Maya Weug

Maya Weug
Weug at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix
Nationality	Dutch Belgian Spanish
Full name	Maya Martine Els Weug
Born	(2004-06-01) 1 June 2004 (age 20) Pedreguer, Valencian Community, Spain
F1 Academy career
Debut season	2024
Current team	Prema Racing
Car number	64
Starts	8 (8 entries)
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	2nd in 2024
Previous series
2021-2022 2021-2022 2023	Italian F4 Championship ADAC Formula 4 Formula Regional European Championship

Maya Martine Els Weug (born 1 June 2004) is a Dutch-Belgian-Spanish ^[1] racing driver, who currently competes in F1 Academy for Prema Racing, having previously raced in the Formula Regional European Championship for KIC Motorsport. She is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and the first female driver to have ever joined the academy. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Career

Karting

Weug started karting when she was seven years old. ^[3] She has competed in multiple national championships, such as the Spanish Karting Championship, where she finished second in the Alevin Class in 2015. 2016 was Weug's first year on the international karting stage, where she would immediately show her talent, winning the WSK Final Cup in the 60 Mini category, where she beat fellow future academy member Dino Beganovic. ^[5] In the next four years the Dutch racer continued to compete on the international karting stage, making appearances in both the CIK-FIA Karting European Championship and Karting World Championship; her best result in the former ended up being a 17th place in 2020.

Lower formulae

2021

Weug driving at the Red Bull Ring during the 2021 Italian F4 Championship.

In 2021 Weug made her debut in Italian F4 for Iron Lynx Motorsport Lab as part of their Iron Dames program, in association with her FDA-membership. ^[6] Driving alongside the Italian pairing of Leonardo Fornaroli and Pietro Armanni, Weug would score three rookie podiums, one each at Le Castellet, Misano and Vallelunga, however she would miss out on scoring any points in the main championship, thus ending up 35th in the standings. In an interview, Weug stated that "we were so close so many times [to score points]", and said that her lack of experience hindered her throughout the season. ^[7]

2022

Weug driving at Spa-Francorchamps during the 2022 ADAC Formula 4 Championship.

For the 2022 season the Dutch driver would remain with Iron Dames, partnering Ivan Domingues. ^[8] A mixed-weather qualifying session in the opening round at the Imola Circuit enabled Weug to start third in both races on Sunday, and after scoring her first point in Race 1 she would finish sixth on Sunday. ^{[9] [10]} At the following round in Misano, Weug continued this run of form by scoring yet more points, and despite a heavy collision at the end of Race 3 she would be classified eighth due to the countback rule. ^[11] The Belgian took a tenth place from the next meeting at Spa-Francorchamps, before yet another top-ten finish at Vallelunga. Having scored points in three more races during the remainder of the season, Weug was placed 14th in the championship, one place ahead of teammate Domingues. ^[12]

F1 Academy

Weug leads Abbi Pulling in an F1 Academy race at Zandvoort in 2024.

Weug moved down to F1 Academy for the 2024 season, racing with Prema Racing and representing Scuderia Ferrari. ^[13] After 5 rounds she sits in 3rd place with six podiums. ^[14]

Formula Regional

2023

Having taken part in several post-season tests with KIC Motorsport, Weug would progress to the Formula Regional European Championship, driving for the Finnish outfit. ^{[15] [16]} She achieved her best result in the second race at Spa-Francorchamps, with a rookie win and 6th place overall classification. She was the only KIC Motorsport driver to score any points during the season, finishing in a points position 6 times for a total of 27 points. ^[17] Weug finished the 2023 FRECA season third among rookies, and 17th among all 42 drivers eligible for points. ^[18]

2024

Weug returned to the Formula Regional European Championship in 2024 with KIC Motorsport for the Mugello round. ^[19]

FIA Formula 3

Weug was selected to take part in a one-day FIA Formula 3 test at Magny-Cours in November 2021, alongside fellow Iron Dames racer Doriane Pin and W Series drivers Nerea Martí and Irina Sidorkova. ^[20]

Formula One

In October 2020 Weug was nominated as one of twenty female drivers of ages between 12 and 16 to compete in the Girls on Track - Rising Stars programme organized by the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, with the reward for the victor of the shootout being a place in the Ferrari Driver Academy. ^[21] Weug made it into the final selection stage alongside Doriane Pin, Julia Ayoub and Antonella Bassani, and on 22 January it was announced that she had won the shootout and would be joining the FDA. ^{[22] [23] [2]}

Personal life

Weug was born in Costa Blanca, Spain ^[3] to a Dutch father ^[24] and a Belgian mother. ^[25] She has competed under the flags of all three nations across her career. ^{[26] [27] [28]}

