutely. But she returned for Race 2 and delivered her maiden single-seater win, overtaking Nina Gademan on the final lap. Just like that, the DSQ sting disappeared.

The call from KICK Sauber F1 Team came “really spontaneous at very short notice,” as she put it—the kind of phone call that changes everything. She was selected for the Sauber Academy and joined the team for the 2025 F1 Academy season, making her the first Austrian woman to compete in the series. In early 2025 races, she earned reverse-grid pole positions, though translating those into results proved challenging in Miami, where she finished 15th from pole in the sprint race. Still, she was learning on the fly, juggling multiple championships and a steep development curve.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2021: Runner-up in ADAC Ladies Cup in her first international karting competition.
• 2023: Qualified 23rd out of 119 drivers in the World Championship KZ category at Wackersdorf.
• 2025: First Austrian woman to compete in F1 Academy.
• 2025: Maiden single-seater victory in Race 2 of the F4 British Championship at Montreal, overtaking on the final lap.
• 2025: Selected for Sauber Academy and KICK Sauber F1 Team.

Across 32 races started as of mid-2025, Emma has one win and one podium finish, with a career win percentage of 3.1%. Her DriverDB score stands at 1,468. The statistics tell part of the story; the trajectory tells the rest.

INSPIRATIONS

Emma’s inspiration is homegrown. Her father and grandfather, both veterans of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, provided not just encouragement but a roadmap. She’s spoken about growing up around racing idols within her family context, though she hasn’t named specific drivers outside that circle. When your family tree includes endurance racing legends, the bar is set high from birth—and she’s been chasing it ever since.

Her personal racing philosophy is straightforward and optimistic: “With passion and dedication nothing is truly impossible.” It’s the kind of motto that sounds like a motivational poster until you realize she’s actually living it—jumping from karting to multiple single-seater championships in a single season while representing an F1 team as the first Austrian woman in F1 Academy.

REPUTATION

Benn Huntingford, Sporting Director at Rodin Motorsport, didn’t mince words: “She has shown great potential and resilience in karting.” The sentiment is echoed across the paddock. Emma is regarded as a fighter who battles at the sharp end of the field, with strong overtaking instincts—her final-lap pass for her first win being Exhibit A.

Media coverage has been overwhelmingly positive, emphasizing her family heritage, rapid progress, and pioneering role as Austria’s first female F1 Academy driver. She’s been highlighted for passion, dedication, and breaking barriers for women in a sport still frustratingly slow to welcome them. Public perception paints her as a rising talent with grit, someone willing to take on steep challenges without complaint—even when those challenges include jumping into an F1 Academy seat on short notice and competing against drivers with significantly more single-seater experience.

“The call from Kick Sauber was really spontaneous at very short notice,” she admitted. “It was a bit overwhelming at first… A lot of the girls I’m racing against have three or four years of experience… It was definitely tough in the beginning—but race by race, I’m adapting.” That kind of honesty, paired with results that show she’s not just surviving but competing, has earned her respect across the industry.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

Emma is fully committed to her 2025 program with KICK Sauber F1 Team in F1 Academy, which kicked off at the season opener in Shanghai on March 21-23. She’s also continuing her development in the Formula Winter Series and Spanish F4 Championship with Rodin Motorsport, plus the F4 British Championship with Virtuosi Racing and the Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship. It’s an aggressive schedule that would exhaust most rookies, but she’s embracing it.

“I’m proud and thrilled to be joining KICK Sauber F1 Team for the 2025 F1 Academy season,” she said. “This is an incredible opportunity to take the next step in my racing career and to challenge myself at this exciting level. I’m looking forward to representing the team, growing as a driver, and making the most of the visibility and platform F1 Academy offers. I can’t wait to get started and see what we can achieve together!”

She’s also noted the physical difference between F1 Academy cars and Formula 4 machinery: “It’s just something else when you compare that car to a Formula 4 car. You have to train.” Translation: she’s putting in the work, both on-track and off, to keep pace with the demands of competing at this level.

Her stated goals are clear—take the next step in her career, challenge herself, grow as a driver, and achieve with her team. For someone who qualified 23rd out of 119 in a World Championship karting event and then jumped to single-seaters with multiple wins and podiums in her first season, those goals feel less like aspirations and more like inevitabilities. Emma Felbermayr is writing her own chapter in the family racing legacy, and she’s doing it with the kind of quiet determination and late-braking overtakes that make people pay attention.

References:

Emma Felbermayr to Represent Sauber Team in F1 Academy in 2025 – Audi Club North America
Emma Felbermayr – Wikipedia
Emma Felbermayr: With Passion and Dedication Nothing is Truly Impossible – Females in Motorsport
Woman Spotlight Wednesday: Emma Felbermayr – Dive-Bomb
Emma Felbermayr – DriverDB
KICK Sauber Recruit Rookie Emma Felbermayr for 2025 F1 Academy Season – Formula1.com
Emma Felbermayr Shares Her Experience Growing Up in a Racing Family – Pit Debrief