F1 Academy primed to propel women up the motorsport ladder،
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Formula One's all-female F1 Academy series begins a historic second series this year with a revamped look from year one.
After a quiet first campaign, the F1 Academy has strengthened its links with the world championship. For 2024, the 10 F1 teams have stepped in to support one of the 15 young drivers on the grid – who will wear liveries for each of their cars – with the other five being supported by different partners such as the skin care brand skin Charlotte Tilbury, who made her first foray into sporting partnerships by joining forces with the F1 Academy.
The F1 connection doesn't stop there. The F1 Academy will join the championship in Saudi Arabia, Miami, Spain, the Netherlands, Singapore, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, with races being broadcast live on ESPN in the United States.
“It’s a huge moment,” Susie Wolff, the series’ CEO, told ESPN of the second year. “Having all the F1 teams on board, some iconic brands and racing with F1 on three continents shows how much progress has been made and how much support there is for our vision and the positive impact we we want to create in women's sport.”
– F1 Academy Saudi Race 1, Friday at 7:10 a.m. ET, live stream on ESPN+
– F1 Academy Saudi Race 2, Saturday at 7:05 a.m. ET, live stream on ESPN+
There's one statistic that always accompanies discussions of all-female series: the last F1 race featuring a woman was the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix, in which Lella Lombardi competed.
While F1 and the F1 Academy ultimately want this to go down in the history books, both have stressed that the new series has a much bigger mandate. F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has been reluctant to make bold predictions about having a female driver in the next five, 10 or 15 years, but instead echoed Wolff's view that the series had a much more important vision for the sport.
“Success has to be on track and off track,” Wolff said. “This has always been part of Stefano’s vision and is why he created the F1 Academy in the first place.
“We see that the sport enjoys incredible global popularity, and the fastest growing fan demographic is young women. I am very aware that not every young girl who watches F1 wants to become a driver, mechanic or journalist, but we can show that this sport puts a strain on diversity.
“Sport wants to make a call to action to make sure that it's not a chauvinistic, male-dominated world that I think people probably still have that preconceived notion in the past .”
In Wolff's eyes, the connection with F1 teams helped legitimize the broader goals of the F1 Academy.
“I didn't want this to be seen as a women's issue, run by women, I wanted the decision-makers in this sport to play a role in it,” she said. “But at the same time, it is not based on goodwill, because it is trendy to support women's sport. We need to build a long-term sustainable model.”
The F1 Academy hopes to provide a launching pad for young drivers, not only up to F1, but across the racing pyramid. Last year's champion, Marta García, will compete in this season's Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA), having landed a fully funded seat at Prema.
“We are not a destination where young drivers can stay and race,” Wolff continued. “We are here to provide a platform to nurture them and give them fuel to progress further in the sport.
“We believe in providing a huge opportunity to contribute to progression and ensure the talent pool grows. [with women] and that talented women find their place in this sport. »
While the F1 Academy hopes to one day find the next Lombardi, the series will not live and die by his ability to do so.
Connections beyond F1
The benefits for F1 Academy drivers were no more evident before this week's Saudi Grand Prix, when Lewis Hamilton was asked about French driver Doriane Pin, who is racing with Mercedes support this year.
“Yes, I just saw her,” said the seven-time world champion, before congratulating Wolff, who is married to his F1 team boss Toto. “I just spent some time with her earlier in the garage. To see the teams and the sporting races here… there's still a huge amount to do, but the work that Susie is doing with the F1 Academy, I I'm really, really proud of her.”
F1 Academy drivers are also closely aligned with five Formula 2 and Formula 3 teams in an effort to facilitate access to these starting categories.
The ART team with which Hamilton and Mercedes teammate George Russell won the junior titles is led by McLaren's Bianca Bustamante and Lia Block, supported by Williams, daughter of the late rally driver Ken. 2022 F2 title winners MP Motorsport will run Al Qubaisi's sisters Hamda and Amna, supported by Red Bull's two F1 teams.
Prema, who won power series titles with Charles Leclerc, Mick Schumacher and Oscar Piastri, will drive Mercedes' Pin and Ferrari's Maya Weug. Campos will lead Haas-backed American driver Chloe Chambers, while Alpine's Abbi Pulling is part of the Rodin Carlin team.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have five of the best junior teams,” Wolff said. “These teams know how to train well-rounded racing drivers and help them develop.
“We will always analyze the natural next step with the drivers; I'm not sure it will always be F3, sometimes it will be FRECA. But it's also about having the right progression and knowing what is good for may our winner progress.”
