F1 Academy, Karting in Canada, and Advice for Young Karters: An Interview with Nicole Havrda
- Meghan Petruk
- May 4
- 4 min read
I had the privilege of interviewing Canadian F1 Academy driver Nicole Havrda, who is in their first season of F1 Academy at 19 years old. Nicole also competes in the FR Americas series, racing in Formula 3 cars, alongside F1 Academy.
Nicole originally started her career in a different sport. She started swimming at the age of 5 and was focused on going to the Olympics and going to university. This all changed when her dad took her to the Austrian Grand Prix, and she fell in love with motorsport. She knew it was something that she wanted to do, and she wanted to go straight into Formula 1.
Nicole was getting bored with swimming; it didn’t give her that adrenaline rush that she had been missing. She began karting in Canada and soon discovered how difficult it is, as there are not a lot of tracks. The biggest tracks within Canadian karting are on opposite sides of the country - in British Columbia and Québec. Nicole’s family would have to drive from Vancouver Island to Montréal just to race, whereas in comparison to European karting, you are able to drive an hour and be in another country. On the bright side, Nicole says the travel and racing has brought her family closer together.
Nicole started karting at the age of 10 and was competing by the age of 12. The big difference for Nicole between racing in Canada versus other countries is the level of competition.
The USA has a lot more tracks spread out across the country in comparison to Canada. More tracks create more opportunities for people to get into the sport as drivers and as fans. The karting scene has grown a lot, but at the time Nicole’s friends didn’t even know what she meant when she said she was going karting.
When she started in karting, there were very few girls in karting and little to no female representation. “Right as I started, there weren’t many; there were a few at the track – other racers. Going back to the kart track right now, there are so many more girls getting into it, which is really cool.”
“When I was getting into it, it wasn’t really a big thing. Most girls were the sisters of the guy that was racing.”
The introduction and visibility of F1 Academy has drastically changed the sport, getting more girls into racing and karting from an early age. “It's changing a lot. People see F1 Academy, and they are like ‘Ah, now we know where our girls are going to go.’”
Throughout her journey, Nicole looked up to Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton. “I got to meet him at the Montréal Grand Prix because I had an interview with him, which was pretty cool. He inspired me by just how humble he is, especially with how famous he is.”
She also looks up to Susie Wolff, the Managing Director of F1 Academy. Susie previously drove a Formula 1 car, one of a few women in the sport to achieve that, and has since been the driving force of F1 Academy. “She understands that we can’t just be doing media all the time. She also understands the driving part because she was a driver”
She also looked up to Danica Patrick, who raced in NASCAR and IndyCar in North America. Even though it was a different form of racing, she still looked up to her growing up as a woman in motorsports.
For girls starting their journey into motorsports, Nicole’s advice is to believe and keep working towards what you want. “Every day makes a difference. We have one life to live; just have to do the max you can.”
“I want to grow old and look back on my life and be like, ’You know, I actually did that, and I am proud of myself.’”
“Be proud of yourself with whatever it is, like with what you did today; if you went to the gym, just be proud. A lot of people don’t do that, and it does make a difference.”
On feeling like you maybe don’t belong to where you are in school, work, or life, Nicole is passionate about believing in yourself and your abilities. “You are meant to be here. You got chosen.”
After getting to know Nicole, I asked her some rapid-fire questions!
What’s your favourite movie? “Air, it’s about Michael Jordan getting into Nike.”
What’s your favourite band or artist? “I don’t have one right now. I am really into Spanish music right now.”
What’s your favourite country to visit? “I like America a lot. I do love Europe; Italy is nice, and I’m from Prague, so the Czech Republic is nice. Everywhere is nice because they are all so nice.”
What’s your favourite race track that you have raced on? “Circuit of the Americas or Indianapolis.”
What’s your favourite pre-race snack? “Mandarins.”
What’s your favourite sport outside of racing? “Tennis or pickleball.”
Who’s your favourite athlete? “Michael Jordan. Not really a basketball fan and more of a fan of him. I watched his documentary “The Last Dance" on Netflix. It showed that instead of going to parties, he would go to the court and train.”
On her F1 Academy start she said, “Getting used to it is quite crazy. Going into China, having the three days of testing was normal and chill. Going into the race, you go for FP1, and you park in front of the F1 garages, and you look up, and you’re like ’I am actually in the pit lane.’ You got the teams right behind you; Lewis Hamilton walks by just chilling right there”.
“It became so surreal, and then it felt like so much pressure too; you get kind of stressed. At the end of the day, though, you’re just driving a race car.”
Nicole plans to make the most of her two years in F1 Academy, take everything in, and learn as much as possible.
You can catch Nicole on track at the Montréal Grand Prix, June 13-15, for the next F1 Academy race. Follow her journey on her Instagram at @nicole.havrda.
Edited by Neha Grewal
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