Feeling the effects – the impact of F1 Academy

Since the first season of F1 Academy in 2023, there has been a notable growth in the involvement of women and girls in motorsport – whether that be in karting, a career within the industry, or just simply as a fan.

Formula 1 is, and always has been, a male dominated championship. There has not been a female driver to regularly contest F1 since Lella Lombardi in 1976, and only five women drivers have ever entered a grand prix.

But recently there has been a real push, both on and off-track, to increase female participation in motorsport, most notably with the all-female racing series, F1 Academy.

After its predecessor the W Series entered administration in 2023, F1 Academy took the reins as the primary all-female championship. Its first season saw 15 drivers compete in races independent of the F1 calendar, and the Austin finale was the only weekend to be broadcast live.

The following year, however, there was a huge influx of investment, which included the F1 teams becoming involved. Each constructor supported an F1 Academy driver – meaning 10 cars adopted an F1 team’s livery – while the rest of the grid, like Lola Lovinfosse, had the backing of huge brands such as Charlotte Tilbury.

F1 Academy also became part of the F1 support bill with all races now being broadcast live. There is also a Netflix series in the works, which echoes F1’s counterpart, Drive to Survive.

With an all-female racing series at the forefront of motorsport, the F1 Academy ‘Discover your Drive’ programme saw a 400% increase in female participation across championships in 2024, according to Motorsport UK.

Speaking to Autosport, F1 Academy Managing Director Susie Wolff said: “We know that to be successful long-term, we need to increase participation. Participation of women on track in the sport has never gone above 5%.

“We have to increase participation at the very bottom. We need to create role models. We need to allow the opportunities. So we’ve gone in with Motorsport UK and Team Sport and in the space of one year it just shows you what impact you can have if you’re able to put a programme together which really has an impact.”

Some have put this down to F1 Academy’s increasing visibility and influence in the motorsport world.

“They’re calling it the ‘F1 Academy effect’ in the world of karting,” Wolff added, referring to the Champions of the Future Academy Programme, with which F1 Academy has a partnership.

“I mean, [there has been] incredible success there – 25% of the grid is female. We’ve never had those numbers in the world of karting before and suddenly, young girls have something to strive for.

“Now they know, ‘OK, if I’m good enough, I’ll either get picked up by a Formula 1 team for F1 Academy, or I’ll get picked up by F1 Academy for one of their partner cars’. This is having a knock-on effect in such a short space of time.”

Susie Wolff, Managing Director, F1 Academy, and Flavio Briatore, Executive Advisor, Alpine F1, watch the podium ceremony

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Chloe Chambers, who is a Red Bull-backed F1 Academy driver, added: “It’s a numbers game rather than a talent situation.

“But I think with F1 Academy now, you’ll start seeing some more really talented women coming up and being able to show that talent.

“I think F1 Academy is doing a really good job at supporting girls in karting. They have their ‘Girls on Track’ programme for girls who still want to get into karting, that’s the first step, to get them interested in motorsport.”

Maya Weug, who has the support of Ferrari, explained that one of her main career goals was to “try and inspire young girls, try to involve more young girls in racing, into karting, and so on”.

“We’re getting there, but there’s still a long way to go, and I’m sure that we will make it happen,” she added.

It’s not only on the track that F1 Academy is making waves, but off-track too. The Girls on Track UK Programme Manager Jenny Fletcher said there has been a significant increase in female participation.

‘Girls on Track’ is an organisation that strives to inspire girls and women into pursuing careers in motorsport, whether that be in STEM or business and commercial roles. They run programmes and events in communities and schools, with various ambassadors who speak to participants about their roles within motorsport.

Race winner Maya Weug, PREMA Racing, celebrates in parc ferme

Photo by: Getty Images

The initiative saw 1,395 community participants in 2024 and has approximately 10,000 members in its overall community. 

Fletcher explained the importance of increasing the visibility of women in motor racing for getting young girls and women interested in and inspired by the sport.

“We’re around 10% females working in motorsport [compared] to 90% males,” Fletcher said, “which is not reflective of society. There’s no need, there’s no reason for it to be like that. So our programme is trying to readjust that gender imbalance.

“Our job for the day is to inspire them, it’s to show them motorsport is not just for boys, and it’s not just about driving. The different job roles that are out there, providing as many positive female role models to talk about their journeys, their pathways, as possible, and just to give the girls a chance to have a go, and in that all-female safe space.

“The community was formed to be a support network to support those young women – maybe they’re the only girl on their mechanical engineering course and they’re feeling quite isolated.

“It has grown exponentially in the last few years. I think with an underrepresented group, visibility is the most important thing. If you’re a young girl sitting at home and all you’re seeing is men, you’re not even going to think that there’s a rightful place for you.”

Sky Sports F1 pundit and former strategy engineer of the Aston Martin F1 Team Bernie Collins also told Autosport about the increase of girls, both on and off-track, getting involved in motorsport.

She said: “What I’ve seen from friends, for example, is their little girls at home who are five, six, seven, are now watching F1 Academy and seeing those girls get into cars and thinking ‘I could do that’.

Bernie Collins, Sky Sports F1

Photo by: Sky Sports

“Now I get a lot of contact from girls asking about engineering, asking about STEM. Maybe not even about those subjects but asking about getting into the media or presenting.

“So there’s much more interest, I think, from a female audience in F1. Even simple stuff like, occasionally I go down to the pub and watch it on my race off, or I go to the F1 Arcade, the number of females in there, and the number of females that now ask me about it.

“When I did my book last year (How to Win a Grand Prix: From Pit Lane to Podium), at some of the book signings the number of girls was unbelievable – I was really blown away. There is a much more positive outlook there for females getting into the sport.”

Collins also commented on Laura Mueller’s recent appointment as F1’s first ever female race engineer – she will work alongside Esteban Ocon at Haas – which she described as both “encouraging and discouraging, because I really wanted that job!” 

She continued: “I’m so happy that Laura has managed to achieve that. I think that is going to have a massive effect, I hope, during the year, because the race engineer is the person you hear the most on the radio.

“That’s going to be a female voice in that space that we’re going to listen to week-in-week-out, hopefully, especially if Haas do well.

Laura Mueller, Race Engineer of Haas F1, Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Haas F1 Team

“It’s about highlighting the options that are out there, and I think Laura’s going to be a great ambassador for that. I think the more of that that we can do, the better.”

The reigning F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling also told Autosport about what the marketing and investment push meant to her, saying: “It’s been really important.

“I can’t afford to race at this level without the reduced cost that F1 Academy provides, the support from the Alpine F1 Team and the support from Rodin Motorsport and Rodin cars. It’s all down to them [that this has been] possible.

“It’s been a great journey with F1 Academy, and they’re making changes in the sport which are positive changes. It’s just going to take time before we see the first female take that step in Formula 1.”

As F1 Academy enters its third season, with a larger grid of 18 cars, many new faces, and new regulations designed to make the racing even more exciting, it continues to inspire young girls and women across the globe to get involved in motorsport – the ‘F1 Academy effect’ can only continue to grow.