INTERVIEW: Williams’ Jade Jacquet on “racing against the best” in F1 Academy

“He was a really good driver,” said Jacquet, in an interview with this writer. “And still is a really good driver. He and my dad got talking about motorsport. My dad said that I was fast. This guy said, 'Oh, but I'm in karting. She can try mine'.

"So, I tried his kart, and he was like, 'Wow! She's fast. Maybe if I coach her, we can do something'. I tried, and after a year and a half with him, I stepped up to F4."

Remarkably, on the day Lehouck achieved a career-best result in karting by finishing second in the FIA World Cup at Le Mans in the KS2 class on Sunday [20^th September 2026], Jacquet delivered a stunning performance of her own.

Now 16 and competing as a guest driver in the fifth round of the French F4 Championship at Ledanon, Jacquet made history by becoming the first woman to win a race in the series.

Qualifying tenth of the 30 drivers netted Jacquet her first pole for the reverse-grid race two, which she converted into a convincing lights-to-flag victory, keeping at bay older, more experienced drivers. The FFSA went so far as to describe her drive as "flawless".

"It was so unreal," said Jacquet. "When I crossed the finish line, and I was first, I was like, 'Oh my God! I just won the race!'

"It was just an amazing feeling because the season has been so complicated, and to finally win that race, it was so important.

"Starting from pole and managing to finish first, that was just a mega job. I did a super job, and everyone was super proud of me. It was, in the end, the best race of my career."

It is a career that began with that informal chat between her father and Lehouck because before then, Jacquet had done nothing more than go up against her brother, Arthur, who is 12 years older, "once a year", as she put it.

As Jacquet pointed out, "I didn't even know karting was a sport".

"When we went on holidays to the south of France, near Monaco, every night we wanted to see the supercars," she said. "I've loved cars since I was really young. When we were down there, I also karted against my brother, and I beat him. My parents were like, 'Oh, OK, she's fast'."

From once a year, it became "once a month, to once a week", to eventually her parents deciding to buy her a kart.

"Three weeks after I had the go-kart, I started to race in competitions," said Jacquet. "At the beginning, it was super hard, but then I did the French Junior Karting Championship in 2024," in which she finished a credible 14^th overall.

It was enough for her to catch the attention of the national technical director of the FFSA, Christoph Lollier, who allowed Jacquet to test in F4.

"I did one day of sim, and then I did my first day of F4, and that was good," she said. "That was a pretty good first day, so we decided together to do the full season in 2025."

Jacquet proved herself by scoring 12 top-20 results, with a best of 11^th in the penultimate race of the year at Le Mans. Later in the year, just 12 months ago, she was also selected for the F1 Academy rookie test at Navarra, Spain.

After finishing 11^th quickest of the 18 drivers in the morning session, Jacquet improved to seventh in the afternoon, a second off the leading time of the day set by Ella Stevens, who this year is supported by McLaren Oxagon in F1 Academy.

After two seasons of karting and one in F4, Williams selected Jacquet to race in the team's colours for this season. Naturally, the call-up was, she said, "surprising".

"Even when I was in go-karts, and I was told I could go to F4, I was like, 'Oh, that's too early'," said Jacquet. "I felt like I wasn't ready, although I had worked for that.

"It was the same for the F1 Academy. We were a lot of people taking the decision. We didn't know if it was too early, but an opportunity with Williams was just amazing, so we decided to do it with them."

Naturally, Jacquet has not regretted the decision for a moment. She is in the fortunate position, at just 16, of being given the kind of support by a storied F1 team many junior drivers can only dream of.

"They have done a lot," said Jacquet. "I have a lot of people around me to support me. I have my performance coach, Sacha [Smith], who is with me every race, every test of the F1 Academy. She is really important to me for my development in every race. I also do some sim at the factory with Michael [Preston].

"So they follow all of my journey, and they always give me advice for me to do my best, and then there's Harrison Scott [Williams simulator driver]. He's a really good driver. He's helped me a lot, given me a lot of advice, and that's super cool."

In addition, there is three-time W Series winner Jamie Chadwick, who is currently a Williams Racing Ambassador and F1 Academy adviser.

"It's been pretty cool to have her advice," said Jacquet. "For example, in Shanghai, we were talking about the start, the race, and she gave me some good advice. I know if I have a question, I can ask her, and she will answer, and that's super cool.

"Just after my win in French F4, she sent me a message, and she was like, 'Oh my God! That was so good'. It's cool to have these people with me."

Jacquet is hoping the French F4 result can elevate her results in F1 Academy. She is the only one of the 17 drivers to have competed in all nine races across the four rounds yet to score a point. She has an additional six races, across the two rounds in Austin and Las Vegas, to correct that anomaly.

She concedes it has not been easy. "Everything in F1 Academy is all new to me," she said. "For sure, [the result in French F4] has given me a lot of confidence.”

"The beginning of the season, as I said, was super hard. So to finally have a result, to achieve that result, makes me a lot more confident.

"To win against the boys in French F4, when we all have the same cars, that's even better in terms of confidence because not a lot of drivers can do that.

"It means when I am in F1 Academy again, I will be like, 'OK, now you know you can race against the best; you can be as fast as the best'. Of course, I will be more motivated to fight at the front."

Main image courtesy of Williams.