"I do deserve to be here": Ava Dobson on F1 Academy, growing up karting, and camaraderie across the grid

From watching NASCAR on the TV, to a whirlwind F1 Academy debut in Miami, Ava Dobson is one to watch. She sat down with Females in Motorsport to talk about her career progression, racing for American Express, and the realities of growing up as the only girl on the grid. 

In 2026, Ava Dobson races full-time in F1 Academy after a whirlwind wild card debut in 2025. Image Credit: F1 Academy Limited.

At just 18, Ava Dobson is already making a name for herself in motorsport as one of F1 Academy’s rising stars. 

Born in Wisconsin, Ava grew up watching NASCAR with her father, occasionally partaking in rental karting for fun. After only a few outings, onlookers suggested she pursue outdoor karting, and her dad bought her a go-kart for Christmas. From there, she propelled through the junior ranks in the US, competing locally before her aspirations took her across the country. 

“As soon as I got into a go-kart, it was just the best thing that had ever happened to me,” Ava tells Females in Motorsport. “It was like the craziest thing to a seven year old, I loved it.”

In 2023, when she was only 14, Ava received an offer to test for the F4 US Championship. It was so far from the route she had anticipated, having expected to progress into a NASCAR series, or sports car racing, but she immediately knew that she wanted to try Formula 4. She completed a series of tests, still too young to race in the series, and began competing in USF Juniors, and then USF2000, as soon as she turned 15. Ava partook in two rounds of Formula 4 alongside USF, and planned to return to USF Juniors for another season. However, after just one round, a bad crash took her out of the competition. 

“I think it led me to better things,” Ava says, recounting her season-ending crash. “I joined a new team after I was done healing from my concussion, and I was doing USF2000 tests and getting back into it.

“Then I did two rounds of GB4, which was my first time ever racing outside of the US. That was crazy and huge for my career, exploring other parts of motorsport.”

Ava is open about the mental impacts of racing after such a big crash, and the struggles of being out of the car for so long before joining the GB4 championship. 

“I was still struggling psychologically from my crash. I had been out of the car from December to March, and I went and started doing GB4 pre-season testing.

“We were doing really well; that whole year went well. I got my first podium and I won the female championship, which helped me get to F1 Academy, which is where I am now.”

Ava’s F1 Academy debut came at the 2025 Miami Grand Prix weekend, on home soil in the US, where she joined the series as the wild card entry for Morgan Stanley supported by Hitech TGR. 

Ava Dobson made her F1 Academy debut as a wild card at the 2025 Miami Grand Prix with Morgan Stanley and Hitech GP. Image Credit: Formula 1

“When I found out I was going to be racing in Miami, I was so excited. It was my first ever experience racing on a Formula 1 weekend, and I've never experienced working with a team like Hitech [TGR]. It was a whole one-eighty from like what I was already doing in GB4, it was a huge step up. 

“I wasn't intimidated, I was very relaxed that weekend. I was like, ‘I'm just gonna learn, have fun’ - I'm not gonna put pressure on myself because I was not very experienced at that time either. 

“I was really honoured to be an American driver racing in Miami with F1 Academy. It was a great opportunity that they gave me, and obviously I had so much fun. Miami's a great track, so it was crazy and I loved it.” 

A year on from her debut, Ava is racing full time in F1 Academy with American Express, still supported by Hitech Grand Prix. Shortly after her wild card weekend, Ava was offered a full-time seat for 2026, and she recounts her shock at the news. 

“I was like ‘oh my gosh, there’s no way’. I felt like I didn't do that well in Miami because I'm still learning, but when they reached out, it had such a special place in my heart. I literally can't explain how I feel because I was so shocked when I found out. 

“I couldn't believe it, but at the same time, I do deserve to be there. I do work really hard for everything I do, for everything that I have. I want to be the best, I love what I do, and I always want to strive for more.”

