Rachel Robertson on her racing career, studying motorsport engineering and her love for Silverstone
01 June 2026Rachel Robertson’s journey to motorsport started later than many of her fellow drivers, with the young Scottish driver first watching a Formula 1 race in 2021, when she was 14. The following year, she set foot in a kart for the first time and has experienced a period of rapid upwards trajectory on the motorsport ladder ever since.
After competing in karting championships then moving into the Radical Cup UK in 2025, Rachel’s career launched into action on the global stage when she took part in the F1 ACADEMY rookie test before being called up to make her debut in the series at the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The British talent to watch out for in F1 ACADEMY this season sees five drivers take centre stage on the F1 ACADEMY grid at their home race this July, with Rachel aiming to excel in front of a home crowd.
Ahead of F1 ACADEMY’s debut at the British Grand Prix this summer, Silverstone caught up with Rachel to discuss her career so far and her goals for the 2026 season competing on the global stage with Hitech as a PUMA-supported driver.
After lighting a spark of passion for motorsport when watching the 2021 Russian Grand Prix, Rachel realised that speed is something she always had instilled within her, even from a young age, despite her family having no interest in F1.
“I don’t know who I got this speed bug from, but I’ve always loved riding a bike or riding a scooter,” she explains. “I would always play car games on my Nintendo DS or my mum’s laptop.”
When she was older and began karting, Rachel channelled her passion for speed into going fast in a kart, a different type of speed bug which has stuck with her ever since.
“That first time in a go kart was just me, in full control,” Rachel says. “I always loved it, and still do love it.
“And of course, I always loved going fast.”
Although Rachel started karting later than many of her fellow competitors in F1 ACADEMY, she never let that create a barrier for progression. Instead, it fuelled her to drive even faster and left her with a sense of confidence that has influenced the way she races today.
When Rachel was working towards getting her own kart, she completed her ARKS test on a Scottish championship weekend, where all the karters in Scotland were out practising at the same time as she was. One of the karters were running an S plate for Scottish champion, which made Rachel realise just how good the level of karting talent was.
“I came back in, as a random who’d just showed up for her test, and this team came up to me, asking how I drove like that,” she explains. “I told them I didn’t know, I just did.
“The best thing about coming in late is the fact that I knew nobody and didn’t know how good they were, but at the same time, they knew nothing about me.”
After a short career in karting, competing in the British Kart Championship, Motorsport UK ‘E’ Plate and Ultimate Karting Championship, all in the Senior Rotax classes, Rachel stepped up into cars, joining the Radical Cup UK Championship in 2025, with the Radical Racing Rebels team.
“It was definitely the biggest breakthrough moment of stepping into cars because even though you’ve got some of the fundamentals that you learn in karting, it’s still a whole different world,” Rachel says. “All the racing is different, and it helped especially knowing I had a year of learning.
“In karting, I only ever moved up one class so the driving was all the same, whereas in cars, you have to adapt to a completely different driving style: new circuits, bigger circuits and faster and bigger cars.”
Rachel’s year in the Radical Cup championship was funded by a scholarship, allowing her to learn all the basics of driving something closer to a Formula style car, which has helped her transition into F1 ACADEMY.
“The Radical cars are very good to learn in as they’re kind of hybrid, between almost a GT car and a single seater, so it’s got a lot of downforce for what it is,” Rachel explains. “I automatically had that confidence in the high speed because of the Radical Cup, whereas if I went straight from karting to F4 level, I’d have needed to build that up.”
Rachel’s first taste of F1 ACADEMY came at the Rookie Test at the Circuito de Navarra in September 2025. The test was the only ticket Rachel had to prove her driving capabilities and help her get onto the grid full-time.
“I was hoping to race in F1 ACADEMY in 2026, so having that extra bit of experience was a massive gain,” she says. “The cars are slightly different from a standard F4 car, so being able to drive that spec of car was really helpful for me, too.”
Her official F1 ACADEMY debut came at the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, when she stepped in for an injured Aiva Anagnostiadis.
“Las Vegas is a very hard track to learn as your first one,” Rachel recalls. “We got there and the streets are open during the day, so the track condition is totally different and very slippery.”
