Ferrari’s first female academy driver is chasing tips from Lewis Hamilton ahead of her sophomore campaign this year.
Maya Weug entered her maiden season in the women-only F1 Academy series as a title favourite but had to wait until the final race to top the podium.
Born in Spain but racing once again under the Dutch flag, the 20-year-old is looking to take the Prancing Horse to new heights in 2025.
Fittingly, that goal is shared by seven-time world champion Hamilton, who will make his debut for the Scuderia in Australia next week.
The pair met for the first time at the F1 75 event in London last month, which is where talkSPORT had the chance to speak to Weug.
The F1 academy star said: “I’m looking forward to properly meeting Lewis.
“I think he’s a great man in the sport and he’s now in Ferrari, so I’ll probably see him tonight.
“I want to ask him how he got [to the top] and what his work ethic has been. His biggest tip because he’s a great man in the sport.
“But last past years with Charles [Leclerc] and Carlos [Sainz] have been great. I’ve learned a lot from them as well, so it’s been amazing.”
On what she’s made of the buzz generated by Hamilton’s move to F1’s most famous team in general, Weug added: “He’s a great champion.
“He’s done so many years, so many titles. For him to come in such a prestigious team as Ferrari is of course a big thing.
“Everyone is excited to see how well we will perform and how it’s going to go this year.”
Weug bounced back from early struggles on her return to F4 machinery to help PREMA defend their Teams’ Championship in her maiden F1 academy campaign last term.
The Ferrari-backed driver’s win in Race 3 at Yas Marina during the Abu Dhabi finale was enough for her to finish third overall.
Weug, who also claimed an additional seven podiums, has since teamed up with MP Motorsport to mount a title charge this term.
On her goals for 2025, she told talkSPORT: “Yeah, last year was competitive in the second part of the season, but the first [part] was a bit tricky, so hopefully we can start properly this year.
“Start with how we finished. The goal is to win the championship and we’ll be pushing for that.”
The 2025 season, the third edition of F1 academy, is scheduled to get underway in Shanghai, China, on March 21.
