Photo: Red Bull
Swiss karter Chiara Battig has been announced as joining the Red Bull Junior Team, and stepping up to Formula 4 next year.
The 15-year-old was selected after contesting the Red Bull Driver Search at Estoril earlier this month, which involved testing in F4 cars run by Campos Racing. It was Battig’s first running in single-seater machinery.
Battig came 15th in the CIK-FIA European championship for OK karts this year, with her rookie year in senior karting starting on a high but then lacking results. In the opening round she looked like a victory contender for most of the weekend and finished the final in fifth, but scored no points in the subsequent three rounds and dropped down the standings.
“It means a lot to me to be a Red Bull junior driver,” said Battig. “I think the RBJT is really exciting, and I think they are making really good progress with their drivers. It’s my first time in a single-seater car, we adapted really well and I’m happy about that.”
“My ultimate goal is to reach Formula 1 and become world champion. My plan for next year is to race in F4 and my mindset is that I know what I’m capable of. I hope to inspire young female karters to take the same journey I am making now.”
Battig was in the Alpine F1 team’s female-focused Rac(H)er programme in 2023, but departed it for 2024. Although she won a third successive Swiss championship on OK Junior karts, she lacked results abroad until November when she joined Martins and his brother Nicolas’s Victory Lane team for the step up to senior karting.
Two eye-catching outings raised expectations for 2025, but bad luck masked her pace before the European championship opener at Campillos.
She was 46th in WSK’s Super Master Series earlier this year and is currently 25th in Champions of the Future, while on OK-N karts she is currently third in the CotF Academy Program.
RBJT chief Helmut Marko said Battig’s “performance was very good” at Estoril, and “the speed she showed in the formula car means we are looking forward to a very successful season” in 2026.