Williams announces Lia Block as race its Academy driver
Williams Racing has announced that American driver Lia Block will continue to represent the team for the 2025 F1 Academy season, racing with ART Grand Prix.
Block made her open-wheel debut in F1 Academy in 2024 following several years of successful racing in rallying and karting. Her first impressive result came at the Singapore Grand Prix where she achieved fourth place finishes in both races
The American then continued her strong run on form in Qatar, qualifying in fourth and finishing Race 1 in sixth. Block failed to score any points in the season-closing round at the Yas Marina Circuit, and finished down in eighth in the drivers' standings.
The announcement will also mean that Block will continue as part of the Williams Racing Driver Academy.
Commenting on the announcement, Block noted: “I’m excited to be racing with Williams Racing and ART Grand Prix for the 2025 season, and I’m looking forward to working with everyone in the Driver Academy for another year.
"We’ve made so much progress, and I can’t wait to hit the track again in Shanghai. This time we fight for wins," Block concluded.
Williams' sporting director Sven Smeets commented: “We’re thrilled to have Lia racing with us in F1 Academy for 2025. Lia has shown impressive improvement throughout her first season of open-wheel racing, progressing race after race to end the year in a great position. We’ll be closely watching her continued growth in the coming year.”
F1 Academy, the all-female racing series established by Formula 1, will enter its third season in 2025 with each Formula 1 team fielding a driver. All seven rounds of the series will support F1 races across the globe, beginning in March at the Shanghai International Circuit and ending with November's season finale in Las Vegas.
