The F1 Academy’s appearance at this year’s Formula 1 US Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin was the highlight of its first season. At the same time, for the women’s racing series, whose first title holder is 23-year-old Spaniard Marta Garcia, it was the beginning of a path where failure is not an option.
Looking ahead to the 2024 season, in which all ten Formula 1 teams will support one driver and one car, Susie Wolff, managing director of the F1 Academy, is clear about one thing. She says the long-term opportunities for women in motorsports may well depend on whether the series can fulfill its mission.
“I’m very aware that what we’re doing here shouldn’t be a flash in the pan. It shouldn’t be something shiny and new that then just disappears again. It would be very unfortunate if that happened. Because then there won’t be any “Opportunity for greater diversity in sport. I think if that doesn’t work, nothing will work,” says Wolff after the first season of the F1 Academy.
Behind Marta Garcia as the first female champion of the F1 Academy, the Swiss Lena Bühler finished second in the overall standings for the 2023 season. Hamda Al-Qubaisi from the United Arab Emirates came third. Carrie Schreiner from Germany finished eleventh overall in the field of 15 riders.
Susie Wolff, who took up her post as managing director of the F1 Academy in March, has a clear stance. She believes the series’ success depends on being more than just a successful supporting program for Formula 1 and on helping the fastest women it currently has move up the formula racing ladder towards Grand Prix. Sport to climb.
Wolff believes the future of the F1 Academy depends on inspiring and developing the next generation of female racing drivers. Otherwise there is a real risk that the racing series will soon fail – as happened with the W series last year.
“I would have liked to have allowed myself the luxury of just a racing series with 15 young drivers that could exist and drive progress,” says Wolff about the challenge she has taken on by taking over the management of the F1 Academy . “There has to be a lot more,” she is convinced, “because otherwise we will simply run out of female drivers in a few years.”
Dealing with the problem
Although Susie Wolff has managed to convince all Formula 1 teams to take part in the F1 Academy to support female drivers and display their colors on a car in the second season, she admits that it is still There is a certain skepticism about the vision of the women’s racing series. This became clear to her in conversations with the current Formula 1 team bosses.
“They have all committed themselves to this mission. We have to make sure that we deliver a strong package,” says Wolff and reveals: “A team boss said to me: ‘The F1 Academy is just putting a plaster on the problem. Do you want to? really trying to solve the problem?'”
“Yes. We are not here as a flashy series that is just trying to attract attention and put 15 young drivers in the spotlight,” said Wolff, who competed in the DTM in her own racing career. “I’ve experienced this myself. I know how difficult it is. And I know how few women participate at different levels.”
“So we need to think about how we can change this in the long term. To do this we need to increase the talent pool, make this sport more accessible and inspire the next generation to get involved. The most important message for me when I met with the team bosses was : “Okay, we understand why you’re doing this and how it can make a difference. But you have to do it right because the W series tried and failed.'”
Wolff’s answer: “We have to be more than just 15 cars driving. Because that doesn’t solve the problem that there aren’t enough participants. So if you only have these [15 Frauen] reaching out and trying to help them doesn’t get to the root of the problem.”
F1 Academy is not a charity
The F1 Academy was launched last year when the W Series, also all-female, collapsed due to financial difficulties. Initially, people were skeptical as to why Formula 1 and Liberty Media were supporting a new racing series that didn’t seem to differ significantly from the W series – and also required the drivers to bring sponsors with them.
Wolff insists that there are clear differences between the two racing series: “I admire what the W series has achieved in a short time. But I think we are approaching it by having full support from the very top, from Liberty and Formula 1. We want to build a financial business model. This cannot exist as a charity. It has to be something that can survive on its own in the medium to long term.”
“That’s why we have the ten Formula 1 teams on board at this stage. And since we’re called F1 Academy and we’re owned by Formula 1, we obviously have the luxury of being included in the Formula 1 calendar without any problems “In addition, we will not only ensure that our champion advances. I want my champion to have the best chance of success,” says Wolff.
“That means getting her into the right teams and making sure we’re working behind the scenes to give her the best chance of success at the next level. The development needs to happen. As far as the pipeline goes, you could look at us as a racing series “Compare with the W series. But I think we do a lot more below and above that,” said the managing director of the F1 Academy.
The right moment for change
Wolff can already see the first effects, both in the F1 Academy and in the world as a whole. The differences in lap times in the F1 Academy have shrunk dramatically over the course of the first season. “In the first qualifying of the year we had a gap of two seconds in the top 10. In the sixth race it was only two tenths of a second,” she says.
At karting level, the number of girls seeking to qualify for the British Indoor Karting Championship has increased from 18 to 65. This is due in part to efforts to create a “Champions of the Future” academy.
Although Wolff doesn’t expect the F1 Academy to be a guaranteed success, she feels the conditions are in place as she is given a real chance. “I think the fact that we exist and the fact that I managed to get ten Formula 1 teams on board changed the world,” she says.
“Maybe the feeling in this paddock hasn’t changed, but we’ve certainly recognized that the world has changed. Maybe it’s unfair to say that the world has changed and that has put them under pressure, but there are some in the paddock who really believe that something needs to be done,” said Susie Wolff.