American teen sensation Payton Wescott joins Mercedes: Rising star set to shake up F1 Academy grid in 2026
Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One (F1) Team have selected 16 year old American racer Payton Wescott to represent the in the 2026 F1 Academ (F1A) season, succeeding 2025 champion Doriane Pin. Like Mercedes’ approach to Kimi Antonelli in the senior ranks, the team is defining and backing talent at an increasingly younger age. By putting Westcott in the high pressure Italian F4 environment alongside F1A Mercedes is treating her development with the same “F1 standards” used for their male junior drivers.
Before being confirmed for 2026, Wescott underwent a high intensity 2025 season to prove she could handle the transition to cars. She competed across five championships in one year, including Italian F4 Euro 4 and the Formula Winter Series. Her 2026 seat was essentially secured during the 2025 season finale at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Competing as a wild card entry, she finished 6th in race one, the best result of any wild card driver that year. At the F1A rookie test in Navarra, Spain, she set the third fastest time over as well as topping the afternoon session, outperforming several more experienced drivers.
Pin, the 2025 champion, now a Mercedes F1 Development Driver, spoke about her new role in guiding her successor. “Payton has the motivation and the mindset to make the most of this opportunity … Personally, I am also very happy to support Payton throughout the season as she continues to develop in her young racing career.”
The decision to sign a 16 year old rookie to succeed a dominant champion like Pin mirrors Mercedes’ recent bold strategy in the senior F1 ranks. Mercedes acknowledges that Westcott is stepping into “big shoes.” By setting “realistic ambitions” for 2026, they are prioritising her technical growth over a “title or bust” mandate. Placing her in both F1A and Italian F4 is a deliberate stress test. Italian F4 is widely considered the world’s most competitive junior grid: success there is the gold standard for Mercedes talent success.
The promotion of Pin to a senior Mercedes F1 development driver while she mentors Westcott creates a new internal structure. Pin won the 2025 title with Prema. Her remaining as a “sounding board” means Westcott inherits a “winning play book” immediately. This structure proves to the paddock that winning F1A leads to a permanent role within an F1 team rather than just a one off trophy. This increases the stakes and value of the series for all future participants.
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