INTERVIEW: McLaren’s Ella Lloyd reveals her motorsport journey

The 19-year-old did not turn a wheel until just four years ago, when she was urged to have a run out in a Championship-spec Ginetta raced by the son of a friend of her father in the Juniors category. Lloyd impressed to such an extent that the team, Assetto Motorsport, urged her to return for the following campaign in 2022.

“That was my first season competing in anything related to cars,” said Lloyd, from Wales. "I'd done show jumping and ski racing previously. My dad did a bit of rallying. I was always involved in motorsport. When I was told to have a go, I did, and the team […] were pretty impressed. I think everyone was surprised, and I felt quite lucky."

Given the rallying background of her father, Chris, Lloyd concedes she did once "jump in a rally car and had a bit of fun in that, but nothing competitive."

It was not until the Ginetta outing and her performance there that her head was turned, spurning the one horsepower of show jumping to the 100 with the Ginettas. "I didn't really think that I would be doing this, to be honest," she admitted. "I fell into it, and once I did it, I loved it and carried on."

In 2019, Lloyd won the Welsh Skiing Championship, her love for that again inspired by her father, whose rallying career was cut short following an accident in 2011. Chris Lloyd went on to become a Paralympic skier.

"Skiing was a route I could have gone down,” said Lloyd. “It was something I was good at, but I decided to go down the motorsport route. [It was] something different, and I enjoyed it a lot more."

Lloyd competed in 25 races in her maiden Ginetta Junior Championship season, scoring points in 15 and finishing a respectable 21^st in the standings. In terms of bedding in, it stood her in good stead.

For the following campaign, a switch to the Ginetta GT5 Challenge Pro series with Xentec Motorsport marked Lloyd out as one to watch, claiming ten victories in 25 races to finish as vice-champion.

Lloyd's performances led to a move into single-seaters last year, primarily in the British F4 Championship with JHR Developments.  She collected three podiums, twice as runner-up, whilst also finishing in the points on eight other occasions, to land 11^th in the Drivers' standings. She also competed in five races in the Formula Winter Series with Rodin Motorsport and a handful of events in the Formula Trophy UAE with Xcel Motorsport.

Pertinently, she enjoyed a wildcard spot in F1 Academy for the round in Singapore, finishing ninth and seventh in the two races, and doing enough to earn her a full-time drive for this season with Rodin Motorsport in McLaren colours, replacing Bianca Bustamante.

There was even a Formula E test outing in November with McLaren, along with Bustamante, where Lloyd was seventh fastest. With a degree of understatement, Lloyd described last year as "productive" in which she "definitely made a step forward."

That McLaren took her under its wing last season at such a relatively inexperienced stage in her career speaks volumes as to the esteem in which she is held. "It's amazing to have the opportunity to race with them this year in F1 Academy,” Lloyd said.

"I didn't really expect it, to be honest. My first year in single seaters was pretty good, so that gave me the opportunity then for this year. The opportunity I've had with McLaren, the Formula E test as well, which I was really grateful for, I never expected that so soon in my career. I can't thank them enough.

"It's amazing to be with them. They're helping me quite a lot." Referring to Warren Hughes, McLaren's head of driver development, she added: "I've got Warren with me at every F1 Academy race weekend, just guiding me through, helping with anything he can.”

"The fitness side is quite a lot with how hot it is in most of the countries we go to. There's a lot of media as well in these Academy race weekends. The events are very media focused. You're there to race, but the exposure is key for the Championship. I would say dealing with the media is a big step more than I'm used to."

In only her third F1 Academy event, and fifth race overall in the series, Lloyd clinched victory in Saudi Arabia, again downplaying her achievement by simply declaring it as "pretty good."

In the last outing in Miami, she retired in the first race before the second was cancelled. She insist she at least made "a big step forward" in qualifying, an area she knows she needs to work on, by starting fourth.

Lloyd stated she will simply keep "chipping away," with the obvious hope of achieving more podiums and wins.

For this year, in keeping with a hectic 2024, she’s not sitting still. Lloyd is again competing in the British F4 Championship with Rodin, though it was a tough opening round at Donington Park, as tenth in the first race was followed by retirements in races two and three.

Lloyd recognises the learning curve is steeper this year as much more is expected of her, despite her relative overall experience, and with the added difficulty of switching between cars and environments.

"The cars are completely different," she said. “They're both on Pirellis, but they're two different compounds, so they're not exactly the same tyre, which makes it a little bit different. The front and rear wings are different as well, with less aero in F1 Academy.

"With F4, we're mainly in the UK, whereas in F1 Academy, it's been a lot hotter most of the time, so the tyres are already in. It's been quite difficult jumping from car to car, and I know I need to adapt, but I think I'm doing that pretty well."

Lloyd insists she has not taken on too much too soon in her still burgeoning career. "All track time is valuable," she insisted. "I'm learning and improving every time I go out. I've got the same engineer for British F4 and F1 Academy, and we're building that relationship, both finding what works for me. Every driver's different. We're just working together, and finding what I like is key."

As with any driver in F1 Academy, the goal is obvious. These are still very early days for Lloyd in her quest to reach Formula 1, but if she needed inspiration to appreciate what is possible she only has to look at her father's achievements. Despite the injuries sustained in his rallying accident, and being told he would never ski again, Chris Lloyd showed grit and determination to fight his way back and compete again at a high level.

"Obviously, what my dad's done is pretty amazing," said Lloyd. "He has shown that anything can be achieved, and he was open for me to go into motorsport.

"I've come in late, but I'm already in F1 Academy and with the support of McLaren, so anything is possible. I just need to keep chipping away, keep improving this year, moving up the ladder, and take it as far as I can."

Images courtesy of Getty Images.