Supercars protégé raises hand for all-female F1 Academy

The 18-year-old, who has state-level karting titles to her name, was picked up by Matt Stone Racing’s Cameron Hill in 2022 to race for his Formula Ford team.

Radburn is in just her third year of Formula Ford and this year stepped into Formula 4 machinery.

She’ll continue that journey this weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park, joining AGI Sport in round three of the F4 Australian Championship at the NSW Motor Race Championships.

It’s all part of a plan to get into the F1 Academy – the all-female Formula 4-based competition that plays support to select Formula 1 races.

Still a teenager, Radburn is prepared to make the big and move overseas to chase her dream and be the first Australian to race in the F1 Academy.

“We’re hoping next year to be in the F1 academy,” Radburn told Speedcafe.

“Obviously it’s a very difficult path to get into. There are no Aussie girls over there at the moment, so to be the first one would be unreal – but it’s getting there and knowing who’s gonna support me to back me. It all comes with a price and it’s not cheap.

“That’s my aspiration for next year or the year after, but preferably next year.”

Radburn was a last-minute addition to the AGI Sport line-up at The Bend where she impressed herself.

She wound up finishing sixth in race one and race two before improving to fifth in race three.

Radburn is hoping to improve on that marker at Sydney Motorsport Park and catch the attention of the right people.

“This weekend, I’ve been more prepared than the last time I was in it. Having now been in the car once, I know what to expect,” she explained.

“I know there are a few teams from overseas watching, so there’s a fair bit of pressure on.

“It’s also just managing that and just getting used to the car and doing more laps under my belt.

“Then it’s being able to show that I’ve got the experience that if I do get selected, I’m able to jump straight in the car and be ready and not have a whole day to get used to the car.

“I found that at The Bend, which was only a month ago, my first outing was in the wet and then the second was in the dry, and we weren’t on the pace exactly but by the final race of the weekend, we were on the podium for the rookies and we fifth overall.

“If we’re just staying consistent and getting results and just keep improving every time out, I’d be stoked with that. Then I can push forward to the other teams and go ‘Look, we’ve improved every session. Put me in a car and we’ll see how we go’.”