As an American driver, it was monumental to learn she would be supported by American Express, a globally recognised brand, and she notes how special it is to be backed by them. Their race weekend activations have helped bring fans closer to the on-track action, and Ava has enjoyed watching those experiences unfold. In her role, she gets to meet fans and small business owners, connecting with a range of people that makes everything happening off-track just as rewarding as what happens on track. 

Dobson was selected for a 2026 seat in F1 Academy after her wild card debut. Image Credit: F1 Academy Limited.

“Having American Express on my side as a partner is really huge as an American driver; being able to support them on the biggest stage in the world on F1 weekends is really big. They gave me such a great opportunity, and I'm so grateful that they chose me and they wanted to work with me,” Ava says. “I connected with so many people and they've given me great opportunities to not only showcase my talent on track, but to also support them off the track.”

Growing up as a racing driver comes with many highs and just as many lows, something that Ava works with a sports psychologist to prepare for. She brings a relaxed energy that translates into focus, determination and consistency, but its not always been a straightforward path. She relishes the female camaraderie across the F1 Academy grid, as it was something she missed out on growing up surrounded by boys at karting circuits. 

“Growing up, I didn't have girl friends in the paddock, especially in karting. In American F4, there were no girls, in USF there were no girls, and that was really difficult when trying to relate to someone. In the US, it was really heavily male dominated - especially where I was from, in the Midwest. 

“As a kid, I yearned for another girl to race with me so I could speak to her because when you're young, boys can be mean,” Ava laughs. “When we were kids, they would say ‘we don't want to hang out with Ava because she's a girl’, so I never actually hung out with kids my age because no one wanted to hang out with me because I was a girl. People's parents would tell them, ‘oh, don't let her beat you because if you get beaten by a girl, you basically suck’. It just makes no sense.”

Dobson races alongside other young women talents in F1 Academy, starkly different from the earlier days of her career. Image Credit: F1 Academy Limited.

Ava races for Hitech alongside team-mate Rachel Robertson, and they shared the garage at Silverstone with wild card entry Chiara Bättig. The F1 Academy weekend at the British Grand Prix was a solid one for the entire Hitech team, with Ava feeling confident going ahead into the next round at Zandvoort after the summer break. The team dynamic is void of toxicity, something deeply important to Ava, and has led to a well-fostered relationship with her competitors. 

“The dynamic is really good and healthy. They're both extremely talented, and we all get along really well, which is super important, especially as a team because we all need each other's help. At the end of the day, whether it's with something personal or we need help on track, we're always open to speaking with each other.” 

This dynamic has extended beyond her Hitech team to across the grid, as Ava notes just how much support there is across the F1 Academy paddock, with drivers cheering each other on when they compete across different championships, advice being shared, and the environment being built on mutual respect above all else.

“Being in F1 Academy, I've never had so many girl friends in my life. I wish I had that as a kid instead of being left out. It is nice to see that it is changing; men and women are the same, we're equal, we both deserve to be treated the same. It should be based off our driving ability, nothing deeper than that.”

“It’s really important that we represent what women can do and what we should do. We 100 percent deserve to be in F1, and you have girls like Abbi [Pulling] and Aurelia [Nobels] racing in GB3. They're moving up to the F3 level and I think it's nice to show that not only do we belong in F1 Academy, but we belong in FIA F2 and F3 too, there's no reason why we can't be there.” 

“Seeing Marta [García] winning and then Abbi, and then Doriane [Pin] is literally so cool. Doriane got to test an F1 car; again, there's literally no reason why any of us can't do that and accomplish that, she literally proved it to us.”

Representation is a cornerstone of F1 Academy, a beacon for young girls who dream of racing to look to. When they see Ava compete, and other trailblazers just like her, they will know that they can do it too. It doesn’t erase the years of isolation at the karting track, and it doesn’t stop the negativity surrounding talented women drivers, but it does mean that there is hope for the generation racing now, and for the one that comes next. 

Ava knows who she is and what she deserves already, and we can’t wait to see where her career takes her from here.