French Formula 4 - Meet the Female Driver Line-Up
2026 sees the highest number of female competitors ever in the series.
The French Formula 4 Series kicked off at the Circuit de Nogaro over the Easter weekend and it sees seven female drivers competing full-time in the series. A mix of rookies and experienced drivers make up the list with a number of French drivers joined by an Italian, a Canadian and in a European single seater history first, a Cuban.
So let’s take a look at the female driver line-up for the French Formula 4 2026 Season and how they got on in their opening round.
Isabella Abreu
Born in Cuba but now based in Miami, Isabella Abreu is a one-woman powerhouse determined to make it all the way to the pinnacle of motorsport. Having competed in Spec Miatas and the JSF4 Series in the United States, Isabella has now made history in 2026.
That’s because, by entering this season of the FFSA Championship, she’s become not only the first female Cuban but the first Cuban in history to compete in single-seater racing in Europe. Participating in a series aimed at both developing drivers and ensuring they get to showcase their racing abilities to everyone across the continent, where cameo appearances in other F4 regional series is not uncommon, makes it a calculated and wise move from the young and exciting Cuban.
“None of this was easy. Nothing was given as a gift. My family and I left our whole lives in this dream — sleepless nights, workouts until the body gave out, sacrifices no one saw but that mean everything.
I grew up dreaming of this moment. And although many times the lack of money wanted to extinguish this road, it could never extinguish the desire. Because when you don’t have resources, you learn to be strong.. to run with rage, with hunger, with purpose.
Today I’m representing my country, Cuba, at the international level in automotive.. and that doesn’t come from luck. It comes from a struggle. Of pain. Of not giving up when everyone said I couldn’t.. exactly what we Cubans represent to us.” - Isabella Abreu
Isabella’s debut in French Formula 4 was one to be proud of too. From Practice 1 right up until the final race of the opening round saw consistent improvement from the Cuban, most represented in both improving lap times and clean racecraft. In a field of over thirty drivers, chaos can and does often happen. Putting together a neat race weekend when starting out is more important than finishing positions. It’s a brilliant way to kick off a maiden campaign and that’s exactly what Isabella did on the first time of asking. Aiming to be noticed by F1 Academy in the near future and as one of the few rookie female drivers on the grid this year, we’ll be watching her career this year with great interest.
Annabelle Brian
The eighteen year old Dutch Driver has competed in Formula 4 before in 2025. With a best result of P11 at the opening round of the season at the Circuit de Nogaro, where she was also noted as the best female driver that weekend, Annabelle will be looking to build on that solid foundation in 2026. This year, she’ll already be familiar with the nature of the Championship, how a race weekend works and what to expect come race day. Prior to French Formula 4, Annabella had the traditional route up the motorsport ladder via karting and also competed in the IAME Ladies Cup.
Back in the present day, Annabelle had a highest finishing position across last weekend of P14 was a good way to start the new season. On top of that, Annabelle also finished in second place in the Ladies’ Championship at the end of the third race, one of seven different drivers to be on the podium in that class over the weekend.
Sofia Zanfari
Karting for the first time in Marbella led Sofia Zanfari to compete in Europe, the U.S and in Abu Dhabi. Sofia got into karting with her debut outing in 2013. In 2015, the Moroccan Driver finished tenth overall in the championship and then went on to finish first in the US Open in Micro Max which saw fourty-three participants competing.
After some time away following 2019, Sofia returned and this time, she competed in the OK Senior category, returning to the fold in 2024 too. Last year, Sofia stepped up to single seaters properly by joining the FFSA grid with a highest finishing result of P18 in two of the three races held in Spa. This year, she returns to the series. also with the target of reaching F1 Academy in the future.
Sofia was consistent at the Circuit de Nogaro, finishing in P17 in both the first and second race of the weekend before a DNF took her out of the running for the third race. That seventeenth place was enough to secure third place on the podium for the Ladies’ Championship after the second race on Sunday.
Clara Stiebleichinger
2026 won’t be Clara’s first time racing in single seater machinery and out of all of the drivers listed here, is potentially the one with the most expectation on her shoulders. After a foundational amount of time karting, Clara competed in the Indian Formula 4 Championship last year - one of a number of female drivers to do so. While the podium eluded her, she put on many impressive performances, including a P4 finish at the Madras International Circuit and a strong four race streak of points at the end of the season across the Kari Motor Speedway and again at the Madras International Circuit.
