16-year-old Maya Weug from the Netherlands has made history by becoming the first female ever to earn a place in the Ferrari Driver Academy.
Located in Maranello in Italy, it is a coveted academy that prepares prodigious young drivers for a potential career in motorsport.
Weug earned her place in the renowned academy after winning the inaugural Girls on Track – Rising Stars programme, an initiative that is run by Ferrari in collaboration with the motorsport governing body the FIA.
📹 This is @WeugMaya, the winner of our #FDA #GirlsOnTrack #RisingStars camp 🤩
Get a glimpse of what the future holds for her 🙌@fia @fiawim pic.twitter.com/3JGzt4TEUb
— FerrariDriverAcademy (@insideFDA) January 22, 2021
“I will never forget this day! I am so happy to be the first female driver to join the Ferrari Driver Academy,” said Weug, who was born in Spain to a Belgian mother and Dutch father and started karting at the age of seven.
“Winning the final stage of the FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars program makes me realize that I was right to pursue my dream of becoming a racing driver.
“I will give my all to show the people who believed in me that I deserve to wear the Ferrari Driver Academy uniform and I can’t wait to come to Maranello to start preparing for my first season of single-seater racing.”
“This is a key moment in the history of Scuderia Ferrari and its Academy, the FDA, set up in 2019 to shape the drivers of the future for our Formula 1 team,” said Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto.
The academy has been known to nurture and produce excellent drivers in the recent past that include Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, and Mick Schumacher.
The other three finalists – 17-year-old Doriane Pin, 14-year-old Antonella Bassani, and 15-year-old Julia Ayoub – will each have the chance to test a 488 Challenge Evo sportscar.
In 1976, Italy’s Lella Lombardi was the last woman to race in F1. She was one of only two females to start a Grand Prix in the 71-year history of the sport.
In a sport primarily dominated by men, Weug has certainly shattered the glass ceiling. Do you agree? Let us know your views in the comments section below.
