Visa Cash App RB Academy Programme is proud to announce that Rafaela Ferreira, the first female race winner of the F4 Brazilian Championship, will look to continue to make history, together, with the VCARB Team for the 2025 F1 Academy season.
Rafaela, hailing from Santa Catarina, Brazil, brings with her an abundance of talent. Competing in national karting championships in her home country, Rafaela was the first woman to score pole position in the Copa Brasil de Kart in 2022 and finished fourth in the championship.
In 2023, Rafaela joined the F4 Brazilian Championship, securing a podium at the final event at Interlagos Circuit, on the same weekend as the Formula One race. During her second season this year, Rafaela has become a serial podium finisher, clocking up seven podiums, including two wins, to date. Showing her ability to adapt to any track, this presents the perfect opportunity for Rafaela to step up to F1 Academy with VCARB in 2025.
Rafaela Ferreira
"I’m extremely happy to be driving for the Visa Cash App RB Academy Programme in F1 Academy in 2025. This opportunity represents a big step in my career, and is a dream come true to work with a Team that has so much talent. I’m determined to give my best and go after great results. It’ll be something new for me, but I’m confident that we will achieve a lot together. I’m already preparing and am excited for next year!"
Laurent Mekies Visa Cash App RB Team Principal
"Everyone at the Team is hugely excited to welcome Rafaela to the VCARB family. Rafaela is an exceptional emerging Brazilian talent, and we’re pleased to share this global, and empowering, platform to compete, race, and grow together. F1 Academy has been a great success this season, the exposure that it’s generated for women’s motorsport is revolutionary. I hope we can continue to inspire the next generation of female talent in motorsports, and we look forward to seeing Rafaela grow and flourish as a driver. The Team would also like to thank Amna for her commitment across the season, we look forward to watching her progress and wish her the best of luck in the next phase of her career.”
Sarah Harrington Red Bull Academy Programme Manager
"We’ve been impressed by Rafaela’s performance this season and are very pleased to welcome her to the Team and work with her in F1 Academy in 2025. Rafaela has great talent and potential and has already cemented herself as a race winner in Brazil. I’m looking forward to supporting her development and am excited to see what next season brings.”
Carla Mita Visa Brazil Marketing Vice President
"We are thrilled to support Rafaela as she joins the Visa Cash App RB Academy Programme for the 2025 F1 Academy season. Rafaela's talent and determination perfectly embody the spirit of our initiatives to empower women in all fields. Her journey and achievements are inspiring, and we are proud to be part of this exciting chapter in her career.”
2025 will be the Team’s second season supporting F1 Academy, as part of the Red Bull Academy Programme. The Programme’s investment marks the Team’s sustained commitment to the future of women’s motorsport and is a global gateway to drive change, through directly increasing female participation and talent in motorsports.
Title partners of the Formula One Team, Visa and Cash App, are also title partners of the Academy Programme car. Dedicated to empowering women, the Academy Programme is another way Visa and Cash App help to create access, and uplift women, through its sponsorship platforms.
In the F1 Academy series, drivers can only participate for two seasons, before stepping in to the next phase of their career. The Visa Cash App RB Academy Programme would like to thank current driver Amna Al Qubaisi for her hard work over the 2024 season.