At 16, Kareen Kaur becomes Singapore’s first female F4 Driver to reach the F1 Academy Rookie Test

At 16 years old, most people can only dream about a career on the racetrack. Kareen Kaur, on the other hand, is living it. This September, she heads to Spain for the F1 Academy Rookie Test, the latest and biggest milestone yet in a career that’s already made her Singapore’s first female driver to race in Formula 4 (F4).

From karting at nine to the F1 Academy grid

It started at nine, when she first discovered her love for racing. Seven years on, that love has carried her onto the global stage: Kareen is one of just 18 drivers selected worldwide, all vying to become one of the handful of female drivers who’ll land a seat on the 2026 grid. For a country better known for hosting a Formula 1 night race than producing the drivers on it, that makes her one to watch.

What is the Rookie Test and Rookie Training Camp?

For the unacquainted, F1 Academy first launched its inaugural Rookie Test last year, which saw seven drivers graduate to full-time seats on the 2026 grid, while two other drivers made Wild Card appearances during the season. But before winning a seat, the 18 drivers selected this year, including Kareen, will have to attend the Rookie Training Camp, supported by Loughborough University from 25 to 27 August in England, where they’ll be given science-backed insights into female athlete development, performance progression and transition challenges — all to help them become more well-versed in the motorsport ecosystem.

After the training camp, the drivers will then move to Circuito de Navarra in Spain from 9 to 11 September for the on-track Rookie Test. There, they’ll fully immerse themselves in the F1 Academy team environment, getting firsthand experience observing driver briefings and engineering sessions, and gaining insight into the operational demands of racing.

Of course, if you’ve watched F1 Academy or F1’s Drive to Survive on Netflix, then you’d also know that the drivers will take part in media briefings and assessment activities to help prepare them for the off-track responsibilities of a professional racing career.

The lineup

For this year’s 2026 Rookie Test, Kareen Kaur will be pitted against 17 other talented drivers selected from around the world to compete for a seat this season.

The lineup includes:

“It felt out of this world”

Competition is fierce, but Kareen has her chin up and is thrilled to face this new challenge head on. When asked how she felt about being selected for the Rookie Test, she says:

And honestly, her reaction is valid. From racing with her father, Kuldeep, at Turf City in Bukit Timah, to tackling the tracks at Circuito de Navarra in Spain, we can’t imagine the magnitude of what she’s feeling right now.

A role model in the making

More recently, Kareen Kaur partnered with CHARLES & KEITH, who announced their support of her as the Most Promising Sportswoman award winner — a fitting nod to a young athlete blazing a trail in her field, with an especially bright future ahead. In her campaign with the brand, she shares:

And perhaps that’s all we need. Girls who are daring enough to take the next step, daring enough to dream big, and daring enough to break boundaries. And let’s just say, Kareen has become a figure that not only the young, but others too, can look up to in a male-dominated industry like racing.