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season	Series	Team	Position
2013	Spanish Championship — Alevin		14th
2014	Formula de Campeones — Alevin		4th
2015	WSK Super Master Series — 60 Mini	Weug, Johan	57th
	Spanish Championship — Alevin		2nd
	Copa de Campeones — Alevin		1st
2016	WSK Champions Cup — 60 Mini	Morcia, Giuseppe	NC
	X30 Challenge Europa — Mini ROK		4th
	Italian Championship — 60 Mini		15th
	South Garda Winter Cup — Mini ROK		9th
	WSK Super Master Series — 60 Mini		38th
	WSK Night Edition — 60 Mini		4th
	WSK Final Cup — 60 Mini		1st
2017	WSK Champions Cup — OKJ	Pescador, Luis	24th
	WSK Super Master Series — OKJ		62nd
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ		NC†
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ	BKC Racing	36th
	WSK Final Cup — OKJ	Novalux Srl	13th
2018	WSK Champions Cup — OKJ	Novalux Srl	26th
	WSK Super Master Series — OKJ		23rd
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ		28th
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ		16th
	WSK Final Cup — OKJ		19th
2019	South Garda Winter Cup — OK	Birel ART Racing	NC
	WSK Super Master Series — OK		23rd
	Championnat de France — OK		20th
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OK		51st
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OK		63rd
2020	WSK Super Master Series — OK	Birel ART Racing	38th
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OK		17th
	WSK Euro Series — OK		12th
	Champions of the Future — OK		36th
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OK		36th

^† As Weug was a guest driver, she was ineligible to score points.

Complete Karting World Championship results

Year	Team	Car	Quali Heats	Main race
2017	BKC Racing	OKJ	36th	DNQ
2018	Novalux Srl	OKJ	16th	16th
2019	Birel ART Racing	OK	63rd	DNQ
2020	Birel ART Racing	OK	30th	DNS

Complete CIK-FIA Karting European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	DC	Points
2017	Luis, Pescador	OKJ	SAR QH 57	SAR R DNQ	CAY QH	CAY R	LEM QH	LEM R	ALA QH	ALA R	KRI QH	KRI R	NC†	0
2018	Novalux Srl	OKJ	SAR QH 22	SAR R 11	PFI QH 38	PFI R DNQ	AMP QH 30	AMP R 29	ALB QH	ALB R			28th	5
2019	Birel ART Racing	OK	ANG QH 29	ANG R 32	GEN QH 40	GEN R DNQ	KRI QH 46	KRI R DNQ	LEM QH 39	LEM R DNQ			51st	0
2020	Birel ART Racing	OK	ZUE QH 15	ZUE R 9	SAR QH 19	SAR R 34	WAC QH 25	WAC R 20					17th	7

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2021	Italian F4 Championship	Iron Lynx	21	0	0	0	0	0	35th
	ADAC Formula 4 Championship		6	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
2022	Italian F4 Championship	Iron Dames	20	0	0	0	0	36	14th
	ADAC Formula 4 Championship		6	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
2023	Formula Regional European Championship	KIC Motorsport	20	0	0	0	0	27	17th
2024	F1 Academy	Prema Racing	10	0	0	0	6	120*	3rd*
	Formula Regional European Championship	KIC Motorsport	2	0	0	0	0	0	28th*

^† As Weug was a guest driver, she was ineligible for championship points.
^* Season still in progress.

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	DC	Points
2021	Iron Lynx	LEC 1 19	LEC 2 17	LEC 3 15	MIS 1 13	MIS 2 25	MIS 3 12	VLL 1 Ret	VLL 2 11	VLL 3 12	IMO 1 22	IMO 2 14	IMO 3 25	RBR 1 17	RBR 2 14	RBR 3 16	MUG 1 20	MUG 2 17	MUG 3 22	MNZ 1 21	MNZ 2 29	MNZ 3 14		35th	0
2022	Iron Dames	IMO 1 10	IMO 2 6	IMO 3 28†	MIS 1 7	MIS 2 11	MIS 3 8	SPA 1 13	SPA 2 10	SPA 3 15	VLL 1 13	VLL 2 11	VLL 3 8	RBR 1	RBR 2 7	RBR 3 8	RBR 4 11	MNZ 1 37†	MNZ 2 28	MNZ 3 C	MUG 1 14	MUG 2 9	MUG 3 15	14th	36

Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Pos	Points
2021	Iron Lynx	RBR 1 15	RBR 2 16	RBR 3 9	ZAN 1 18	ZAN 2 Ret	ZAN 3 15	HOC1 1	HOC1 2	HOC1 3	SAC 1	SAC 2	SAC 3	HOC2 1	HOC2 2	HOC2 3	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	NÜR 3	NC†	0
2022	Iron Dames	SPA 1 16	SPA 2 Ret	SPA 3 18	HOC 1	HOC 2	HOC 3	ZAN 1 9	ZAN 2 11	ZAN 3 Ret	NÜR1 1	NÜR1 2	NÜR1 3	LAU 1	LAU 2	LAU 3	NÜR2 1	NÜR2 2	NÜR2 3	NC†	0

^† As Weug was a guest driver, she was ineligible for championship points.

