Deep into her rookie season in F1 Academy, Emma Felbermayr has already proven herself to be one to watch, not only for the rest of the year – but into the future beyond. The Kick Sauber supported Rodin Motorsport driver currently sits in P10 overall in the Championship.
The Paddock Chronicle had the chance to speak with the Austrian driver after the summer break about her targets for the rest of the year and where she gets her motivation from.
Emma Felbermayr’s Motivational Figures
Born in Wels, Austria on the 27th January 2007, it could be argued that the path into motorsport was always inevitable for Emma Felbermayr. Her grandfather, Horst Felbermayr Sr. was also a racing driver. He began competing with the Porsche Racing Club back in the 1970s. He continued to race from then all the way into the 2010s in the European Le Man Series. Emma’s father, Horst Felbermayr Jr, kept the tradition alive by becoming a racer himself. Both Horst Jr. and Sr. competed a number of times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, too.
Emma’s own racing journey, though, began when she was just seven years old, when she made her karting debut. Naturally, her family were role models that she looked up to but they weren’t the only ones.
“For me a big idol was Sebastian Vettel in the past. But seeing women winning in other sports is also a motivation for me. I know maybe also skiing, when you see when Mikaela Shiffrin breaks out and so on.” – Emma Felbermayr
With four Formula 1 World Championships to Vettel’s name and with Shiffrin having the most World Cup wins of any Alpine Skier, it’s not difficult to see why Emma holds them both in such high regard. It also gives us a glimpse into the scope and ambition that Emma has for herself moving forwards and the steps that she’ll take to realise them.
Rising up the Racing Ladder
Emma competed in the Micro, Mini and Junior Classes of karting to begin with. She then finished as the runner-up in her first international race in the 2021 ADAC Ladies Cup. Each of these served as crucial foundations upon which to build her confidence and hone her racecraft.
Emma continued to build up her experience in karting and her skill was on full display. In 2023, for example, she qualified 23rd out of 119 drivers in the KZ category of the World Championship in Wackersdorf, Germany. One of her other memorable performances from that year came in May when Emma was racing in Genk, Belgium. Here, she began the first race of the weekend down in P19. But by the end of the race, the young Austrian had weaved her way up the grid, crossing the line in an impressive fifth place.
In 2024, Emma competed in all major shifter karting events, including WSK-Karting and the World and European Championships. This year, Emma made her single-seater debut – and she’s dived in head first. Aside from competing in F1 Academy, she has also been competing in the Spanish F4 Championship. That, combined with the in-season testing for F1 Academy has given Emma a lot to wrap her head around in a short space of time.
“We did some tests, too, during the summer break. So it was not mainly just resting, you know. I was testing, too. So it was a good break. For me, I also drive the Spanish F4 next to F1 Academy, Which helps me quite a lot. So my breaks during the F1 Academy races aren’t as long. Just the summer break, I didn’t have any races, so it was long for me.” – Emma Felbermayr
While the summer break may have been long for Felbermayr, it was probably needed. It can also act as a great launching pad for the rest of the year where Emma can now apply everything that she’s learnt up to this point.
Emma Felbermayr – 2025 So Far
In her rookie season so far, both as a single-seater driver and in F1 Academy more broadly, Emma Felbermayr has been a consistent qualifier. Always inside the top ten, she had her best qualifying result in Canada, where she lined up in P6.
When the weekends have switched over to the racing portion, however, things have been less straightforward. For the majority of the reverse grid races, Emma has either been in or near the points. But in the other races, it’s been more of a rollercoaster. At the season opener in Shanghai, for example, Emma finished in an impressive P5. But next time out in Jeddah, she was all the way down in P15.
Emma Felbermayr then won her first race in F1 Academy back in Canada with an impressive victory. She added further to her points tally in the additional third race of that round too. But last time out in Zandvoort, she struggled again in the main race. P15 was all the Austrian could muster.
Room to Improve
With two rounds left in the 2025 Season, knowing where to focus on improving the most will be key to her success. Fortunately, Emma has her eye on one particular area that she believes will help her to collect as many points as possible.
“My focus is on qualifying, I’d say. Just because my racing is currently better than my qualifying. Yeah, I know I’ve been qualifying P7, P8 around. But my goal is to qualify higher. And just to, yeah, that the gap to the front is smaller. ” – Emma Felbermayr
Focusing on qualifying makes a lot of logical sense – even if you qualify on pole, the lowest down the order you’ll be for the reverse grid race in P8. With the race craft that Emma has demonstrated at times throughout the year, it puts her comfortably in with a good shot at finishing in the points. If, for whatever reason, she is unable to do so though, there is a lot more potential for her in Sunday’s race too. Qualifying well there is a big advantage to finishing high up – and crucially, in the main race, more points are available. It’s a large reason for how she came to sit in P10 currently in the standings.
Playing Catch-Up
Her transition into single-seater racing then, coupled with her debut year in F1 Academy, has been quite impressive.
“It’s also my first single-seater year. Just compared maybe to the other girls, I’m a little behind. And I can catch up. So, yeah, I’d say it’s not too bad. But, of course, reconnecting maybe after the break can be a little harder.” – Emma Felbermayr
Finishing inside the top ten of the Championship would make 2025 a brilliant year for Felbermayr. It should also secure her spot on the F1 Academy grid for next season. Should she return, it would be difficult to imagine a scenario where she isn’t one of the favourites for the title in 2026.
F1 Academy Returns October 3rd in Singapore.
Feature Image Credit: Kick Sauber Media Centre