“It’s been my dream for so long” – 16-year-old Maya Weug has made Ferrari history by becoming the first non-male member of the esteemed Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA).
16-year-old Dutch-Belgian Maya Weug has made history by winning the first season of FIA’s Girls on Track initiative. As a result, she is going to be the first female entrant of the famed Ferrari Driver Academy (FIA).
Along with that dream-come-true move, she will also compete in the upcoming FIA Formula 4 championship. If all goes well for her, we could finally see a female driver in Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsports, this decade.
📹 This is @WeugMaya, the winner of our #FDA #GirlsOnTrack #RisingStars camp 🤩
Get a glimpse of what the future holds for her 🙌@fia @fiawim pic.twitter.com/3JGzt4TEUb
— FerrariDriverAcademy (@insideFDA) January 22, 2021
Weug saw off competition from Julia Ayoub, Antonella Bassani, and Doriane Pin in a ‘Scouting Camp’ organized at Ferrari’s Fiorano base. The three finalists are not going empty-handed, though. Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies, thoroughly impressed, unexpectedly announced they will instead get a chance to test-drive the Ferrari Challenge GT car.
Maya Weug shows the world how dreams come true
Weug expressed delight at the massive dual opportunity of Ferrari Driver Academy and Formula 4. Ferrari would be hoping she follows the likes of Charles Leclerc, Mick Schumacher, Lance Stroll, Antonio Giovinazzi, and the late Jules Bianchi, and makes it to Formula 1, in what would be another grass-ceiling-breaking moment.
“I have literally no words to express my feelings right now. It’s been my dream for so long since I started karting. Being with Ferrari is amazing, and now actually being here and winning is just unreal and I’m super happy and thankful to the whole Ferrari Driver Academy and FIA.
“It’s been an amazing experience, I learned a lot, but COVID definitely made it very difficult to travel, and the other 19 girls have made it very tough to be here right now. It’s my first season in F4 so what I’m looking for is to improve myself every race.”
