Back in 2020, we interviewed British driver Jessica Edgar as one of the participants in the FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars program. This year, Jessica became one of the drivers in the inaugural season of F1 Academy. Now during the long break in the season before its final showdown in Austin, we caught up with Jessica to hear about her growth in the past three years.
Photos © Jessica Edgar
Growing up as the third generation of a motorsport family, Jessica started karting at the age of four. At the age of 13, when racing in Mini X30, she decided she wanted a career in the sport just like her family. In 2020, one of her biggest opportunities came in the form of FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars, and she was able to make it into the second stage of selection as the 12 shortlisted drivers in the Training Camp.
After the FIA Girls on Track – Rising Star selection, Jessica returned to karting in 2021. “I wasn’t quite ready for cars then. The testing during the selection was my first time in a F4 car. I think I did quite well, but to move into British F4 or GB4, I wasn’t quite ready for it.”
Then in 2022, Jessica stepped up into GB4. In her first season, Jessica managed to score points in every single round. She also achieved a best finish of P2 at Oulton Park and finished the season seventh overall.
This year, Jessica joined Abbi Pulling and Megan Gilkes on the Rodin Carlin team, becoming one of the 15 women forming the drivers’ line-up of the inaugural season of F1 Academy. Compared to some of the other drivers in the series, with only one year in GB4, Jessica has relatively less experience with Formula cars. But she was able to learn and adapt to the car quite quickly. “The car was similar to what I drove last year with the GB4. I already learned how to drive a car with suspension rather than a kart. It felt a little bit different to drive, I struggled a little bit to start with. But after some testing, after probably RedBull Ring official testing, I got used to it. The team was really good at teaching me.”
Besides learning about the car, it also took some time for Jessica to figure out how to perform well in qualifying. “Learning to get in a lap earlier in qualifying was difficult. Getting my fastest lap in the first couple of laps was probably the most difficult part that I’m still learning to do. We’ve been going out in practice sessions just doing five laps. I have to do my fastest lap in the first couple of laps. It really helped me a lot to improve on this aspect.”
Among the team, we share all of our data. Abbi Pulling is a good reference for me. She’s always quick everywhere we go. So she’s good for me to learn from.
Jessica certainly had high expectations for the season, however, not every race weekend turned out the way she expected. “At the beginning of the season, I wanted to keep in the top five in the races, and hopefully have a top five position overall in the championship. But I think the races at Valencia and Barcelona (Rounds 2 & 3) brought me down a bit because we didn’t score points in any races. We struggled a little bit with the car setup. I think if we had done quite well there, then I’d have achieved my aims. But I think I’ve generally performed quite well. On average, I’ve done fairly well for my first year racing abroad.”
Even though there were disappointing moments like in Valencia and Barcelona, there are also highlights like in Race 1 of Monza. “The best moments would probably be my podium in Monza. Coming from 11th and finishing 3rd was really good.”
On this bigger stage of racing, Jessica also upgraded her training to be more competitive. “Last year for GB4 I did a lot more training on my legs because the brake pedal was quite hard to press. This year I’ve done a lot more work on my arms and shoulders. Because it was a lot harder to drive being on the European tracks than on the English tracks.”
Now the F1 Academy paddock is on a long break before the final round in Austin. With 6 rounds and 18 races under her belt, Jessica can see her race craft getting better. “A lot of my race craft came from what I did in karting. It’s the same principle of racing but with a different car. It also definitely got better because in karting I could race and I was fine with that. But in a car, I was a bit worried about crashing. If you touch anyone, you do a lot of damage. I was a bit weary with the racing at the beginning. But now I’ve got used to it. I can be closer to people, be wheel to wheel.”
Besides her race craft, Jessica’s understanding of the car has also improved during the season, which can definitely be helpful for the rest of her career. “My engineer teaches me quite a bit about the car, which is very similar on all single-seaters, so I can take that knowledge away with me. I’ve also learned the lines on different tracks.”
F1 Academy Discover Your Drive is a global initiative to promote the participation of women in motorsport. Jessica attended the first round of Discover Your Drive and was greeted by many young girls interested in getting started with their careers. Here is what she shared with them. “Karting is quite difficult. Racing with the boys can be quite aggressive sometimes. But I think if you just stick with it and keep going, then you do get better and better.”
For next year, Jessica’s plan is to stay with F1 Academy. We wish her all the best of luck in the final round racing alongside an F1 Grand Prix weekend, and hopefully, we see her again next year!
Paddock Sorority 
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