McLaren announces Ella Häkkinen: Mika’s daughter joins F1 Academy junior program. McLaren expands its F1 Academy junior program with a new female talent,.

McLaren continues to invest in driver development and strengthens its Driver Development Programme with the inclusion of two promising new talents. This expansion allows McLaren to field a second car in the F1 Academy. Alongside the already announced Ella Lloyd, the team welcomes two other young drivers united not only by talent but also by name: Ella Stevens and Ella Häkkinen. The latter is the daughter of Mika Häkkinen, who won two F1 world championships with McLaren.

Stevens arrives with a historic achievement: she is the only woman to have claimed victory in the British KZ2 Karting Championship. Starting in 2026, she will join the F1 Academy team alongside Lloyd. Throughout 2024, the 14-year-old Häkkinen’s daughter has shown exponential growth in international competitions, winning the Champions of the Future Academy.

McLaren CEO comments

In the official statement, McLaren CEO Zak Brown highlighted the team’s commitment to diversity in motorsport. He acknowledged that there is still much work to be done to increase female representation, but expressed immense pride in the progress achieved so far.

Brown emphasized that this expansion is a signal to young girls involved in karting, aspiring drivers, and engineers that the sport is open to everyone and remains deeply committed to maintaining the incredible momentum seen in recent years. He also expressed excitement about seeing these new female talents on track. Having three talented young female drivers in the Driver Development Programme is truly thrilling, and he cannot wait to watch them compete.