Nina Gademan

Her parents karted for fun before she was born, sharing one kart between them. Her mother stopped when she fell pregnant; her father kept going and took Nina to the track from the time she was a baby. She was in a kart herself at five, a Girls on Track Le Mans Shootout finalist in 2019, and took gold in the Karting Slalom Cup at the FIA Motorsport Games a year later.

Then it stopped. At nineteen the money ran out, family struggles as she puts it, and she spent a year and a half out of racing altogether. Rather than give up she went sim racing and posted what she was doing. The audience that built was big enough to bring her a manager, and then the sponsors who put her back in a real car.

What followed happened quickly. A single-seater debut in British F4 with Fortec in 2024, a first rookie podium at Thruxton, and the first wildcard driver ever to score points in F1 Academy. In 2025 she finished sixth in the championship on 74 points, third best rookie of the season. She opened 2026 by winning in Shanghai, six tenths clear.