“I think I’ve improved consistently as the season as gone on,” she agrees. “Shanghai [sixth and seventh] wasn’t the best start, and honestly, my expectations were a bit higher – but we’ve come a long way. Winning in Jeddah was satisfying, I had a consistent weekend in Canada [second, second and second], and last time out in Zandvoort [fourth and fourth] was pretty good too. I think I’m getting progressively better and more consistent.”
Returning to Marina Bay, a year on from her F1 Academy debut, is an opportunity to demonstrate her development as a racing driver: “I’m looking forward to this weekend as an opportunity to show that progress. I was competitive here last year, and have done a lot of racing since then, particularly on street circuits, which are a different sort of racing experience. Hopefully this weekend will be pretty good.”
Alongside her F1 Academy campaign, Ella also competes in British F4, where she has multiple points finishes and five podiums from two seasons in the series. Hopping between the two series isn’t entirely straightforward: F1 Academy is based on an F4 car and, like the British F4 Championship, uses a Tatuus F4-T41 chassis – but the two series still differ in many ways. A combination of differing tyres, engines, aero packs and rules makes the challenge of switching between the series a little disconcerting.
“I would say that it was a little bit of a struggle to start with – the two cars are different,” she says. “The main challenge, to begin with, was trying to find the right setup for me with the F1 Academy car – I was trying to find my feet a little bit in that respect.
“The camber and caster on the F1 Academy car are limited at the front, and the aerodynamic options move in big steps, so you need to have a lot of mechanical grip. It’s different to the British F4 car, where you can balance that out with aero. This results in quite different characteristics, which require two different driving styles: the F1 Academy car doesn’t have a lot of front end, whereas the British F4 car rotates really well.
“After the first few rounds, I learned to adapt relatively quickly. Having to jump from car to car, with only one practice session in each, has made me a better driver. I am now better at adapting quickly, and am able to be fast straight away. It was hard work initially, but is definitely an advantage for me.”
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The handling of the car, of course, isn’t the only difference. British F4 sits on the support bill of the British Touring Car Championship, while F1 Academy faces international exposure on F1 Grand Prix weekends. It is a different environment in which to learn your craft.
“The spotlight is on you more in F1 Academy, and with that there is always going to be pressure,” says Ella. “There’s a lot of media involvement, both because it’s relatively new, but also because it’s supported by all of the F1 teams. It’s important to remain focused on your driving, and I think I’ve done that well.”
Learning to deal with the media is one way the McLaren Driver Development Programme will support a young driver. It will also help with practicalities like organising an effective strength and conditioning programme, and dietary regimen. Head of the Driver Development Programme, Warren Hughes, will also offer advice via words of wisdom, watching and feeding back on her every session.
“There is a lot of support on the fitness and media side of racing, while it helps me a lot to have Warren trackside at races,” says Ella. “His perspective as a racer is really useful and very different from that of an engineer. Getting both sides is helpful, he offers support when I need it: if there’s anything he sees, and has previous experience of, he’ll jump in.”