Saudi racer Juffali announced as wild card entry for first round of 2024 F1 Academy in Jeddah

Saudi Arabia’s first female racing driver, Reema Juffali, has been confirmed as a wild card entry for the first round of the 2024 F1 Academy series at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

The groundbreaking series’ debut race in the Kingdom will take place during the fourth successive Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on the weekend of March 7th – 9th, 2024. The second season of the all-women series will begin in Saudi Arabia on March 7th and finish in Abu Dhabi on December 8th.

In addition to the hosts of the opening and closing rounds, Miami, Qatar, and Singapore will all join the calendar for the first time, with Zandvoort and Barcelona returning for a second year. Reema Juffali has established herself as an inspiration and role model to female athletes in Saudi Arabia and across the world.

Having developed an interest in cars at an early age she made history in 2018 by becoming the first-ever female racing driver to come from Saudi Arabia. Following a promising debut season in 2019, she next became the first Saudi Arabian woman to compete in an international race in her home country, racing on the streets of Riyadh in the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY.

This was followed by a sting in the GB3 Championship in 2021 before making her endurance racing debut at the 2022 Dubai 24 Hours where she finished second in class. Reema subsequently founded Theeba Motorsport to facilitate Saudi Arabian access to and participation in motor racing through a variety of educational opportunities and programmes.

The team made its first appearance in the 2022 International GT Open and secured victory on debut – an achievement which made Reema the first Saudi woman to win an international motor race – before scoring a vice championship title in the series' Pro-Am class. 2023 saw Reema participating in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe where she again made history by being the first ever female and the first Saudi Arabian driver to secure a pole position in the Sprint Cup.

HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, Chair of the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) and Saudi Motorsport Company commented: “We are delighted to confirm Reema Juffali as the Wild Card Entry for the first ever F1 Academy race to be staged in the Kingdom.

“As Saudi Arabia’s first professional female racing driver - who also happens to be Jeddah born and bred – I couldn’t think of anyone better to represent the Saudi people on the racetrack during the biggest sporting and entertainment weekend of the year. Reema’s formidable achievements on and off track have already helped to inspire a generation of young men and women, and she stands as a symbol of all that the people of Saudi Arabia can and will accomplish.

“It is therefore fitting that she is participating in the inaugural Formula 1 Academy race in her hometown. We are excited to work together with Reema and look forward to making history together in Jeddah.”

Speaking after the announcement, Reema Juffali said: “It is an honour and a privilege to be representing my country, especially in my home town.

“The day F1 arrived in Jeddah was the clash of both my worlds and now I am actually going to be participating! I’m really looking forward to it and happy to share the experience with my friends and family who are based here.

“As the saying goes: ‘if you can’t see it, you won’t believe it’. So, hopefully Saudi fans can see that there is a Saudi racing driver out there and it will get them to thinking that ‘this is something I can do!’.

“It is for this reason I have decided to take this challenge on. This is just the beginning!” The 2024 F1 Academy season which will feature seven rounds, all of which will be support series to the FIA Formula One World Championship.  

The calendar has been designed to span three continents: Europe, Asia, and North America, and will feature a mix of street circuits and traditional circuits.

2024 F1 Academy Calendar

The pinnacle of motorsport is set to return to the shores of the Red Sea next March for the fourth instalment of the Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which has to date produced three action-packed, record-breaking race weekends at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

The fun won’t stop on the racetrack though as the F1 weekend in Jeddah will once again be delivering another incredible line up of live music concerts by some of the biggest acts in the world including Alicia Keys, Pharrell Williams, and Martin Garrix.