Academy Report: Jade battles through the field at Dijon-Prenois
More experience for Jade Jacquet in F4 machinery, whilst Dean Hoogendoorn made his single-seater debut
Published
18 MAY 2026
Est. reading time
2 min
From single-seater debuts to more competitive French F4 action, it was another busy weekend for members of the Atlassian Williams F1 Team Driver Academy.
Jade Jacquet and Dean Hoogendoorn both gained valuable experience as their 2026 campaigns continued.
Jade Jacquet
French F4 Championship
Jade Jacquet returned to French F4 action for the second round of the championship, once again competing as a guest driver.
A difficult qualifying session in mixed conditions left Jade P22 for Races 1 and 2, and P27 for Race 3 after track limits infringements compromised her final laps.
Despite that, she produced a strong recovery in the opening race, climbing 10 places to finish P12 and secure a P2 finish in the women’s classification.
Race 2 saw another impressive charge through the field, with Jade running as high as P17 before eventually being classified P19 following a post-race time penalty for track limits. She still secured another podium in the women’s category with P3.
Jade on track in Dijon
Starting Race 3 from P27, Jade made immediate progress by gaining six positions on the opening lap before taking avoiding action for an incident ahead that sent her through the gravel.
Recovering from the rear of the field, she fought back to finish P20 at the chequered flag.
Across another competitive French F4 weekend, it’s yet more valuable experience gained racing in large fields and mixed conditions.
Next up for our 16-year-old French racer is the return of F1 Academy action, with the series joining the support billing of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Dean Hoogendoorn
USF Juniors Championship
Dean Hoogendoorn made an encouraging start to his single-seater career over the weekend, competing in his first-ever races in the USF Juniors Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The Dutch racer adapted quickly to the new challenge, qualifying P14 before delivering three consecutive top-10 finishes across the weekend.
Dean’s strongest result came in Race 3, where he climbed to P7, while Race 2 also saw him secure the fastest lap as part of another impressive recovery drive to P9.
After opening his account with finishes of P8, P9 and P7, Dean leaves the opening event of his USF Juniors programme P20 in the standings with 40 points.
The 13-year-old now switches focus back to karting action, with the next rounds of the Champions of the Future and FIA Karting European Championship taking place in Mülsen.
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