PURCHASE, N.Y, Thursday 20th November — Gatorade® today announces its sponsorship of F1 ACADEMY™ rookie driver Lisa Billard, marking its mission to make performance support accessible.
Lisa Billard, viewed as one of the sport’s new rising talents, has shown impressive potential at just 16 years of age. She became the Women’s Champion at the 2025 French F4 Championship at Le Mans, and the first female to win a race in the French Junior Karting Championship, earning her a Wild-Card entry for Round 6 of the F1 ACADEMY™ season in Singapore.
This partnership underlines Gatorade's ‘Fuel Tomorrow’ commitment to supporting young people's participation in sport, amplifying the voices of young female athletes and fueling their performance through science-driven hydration, nutrition, and resources. Crucially, it leverages the expertise of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) to generate invaluable insights into the specific hydration needs of young women, to feel confident, empowered, and fully optimised for success.
Gatorade will be supporting Billard with elite-level sweat testing, tailored hydration and nutrition plans, and recovery protocols. In January 2026, Lisa will join Gatorade at the GSSI lab on the IMG Academy campus for a three-day performance immersion, setting a strong foundation for the start of her F1 ACADEMY™ journey.
Women’s sports are at an inflection point — culturally and commercially. Fans are showing up, brands are investing, and athletes are breaking barriers. But research shows that female athletes often receive performance support later than men, missing out on formative years that help shape careers.
New Gatorade research1 reveals that while 58% of women recognise unique physiological needs, only 38% believe female athletes receive equal attention, and just 28% of girls aged 14–25 feel confident fuelling their bodies for performance. While hydration needs shift across life stages, ultimately only half of women feel informed.
This aligned with the experience of elite and retired athletes that were part of the research. 90% of athletes interviewed said they had to guess their hydration and nutritional requirements, and two thirds only received credible expert advice or learned about female-specific needs after turning professional, emphasising insufficient early support for women.
F1 ACADEMY™ Gatorade driver, Lisa Billard, said:
“Single seater pushes your body to the limit. You can lose up to 4kg of fluid, burn huge amounts of calories, and race in extremely hot temperatures. So, working with a brand like Gatorade and GSSI to understand my hydration and recovery couldn’t be more important. I’m so excited to take on my first season of F1 ACADEMY in 2026, with the support of Gatorade behind me.”
Erick Scheel President of PepsiCo Latin America Beverages, added:
“We are setting a precedent for young female athlete support and showcasing how when athletes get the right resources at the right time, everything changes. This partnership exemplifies the Gatorade ‘Is It In You?’ philosophy: to spark performance by leverage our knowledge and understanding of the science of hydration. By ensuring Lisa has access to science-backed resources and tailored performance support at this pivotal stage of her career, we're empowering her to reach her potential and inspire the next generation.”
Gatorade is an Official Partner of F1 ACADEMY™ for the 2026 season and beyond, supporting its overarching mission to increase female participation of women in motorsport, both on and off the track.
About Fuel Tomorrow
Fuel Tomorrow launched in May 2024 as Gatorade’s global platform to drive equity in sport, built on research from 2,500+ parents across global markets to understand why teens drop out of sport. Gatorade has pledged to help 2.5 million teens access the life-changing power of sport by 2030.
The initiative has created programmes such as Global 5v5 youth tournament where 151,000+ teens across 22+ countries already engaged; confidence Coach programme with football icons like Rachel Yankey and Andriy Shevchenko helps inspire young athletes; expanded sponsorship and youth programmes now impact 250M+ young people worldwide.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated nearly $92 billion in net revenue in 2024, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com, and follow on X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.