Rachel completed all of her track prep for Vegas before she arrived, so when she headed to the track for the first time, her focus was solely on one thing: having fun.
“I just wanted to embrace the moment because I’ve never been to a Formula 1 race before, never mind racing on the same weekend,” she says. “Plus, I perform at my best when I have fun.”
In race one, Rachel finished fourth on her season debut and ended the weekend with a P14 finish in race two.
Prior to racing in Vegas, Rachel knew she would be making her full-time debut in F1 ACADEMY for 2026, after the team manager at Hitech asked her how fast she could get an international racing licence at the end of the Rookie Test, despite being frustrated within finishing fifth in the session due to a breakdown in the final ten minutes.
“I was worried the team wouldn’t want me after that, but pretty much straight after the Rookie Test, I was told I’d be racing for the full season,” Rachel smiles. “I had that moment of no reaction, but then I couldn’t comprehend what I’d be doing this year, and just how much that meant.”
This season, Rachel hopes to finish in a strong position in the championship, but also knows the importance of working on adapting to a new style of racing, especially when taking to the track after F1 cars.
“Everyone tells you how different every session is going to be,” Rachel explains. “It’s almost like I didn’t anticipate how much that changes everything, especially racing after F1, so my goal for this year is to just become really good at that adaptation phase.”
A huge part of being on the F1 ACADEMY grid is the global travel and racing as part of the Formula 1 support package. So far, Rachel has raced at the Chinese and Canadian Grands Prix weekends, and the 2026 calendar will see her compete not only at her home race at Silverstone in July, but also Zandvoort, Austin and Las Vegas.
“In Shanghai, I had so many pinch me moments, like I am racing here all year,” she says. “I can actually be inside the paddock, and the F1 paddock, and I turn into such a fan, especially since sometimes, I forget I’m actually racing as well, which makes it ten times cooler.”
F1 ACADEMY’s debut race weekend at Silverstone is only a matter of weeks away, and excitement is not only building for British racing fans, but also for drivers like Rachel, who is preparing to compete at the Home of British motorsport on the global stage for the first time.
Rachel raced at Silverstone in 2025 as part of the Radical Cup championship, but this year, her experience at Silverstone is going to be very different. Not only will she have more family at the race, but the crowd will be the biggest she’s raced in front of at home. The scale of the race, with thousands of fans in the grandstands, is an experience Rachel cannot wait for.
“Silverstone is a track that, when you’re driving it, has so much emotion with it,” Rachel says. “It feels like there’s life on the track, especially when I remind myself that so many big drivers and historical figures have driven here, too.”
Alongside her season in F1 ACADEMY, Rachel is also studying Motorsport Engineering at university, something which goes hand in hand with her racing career in several aspects. At school, Rachel was always doing anything practical – like woodworking classes – and outside of her early studies, she used to work in a garage, which she really enjoyed, so ending up studying an engineering degree isn’t something that came as a surprise to her.
“I love the technical side of racing because not only am I driving the race car, but what goes into the race car is just as important,” she explains. “There are so many setups and components that go into making the car as fast as it is.”
When it comes to discussing components on the car or what might need changing on the car between sessions with her engineer, Rachel has a deeper understanding of what certain parts should feel like or what different changes might feel like. Also, Rachel is able to communicate with her engineer and pinpoint any issues in the car.
“The engineering side of motorsport is so cool,” she says. “Female engineers in Formula 1 teams are in such important roles and are massive role models, and I think that aspect is so important to highlight.”
Rachel’s studies are only going to enhance her career in racing; as a racing driver, she knows how different components can impact the car and how things can be changed to make the car even better, but she likes the idea of going into an engineering role. Her studies will only open more doors in her career, but racing is what she’s focused on succeeding in right now.
“I want to reach the highest form of motorsport,” Rachel says. “Especially as a role model for girls and women coming into the sport, my goal is to show them they can get there and complete at the highest level possible.
“I race because I love it. It’s a nitty gritty sport and that’s what I love about it, that’s what is so amazing about motorsport and I wouldn’t want to take any of that out of it.”
F1 ACADEMY makes its debut at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July. Learn everything you need to know about the series with Silverstone’s ultimate guide to F1 ACADEMY ahead of race weekend.
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