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2023	KIC Motorsport	IMO 1 20	IMO 2 14	CAT 1 20	CAT 2 24	HUN 1 19	HUN 2 25	SPA 1 7	SPA 2 6	MUG 1 9	MUG 2 Ret	LEC 1 10	LEC 2 7	RBR 1 19	RBR 2 Ret	MNZ 1 9	MNZ 2 13	ZAN 1 19	ZAN 2 Ret	HOC 1 18	HOC 2 21	17th	27
2024	KIC Motorsport	HOC 1	HOC 2	SPA 1	SPA 2	ZAN 1	ZAN 2	HUN 1	HUN 2	MUG 1	MUG 2	LEC 1	LEC 2	IMO 1 22	IMO 2 14	RBR 1	RBR 2	CAT 1	CAT 2	MNZ 1	MNZ 2	27th*	0*

^* Season still in progress.

Complete F1 Academy results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	DC	Points
2024	Prema Racing	JED 1 3	JED 2 2	MIA 1 6	MIA 2 5	CAT 1 Ret	CAT 2 13	ZAN 1 3	ZAN 2 2	SIN 1 2	SIN 2 2	LSL 1	LSL 2	ABU 1	ABU 2	3rd*	120*

References

1. Johnston, Alex (2 November 2021). "Formula 3 pushes for diversity with all-female Magny-Cours test". Downforce Radio. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
2. Wood, Ida. "Maya Weug wins Girls on Track Rising Stars, gets Ferrari-backed F4 seat". Formula Scout. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
3. Ramsay, George (23 January 2021). "Maya Weug becomes first female driver to earn a spot in the Ferrari Driver Academy". CNN. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
4. Benson, Andrew (22 January 2021). "Ferrari: Maya Weug becomes team's first female academy driver". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
5. "Maya Weug: two seasons with Birel ART before joining the Ferrari Driver Academy". birelART. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
6. Wood, Ida. "FIA Girls on Track Rising Stars winner Maya Weug joins Iron Lynx in F4". Formula Scout. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
7. Studenkov, Alexander (4 August 2022). "Ferrari junior Maya Weug on women in motorsport: 'Girl or boy, it shouldn't make a difference'". F1 Feeder Series. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
8. Studenkov, Alexander (3 May 2022). "Your season guide to the 2022 Italian F4 Championship". Feeder Series. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
9. Studenkov, Alexander (10 May 2022). "The Alex Dunne Show: 4 takeaways from Italian F4 at Imola". F1 Feeder Series. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
10. "Iron Lynx and Iron Dames kick-off Italian Formula 4 season at Imola". Iron Lynx. 8 May 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
11. RACERS (5 June 2022). "F4 Italy: Maya Weug ends P8 after massive accident in Misano Race 3". Racers. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
12. "Iron Lynx takes solid points in Italian F4 after top-ten finishes in Austria". Iron Lynx. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
13. "Ferrari junior Maya Weug completes PREMA Racing's 2024 line-up". F1 Academy. 18 January 2024. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
14. "2024 F1 Academy standings | GRR". www.goodwood.com. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
15. Wood, Ida (27 December 2022). "Ferrari continues backing of Maya Weug as she steps up to FREC". Formula Scout. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
16. "Maya Weug avec KIC Motorsport en 2023". AutoHebdo (in French). Retrieved 30 December 2022.
17. Clynes, Jenny (27 December 2023). "Woman Spotlight Wednesday: Maya Weug". DIVEBOMB. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
18. "Maya Weug Completes FRECA Season with Third in the Rookies Classification". Racers. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
19. "Buhler leaves ART GP in FREC as Weug returns with KIC Motorsport". Formula Scout. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
20. Wood, Ida (27 October 2021). "F3 organises private test for W Series stars and Iron Dames racers". Formula Scout. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
21. Wood, Ida. "FIA Girls on Track reveals full Rising Stars longlist for F4 shootout". Formula Scout. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
22. "Primeur: Ferrari legt Nederlands racetalent Maya Weug (16) vast". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 22 January 2021. Weug won een vijfdaagse scoutingswedstrijd. Ze krijgt nu een jaar lang de kans zich waar te maken in de Formule 4.
23. "Ferrari-baas Binotto spreekt van 'sleutelmoment' na komst Nederlandse Weug". Nu.nl (in Dutch). 22 January 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021. De zestienjarige Nederlandse werd vrijdag als eerste vrouwelijke coureur vastgelegd in het talentenprogramma van de roemruchte Italiaanse Formule 1-renstal.
24. "Half Nederlandse Maya Weug (16) eerste vrouwelijke coureur bij Ferrari". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 22 January 2021. Weug is geboren in Spanje, heeft een Belgische moeder en een Nederlandse vader.
25. "Droom komt uit voor 16-jarige Maya Weug: 'Kippenvel toen ik het rode Ferrari-shirt aantrok'". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 21 January 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021. Weug heeft een Belgische moeder en een Nederlandse vader, maar is geboren en getogen in Spanje.
26. "2020 WSK Euro Series - OK - Round 2 Participants" (PDF). WSK Karting. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
27. "2020 FIA European Karting Championship - OK - Results after Wackersdorf" (PDF). FIA Karting. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
28. "2021 Italian F4 Championship - Paul Ricard - Race 3 Results" (PDF). ACI Sport. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.

External links

• Maya Weug career summary at DriverDB.com
• Maya Weug on Ferrari.com