AN 18-year-old from west Cumbria became Britain's first F1 Academy race-winner after triumphing in the season finale last weekend. 

Jessica Edgar has long held a passion for racing, having been accepted into the Motorsport UK academy at the age of just 14.

Back in May, the Ennerdale driver earned an impressive podium finish in her F1 Academy debut, but last weekend, she would go one step further.

When previewing the season with the News & Star in March, Jessica, who is the cousin of Formula 3 driver Jonny Edgar, suggested that she was most looking forward to the race in Austin.

It was no doubt a dream scenario for the 18-year-old on Saturday, October 21 as she maintained a two-second gap in the #11 Rodin Carlin on her way to her debut victory in F1 Academy at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin.

Edgar sealed first place by taking the inside line from Marta García off the line, before Nerea Martí slipped through into second place to chase down the race leader.

She said: "It feels amazing to win. F1 Academy have given me an amazing opportunity this year and to win in the last round while we are with F1 is an amazing feeling.

"All the hard work we’ve put in this season has really helped my qualifying and starting P1 mattered a lot this weekend!"

Her win meant that she would finish eighth in the overall standings for the inaugural F1 Academy season, with 114 points, while champion Marta García finished on 278.

After a thrilling seven rounds consisting of a total of 21 races, featuring nine different winners, the first F1 Academy campaign is now complete.

The 2024 season will kick off in Saudi Arabia in March, and all seven rounds will be in support series to Formula 1. Next year, all ten F1 teams will also provide a driver to the series and have their livery on one car.

After Saturday's superb win, the season ended in perfect fashion for Jessica, and she will be looking to push on again when the season restarts in March.