Payton Riley Westcott (born 20 March 2009) is an American racing driver who competes in F1 Academy for Prema Racing with support from Mercedes.
Career Karting Westcott began karting at the age of 12, competing until 2024. Mainly racing in the US in her karting career, Westcott made her international debut in 2024, racing in the Champions of the Future Academy Program as part of F1 Academy's Discover Your Drive initiative.
Formula 4 (2025–)
Stepping up to single-seaters in 2025, Westcott began the year in Formula Winter Series with Van Amersfoort Racing, scoring a best result of 13th in race three at Aragón to end the winter 27th in points. For her main campaign, Westcott took part in the Italian F4 Championship, also with Van Amersfoort Racing. During the first race of the season in Misano, she finished in 20th and claimed her first win in the women's' championship. Westcott advanced on Emily Cotty in the women's championship throughout the season, securing double class wins at both Monza and Mugello. At Imola, Westcott achieved a class win during race one and tied her highest finishing position of 20th during race three. By the end of the season, she finished the women's championship in second. Westcott also participated in the E4 Championship, once again with VAR.
At the end of 2025, Westcott raced in the first and last rounds of Formula Trophy with Prema Racing, winning race two at Dubai from reverse-grid pole, becoming the first female race winner in the series, before returning for the season-ending round at Yas Marina and finishing tenth in race one, helping her end the year tenth in points. Also in 2025, Westcott made a one-off appearance in the F4 Saudi Arabian Championship in the season-ending Jeddah round, in which she scored a best result of eighth in race two. At the beginning of the following year, Westcott remained with Prema to compete in the first three rounds of the UAE4 Series, in which she scored a best result of eighth in race two at Dubai.
F1 Academy
During her maiden campaign in Italian F4, Westcott participated in the F1 Academy rookie test at Navarra, where she placed third in the morning session and 1st in the afternoon session. She was then selected as the wildcard driver for the final round of the 2025 F1 Academy season in Las Vegas. She scored points in her debut race by finishing sixth, before retiring in race two after a crash with Joanne Ciconte.
Westcott made her full-season debut in the 2026 season with Prema Racing, succeeding 2025 title champion Doriane Pin as the Mercedes-backed driver.
Karting record Karting career summary SeasonSeriesTeamPosition2022California ProKart Challenge – KA 100 Jr.7thSKUSA SuperNationals – KA 100 Jr.Nash Motorsportz28th2023USPKS – KA 100 Jr.6thUSPKS – X30 Junior32ndSKUSA SuperNationals – KA 100 Jr.Nash Motorsportz18thSKUSA SuperNationals – X30 Junior30th2024USPKS – KA 100 Jr.Rolison Performance Group11thUSPKS – X30 Junior33rdChampions of the Future Academy Program – OK-N35thSources:
Racing record Racing career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position2025 Formula Winter Series Van Amersfoort Racing 12 0 0 0 0 0 27th Italian F4 Championship 20 0 0 0 0 0 48thE4 Championship 9 0 0 0 0 0 35thF1 AcademyHitech TGR 2 0 0 0 0 3 18thFormula TrophyMumbai Falcons Racing Limited 5 1 0 0 1 30 10thF4 Saudi Arabian ChampionshipZahid 2 0 0 0 0 4 17th2026 UAE4 Series Prema Racing 9 0 0 0 0 6 21stF1 Academy 7 0 0 1 2 47* 4th* Italian F4 Championship R-ace GP 6 0 0 0 0 1* 41st*Formula 4 CEZ ChampionshipCram Motorsport 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD*Sources: Season still in progress.
Complete Formula Winter Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) YearTeam123456789101112DCPoints 2025 Van Amersfoort RacingPOR1POR2POR3CRT1CRT2CRT3ARA1ARA2ARA3CAT1CAT2CAT3 27th 0
Complete Italian F4 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DC Points 2025 Van Amersfoort Racing MIS11MIS12MIS13MIS14 VLL1VLL2VLL3VLL4MNZ1MNZ2MNZ3MUG1MUG2MUG3IMO1IMO2IMO3CAT1CAT2CAT3MIS21MIS22 MIS23MIS24MIS25 48th 0 2026 R-ace GPMIS11MIS12MIS13MIS14VLL1VLL2VLL3VLL4MNZ1MNZ2MNZ3MNZ4MUG11MUG12MUG13MUG14IMO1IMO2IMO3IMO4MIS21MIS22MIS23MIS24MUG21MUG22MUG23MUG24 41st* 1* Season still in progress.
Complete E4 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 DC Points 2025 Van Amersfoort RacingLEC1LEC2LEC3MUG1MUG2MUG3MNZ1MNZ2MNZ3 35th 0
Complete F1 Academy results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 DC Points 2025 Hitech TGR SHA1 SHA2 JED1 JED2 MIA1 MIA2 MTL1 MTL2 MTL3 ZAN1 ZAN2 SIN1 SIN2LVG1LVG2 18th 32026Prema Racing SHA1 SHA2 MTL1 MTL2 MTL3 SIL1 SIL2 ZAN1 ZAN2 COA1 COA2 COA3 LVG1 LVG2 4th* 47* Season still in progress.
Complete Formula Trophy results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DC Points 2025 Mumbai Falcons Racing LimitedDUB1DUB2DUB3YMC11YMC12YMC21YMC22 10th 30
Complete F4 Saudi Arabian Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points 2025 ZahidBHR11BHR12BHR21BHR22JED11JED12JED21JED22JED31JED32 17th 4
Complete UAE4 Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DC Points 2026 Prema RacingYMC11 YMC12 YMC13YMC21YMC22YMC23DUB1DUB2DUB3LUS1LUS2LUS321st6
Complete Formula 4 CEZ Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DC Points 2026 Cram MotorsportRBR11RBR12RBR13RBR14SAL1SAL2SAL3SAL4SVK1SVK2SVK3SVK4MOS1MOS2MOS3MOS4BRN1BRN2BRN3BRN4HUN1HUN2HUN3HUN4 TBD TBD Season still in progress.
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