A new race series aims to create more opportunities for women to compete at the pinnacle of motorsport, and increase inclusivity. The FT talks to academy chief Susie Wolff and some of the drivers hoping to make breakthroughs on the circuit
TranscriptWe want to see more women in our sport, at the very pinnacle of our sport.
Formula One has seen global interest explode in recent years. And with that new audience there's come a realisation from within the sport that it needs to be more diverse, and that includes on track. So that's why F1 decided to launch its own all-female racing championship. And those guys went straight from Carlin to Formula One. So it's been really nice to be part of that story and to see the success that those guys are now having. And what would be really great would be to send a female driver after them that's also been through the team.
One thing that I always say that I love about racing is how it brings people together. And I'm very close with my dad because of the racing. Obviously, there's things like the speed and challenging yourself and getting better and seeing that lap time come down, it's just such a very satisfying feeling. But yeah, I think the people you meet and the lessons you learn I think is what I love as well.
And actually, it's completely the opposite. Even in Formula One there's drivers that have to bring a sponsorship budget to their team in order to compete. The teams provide the cars, the engineers, the mechanics, the truck, everything else to form that package. But the driver has to bring that budget.
Networking is a huge thing. Takes up tons of time. If I'm not racing on a race weekend of my own, I'll normally be at a different race weekend networking somewhere in the UK. So yeah, it's a full-time job away from the racing as a full-time job. Some people don't even count motor racing as a sport. But it absolutely is. The driver is out there. It's a very high pressure environment.So we're looking for lean muscle. But they have to have a core strength. They have to have strong arms.
The thing about the F1 car is your neck. You've got to be so strong in your neck for the G-forces. So although I've not experienced it before, I think as long as you put your mind to it and, like I say, train every day, I think a female can get to that level. Motorsport isn't segregated. Women race against men. It's one of the three sports in the world which isn't segregated, alongside sailing, obviously involves quite a big boat; horseriding or jumping involves a big animal; and motorsport, which involves a big car. And I think Formula One, generally motorsport, has fundamentally always been seen as very male dominated. It is to a certain extent still very male dominated.
Niki Lauda had to finance his way into Formula One initially. And so I think we are not going to be able to change that. But obviously with F1 Academy, we are giving the driver huge financial aid to make sure that the drivers are getting enough track time and are getting all the possibilities to try and progress in the sport.
But I still had that moment of, wow, this is incredible. And what that car is capable of in terms of its braking performance, its cornering speed because of the huge aerodynamic effects, it is... I can only say it's incredible. The skills that you do take through is things like braking, your racing lines, and throttle application. They're the three kind of big things. And then also the racecraft, the racecraft is like nothing else in racing in a go-kart. And 1,000 per cent karting is key to getting more getting a female to Formula One, I think.
But what I do think has been missing is just that accessibility to the sport. And that's where I really think F1 Academy can play a big role. We can break down the accessibility. We can inspire. We can create global awareness for all of those young girls that are currently racing in karting. So they already have to withstand a lot of pressure. When you add to that a female driver is going to attract far more attention, potentially far more criticism, then that requires, again, another level of determination. And that's what I think our drivers have. And I see it in them.
The truth is sport is brutal. You lose more than you win because there's only ever one winner. And for me without a doubt, the most important character trait I had was tenacity. I just chose not to give up.
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