Courtenay racing driver Nicole Havrda will be donning American Express colours in 2025, as she steps up to race in the upcoming F1 Academy season.
The 19-year-old's rookie season with F1 Academy will be raced in the number 2 American Express car, operated by Hitech Grand Prix.
Havrda started with karting in 2019, and placed first in the Calgary Shootout, as well as the Vice Champion in the Junior Rotax Challenge Grand Finals in 2021. She then moved to the open-wheel cars, earning two top-five finishes and was the youngest of nine finalists for the Aston Martin GT4 female shootout by The Heart of Racing team. Havrda continued to impress, with three titles in the Formula Pro USA Winter Series, SFR FA2 and became the first female Formula Pro USA Champion in 2023. Last year, she put together an impressive rookie campaign, finishing sixth overall with four podium finishes for the Formula Regional Americas Championship.
Now, she is looking forward to making her mark in the next level of racing.
“I’m honoured to partner with American Express for my F1 Academy debut this upcoming season, especially at the F1 Montreal Grand Prix in June," said Havrda. "Their support fuels my drive to compete at the highest level and I’m thrilled to represent a brand that champions performance, resilience, and ambition, both on and off the track.”
F1 Academy was started in 2023. It is an all-female driver category designed to develop and prepare young female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition. Drivers all use the same car, a Tatuus T421 chassis, with Autotecnica supplying turbocharged engines that will deliver 165 horsepower and Pirelli tires, capable of a top speed of 240 km/h, acceleration of up to 2.0 G and 174 horsepower at 5,500 rpm.
Her livery, however, will be one of the factors differentiating her from the rest of the field. According to a release from Havrda's team it "was custom-designed by OnBrand, American Express’ in-house creative studio, and will once again prominently feature the logo of a local women-owned small business at every F1 ACADEMY race during the 2025 season to demonstrate Amex’s powerful backing of women athletes, business owners and local communities."
"Formula 1's intentions are to ensure aspiring female drivers have the best opportunities to reach their potential, with an important first step of getting into Formula 3 and progressing through the ranks," a release from Formula 1 says.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to follow their dreams and achieve their potential and Formula 1 wants to ensure we are doing everything we can to create greater diversity and routes into this incredible sport,” said Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali.
The series begins in Shanghai, China on March 21-23.