Last weekend, Clara was well and truly in the mix in the first two races of the weekend. Finishing in P16 and P14 respectively, she was on the podium for both races as a result in the women’s class. A DNF came her way during Monday’s final race for the opening round but with as solid a showing as she displayed, many will be hoping that to be a case of the exception, rather than the rule in 2026.
Autumn Fisher
With three karting series in her rear view mirror that she’s competed in over the last two years, the Canadian driver will now make her single seater debut in 2026 in the FFSA Championship. The second and final female driver from across the pond to compete in the series alongside Abreu, Fisher will be aiming to learn the ropes of the series as quickly as possible so that she can build a solid first season together over the course of the year.
Like Abreu, Fisher had a really promising opening round of the French Formula 4 Championship. She kept it clean throughout, taking advantage of the opportunities that came her way. P24 would be her highest finishing position across the weekend with a steady improvement in lap times too as the sessions wore on.
Angélina Proneca
Another driver with a full season of French Formula 4 under her belt is Angelina Proneca. Like Annabelle, her best performance of the season came at the opening round of the season at the Circuit de Nogaro where she finished the third race in P13. That potential returned later in the season too with a P15 finish in Spa and a P17 finish at the season finale in Le Mans.
The sixteen year old French driver has been karting since 2020, honing her fundamental racing skills in that category of racing until last season when she jumped up into single seaters for the first time. Like the other returning drivers on this list, Angélina will be looking to build on what has come before and apply all of her racing knowledge to break firmly into the top ten come race day this season.
Proneca qualified in P24 for all three races and improved upon that starting position for all three races. Getting as high as P18 in the second of the three races held last weekend, she was also able the following day, with her result of P21, to claim second on the podium in the women’s class.
Héloïse Goldberg
The seventeen year old French driver had a character building debut year in the FFSA Championship last season. While she struggled to break into the top twenty all season long, only one DNF plagued her results, one of only four drivers to have such an experience. Having karted before then and also been an assistant karting coach, Héloise’s focus for the 2026 season will be take that consistency that she demonstrated last season and use it to move herself further up on the order on a regular basis, while keeping out of trouble with any battles between rival competitors up ahead.
That consistency that Héloise demonstrated last year came straight back into play as the new season began. Finishing in the mid to high twenties over the three races across the weekend, her focus was on building upon that foundation from last year and becoming quicker in the process. This was most evident in her lap times as she was almost two seconds quicker by the end of the weekend than she had been at the start. At the end of the final race too, she claimed the final spot on the women’s podium.
Ginevra Panzeri
Another driver racing in this year’s FFSA Championship who isn’t a newcomer to the single seater way of life is Ginevra Panzeri. The Italian Driver enters the series for the first time having competed previously in the Formula Winter Series. Competing for six races at the tail end of the 2025 season, she returned full time in 2026. Ginevra finished in an impressive P9 on her debut in Estoril but was sadly unable to replicate that performance again. She finished the season in P29 overall with a next highest finish of P18 at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya.
Still, with a solid amount of F4 experience now under her belt, Ginevra will be looking to hit the ground running when the FFSA Championship gets underway at the Circuit de Nogaro.
However, that didn’t go exactly to plan. After a decent time in practice and qualifying, the first race ended in a DNF for the Italian. To further compound her problems, it was later revealed that she suffered from a shoulder injury prior to the first race that then became compounded. As a result, she would not be able to compete in the second and third races of the opening French Formula 4 weekend.
Bonus Drivers - Jade Jaquet and Lisa Billard
Fresh from the opening round of F1 Academy in Shanghai last month, Jade and Lisa took advantage of the lack of a round in Saudi Arabia to return to French Formula 4, having both competed last season. Lisa had an excellent weekend, qualifying as high as P11 and P10 and converting that into a best finish of P8 for Sunday’s second race. All three of her results were good enough to put her on top of the podium in the women’s category after each race. It’s of little surprise that she was the women’s champion in the series last year.
Jade had a mixed bag of a weekend in contrast. P13 was her end result for the first race after starting in P18. But back to back DNFs for the other two races in the weekend halted her progress. Both were unfortunate learning curve moments for the Williams backed driver but there’s no doubt that she’ll be one to take the positives from the weekend, especially in terms of gaining more track time and overall experience.
*
French Formula 4 returns May 15th at Dijon.