Most 16-year-olds are just starting to think about getting their driver's license, but Mathilda Paatz is no ordinary 16-year-old.
Paatz is racing this weekend at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in F1 Academy, the female-only development series.
The German teen is making her series debut this weekend as a wild-card entry thanks to a sponsorship deal with Gatorade. She joins the Hitech GP team, which also fields full-time entries for Canada's Nicole Havrda and Australia's Aiva Anagnostiadis.
“I’m beyond excited to have been selected as the Wild Card driver for Round 4 of F1 Academy at the Canadian Grand Prix, driving the Gatorade race car," Paatz said in a release. "Growing up, I was captivated by the theatre of racing — the energy, the passion, and how drivers carried the pride of their teams."
"To now be racing on a Formula 1 weekend, with fans around the world watching, is a dream come true," added Paatz, who also competes in the Formula 4 CEZ Championship series. "I’m especially proud to partner with Gatorade, a brand that’s championed athletes at every level and is helping pave the way for the next generation of women in motorsport.”
Gatorade also signed a deal with F1 Academy through 2030 to become the first official sports drink partner of the series. This follows a similar multi-year deal that parent company PepsiCo inked with Formula 1.
F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff said in the release that she's impressed Gatorade is serious about "investing in our drivers, not just as athletes, but as individuals with incredible potential."
“This isn’t a surface-level sponsorship, it’s a deeply hands-on partnership that brings world-class hydration science and performance expertise directly to our paddock," Wolff said. "With the world-class expertise of Gatorade, not only will our drivers be better equipped to perform at their peak, but they’ll also gain knowledge and tools that will serve them throughout their careers.”
F1 has held the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve since 1978, but this is the first time the F1 Academy series will hit the track on Ile Notre-Dame. Although typically doubleheaders, three races will take place this weekend — two on Saturday and one on Sunday — to make up for one that was postponed from the previous round in Miami due to weather conditions.
