She only started racing cars a few years ago. Next weekend, she lines up at one of the most iconic circuits on the planet.
Chiara Bättig has been confirmed as the wildcard driver for Round 3 of the 2026 F1 ACADEMY season at Silverstone. This 16-year-old Swiss teenager arrives with a résumé that has captured the attention of the people.
From the kart track to the Silverstone grid
Bättig’s story begins at the age of eight, on the kart track in Wohlen, Switzerland. What followed was a decade of relentless progression.
She claimed three consecutive Swiss Karting Championships in the OK Junior category – 2022, 2023 and 2024. This made her not only the youngest driver to ever win the title but also the first to take it three years running. In her final championship-winning season, she dominated the field with eight victories from 15 starts.
Her ambitions were never limited to national glory, though. On the international stage, she represented Switzerland at the FIA Motorsport Games and qualified on pole in the OK category at the CIK-FIA European Championship at Campillos in 2025.
She was a participant in Alpine’s Rac(H)er development programme, an F1A Discover Your Driver karter and a finalist in the FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars shootout.
In August 2025, the moment that changed everything finally came.
The Red Bull Driver Search
Chiara Bättig had a standout performance at the Red Bull Driver Search event in Estoril. She drove a single-seater for the every first time. It was enough to earn her a place in the Red Bull Junior Team. Her pace and adaptability in unfamiliar machinery caught the eye.
She was signed on the spot.
“It means a lot to me to be a Red Bull junior driver,” she said at the time. “My ultimate goal is to reach Formula One and become world champion. I hope to inspire young female karters to take the same journey I am making now.”
Bättig has spent 2026 backing up those big words.
Chiara Bättig: The rookie that turned heads
Bättig’s first full season in single-seaters is with Hitech in the 2026 British F4 Championship – the same team she will race for in F1 Academy at Silverstone.
The campaign has not been without its challenges. At Brands Hatch, a technical issue in qualifying buried her 30th on the grid. She responded by gaining 47 positions across the three races to finish sixth. It was the kind of composure you rarely see in a driver who had been racing cars for less than a year.
Her progression has been steady and sharp. After solid outings at Snetterton, Chiara Bättig arrived at Silverstone for the British F4 round in late May – and it was there she delivered her finest performance yet.
She set the pole position time for Race 2 and took the overall fastest lap of that race. The teenager crossed the line third to secure her first British F4 podium. Along with that, she also set the fastest lap in the race. Bättig sits 13th in the British F4 standings with 36 points currently.
Silverstone, in other words, already knows her name.
The Wildcard opportunity
Chiara Bättig’s F1 Academy debut comes backed by Wella Professionals, the series’ official partner. She will race the #6 Hitech car in a bespoke red Wella livery inspired by their “Make It You” campaign – a design celebrating confidence and female empowerment in the paddock.
It follows the brand’s precedent of backing a wildcard entry, having previously supported Australian driver Joanne Ciconte throughout the 2025 F1A season.
For Bättig, the timing could not be better. The 2026 F1A season marks the series’ first-ever visit to Silverstone. She arrives carrying momentum, familiarity with the circuit and a team she already knows.
“Silverstone is one of the most legendary circuits in motorsport, so making my F1A debut here as the Wildcard driver is a dream come true,” she said. “I’m excited to challenge myself, learn from every session and show what I’m capable of on such a big stage with the support of Wella behind me. I’m focused on making every lap count and leaving a strong impression.”
What to watch for
The Wildcard format asks a specific question of a young driver: can you adapt fast enough to make it count? Bättig has already answered that question once, at Brands Hatch, when the qualifying session was taken away from her. She still made the race weekend mean something.
The teenager is stepping up in car – the F1A Tatuus F4-T421 will be new machinery for her – while racing on a circuit she has already podiumed at this season. That combination of the familiar and the new is something Bättig has already shown she handles well.
Red Bull do not back drivers lightly. Hitech do not give Wildcards to drivers they do not believe in. And Silverstone has already rewarded Chiara Bättig once in 2026.
Feature Image: F1A
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