Aurelia Nobels joins FDA as third winner of Girls On Track Rising Stars

Aurelia Nobels has been selected as the third winner of the Girls On Track - Rising Stars program and will join the Ferrari Driver Academy in a 2023 F4 seat with Iron Dames.

Photo credits: FIA WIM

For the third year in a row, the groundbreaking "Girls On Track - Rising Stars" programme brought four extremely talented up-and-coming female racers under the global spotlight, as they fought for a place in the prestigious Ferrari Driver Academy. Supported by the FIA Women In Motorsport Commission the project has been a real game-changer and has so far awarded Maya Weug and Laura Camps Torras with a contract with one of the most iconic teams in the history of the sport. Maya Weug, winner of the inaugural edition, who went on to become the first ever female driver within the Italian team. Weug has since then contested two Formula 4 seasons and is widely considered one of the brightest talents of the future. Spanish racer Laura Camps Torras is expected to make her F4 debut soon, having completed a testing program in 2022. All born between 01/01/2006 and 31/03/2008, six new candidates were invited at Circuit Paul Ricard in late August, having made a first cut from over 80 applications from 146 national federations. The five-day selection at the home of the French GP included karting, mental and physical tests, workshops on topics such as nutrition and media training – as well as the big target: Formula 4 testing. For some of them, it was one of the first outings in a formula car. Alice Buckley, Aurelia Nobels, Chloe Anna Grant, Chloe Chong, Macie Hitter and Agustina Sanchez gave it their all and eventually four of them were announced as the 2023 finalists: Buckley, Nobels, Grant and Chong would advance to the Maranello stage, where they would have to convince the Ferrari management with their on and off track skills. From theoretical lessons to fitness and attitudinal tests, as well as media work and simulator, the four hopefuls were surely put to the test in the Maranello training camp, before they hit the track at the Ferrari privately-owned Fiorano circuit, where they got behind the wheel of the Tatuus F4 cars operated by Iron Lynx. The two day test that followed included qualifying runs and race simulations, under the scrutiny of the Scuderia, as well as the help of the two inaugural winners, Weug and Camps, who set the reference laps. After deliberation, 15 year-old Aurelia Nobels was announced as the winner of the 2023 selections. “I have no words to describe what I am feeling right now. I am very grateful to the FIA, the Ferrari Driver Academy and the Iron Dames for this amazing opportunity", Nobels said. "I have definitely learnt a lot and I cannot wait to start the season.” Nobels was born in Boston, USA, from Belgian parents and raised in Brazil. She started her single seater journey in 2022, after four years of impressive karting results, and joined thegrid of the inaugural Brazilian F4 championship and has made appearances in Danish and Spanish F4 in 2022. In the Brazil-based championship, which employs the new Tatuus F4 car, Nobels had an impressive progression and soon scored her first top ten. She will now join the Ferrari Driver Academy and is expected to make her F4 debut with Iron Dames in 2023. “We are very pleased to welcome Aurelia to the Ferrari Driver Academy, whose win in the third edition of the FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars is richly deserved." - commented Laurent Mekies, Racing Director of Scuderia Ferrari. "Her joining our young driver programme also confirms how much Scuderia Ferrari and the FIA share a vision of motorsport open to everyone, irrespective of gender, nationality, or financial resources. “Aurelia immediately stood out in the way she managed the various stages of the programme in this edition of FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars, confirming behind the wheel the skills she had already shown during the physical and attitudinal tests" - added Marco Matassa, Head of the FDA. "She beat three very competent opponents, immediately getting to grips with the Formula 4 car, a key category for a budding driver." "Here at the Ferrari Driver Academy, we are ready to support her and ensure she is well prepared for the Italian series which is a unique test for the most promising youngsters."

Photo credits: FIA WIM