Four junior drivers chosen for chance to become next female Ferrari Academy driver. Finalists chosen for chance to become next female Ferrari Academy driver.

The final shortlist for the next female Ferrari Academy Driver (FDA) has been officially confirmed at the end of a day of scouting during a training camp at Paul Ricard. Under the watchful gaze of a six-member jury including Formula 2 and Sauber junior driver Théo Pourchaire, the shortlist of 14 was whittled down to a final four.

Julia Ayoub (16, Brazil), Victoria Blokhina (14, Russia), Laura Camps Torras (16, Spain), and Clarissa Dervic (15, Spain) were selected to progress onto the Ferrari training camps in November. The four contenders will battle to follow Maya Weug, the initiative’s first winner, into the FDA and for the chance of earning a season in Formula 4 with the Iron Dames team.

For the Senior drivers who progressed through to the four-day Training Camp, the programme was firmly focused on the progression to single-seaters and Formula 4 racing, the entry-level motor sport category for youngsters. After this intense period of instruction, education – including a workshop from Pirelli about tyre management – competition and scrutiny, the four selected drivers now have less than two weeks to prepare for the FDA F4 Scouting Camp. At the end of this decisive phase, just one of the drivers could become the second female to follow in Maya Weug’s footsteps by joining the Ferrari Driver Academy potentially racing for the Iron Dames in Formula 4.

“It is always a pleasure to see such commitment and determination from our young racers, and to witness how much they have absorbed and developed over such an intense period,” said Michèle Mouton, President of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission. “Congratulations to all the drivers who attended and to the eight heading to their final Scouting Camps; it is an incredible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to impress the Ferrari Driver Academy.”

The decisive F4 Scouting Camp for the Senior drivers takes place at the Ferrari Driver Academy in Maranello, Italy (November 9-13), while the Junior Kart Scouting Camp will be hosted in Italy from November 22-26.