Although the number of women in the Formula One races seems low, their success and achievements have made history in their fight to break down barriers.

Women in motorsport are often overlooked, especially as the F1 has made a name for themselves for being a male-dominated sport. Yet, with the help of Susie Wolff and her leadership of the F1 Academy to steer the trajectory and stereotypes in the sport, we could start to see a change in direction.

Looking at the past female drivers of the F1, new and bright drivers of the F1 Academy, as well as female behind-the-scenes workers and test drivers, we want to take a moment to celebrate their commitment and talent ahead of International Women’s Day.

Can women drive in F1?

Yes, women can drive in F1! Although Formula One has made its name as a male dominated sport, there are no rules which don't allow women to compete, which is why there have been a number of female drivers challenging the track over the years. In the history of F1, we’ve not seen a separate series for male and female drivers, but women have been driving with and against male racers for years, as well as driving in other racing series.

Danica Patrick is among the many successful female racing drivers, who was the Indycar race winner. Plus, Michèle Mouton was the runner up in the World Rally Championship, 1982.

The racing achievements of women throughout history have shown us that there is no reason for women not to race in the main series. However, the last competing woman raced in the Grand Prix 1976 season, meaning there is still more work to be done to get women the seat they deserve in the sport.

The history of female F1 drivers

Since the beginning of the Formula One sport in 1950, there have only been five female drivers who have competed. Lella Lombardi proved herself in 1975 during the Spanish Grand Prix, scoring 0.5 points. The 33-year-old racer started her career by entering 17 races, and became the only woman in F1 history to score points in an F1 World Championship race.

The last woman driver to be given a fulltime drive in the F1 was Giovanna Amati, and since then there hasn’t been another woman driver in 30 years. However, Susie Wolff took part in four practice sessions for the Williams team between 2014 and 2015. Her top result was 13th out of 20 drivers in the British Grand Prix practice session of 2015, just a few tenths behind her team-mate and multiple race winner, Felipe Massa.

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Who is the next female F1 driver?

Jamie Chadwick was dominant in the all-female W Series which started in 2019, and she won all three of the championships that were held. She has subsequently gone on to compete in the Indy NXT Series, USA, where she has proved herself to be competitive against male drivers.

Realistically, Chadwick is currently the most likely to graduate to F1. Rodin Cars attempted to enter F1 in 2026 with a new team but were rejected, and they had been planning to have Chadwick as one of their two F1 drivers. She is now aiming to graduate to the Indycar series in the USA, and compete in the legendary Indy 500 race.

The W Series was eventually cancelled having previously struggled for budget, however, it gave many female drivers an opportunity to race competitively. Other successful British drivers in the W Series were Abbie Eaton and Jessica Hawkins, now a test driver for the Aston Martin F1 team, alongside competing in the British Touring Car Championship. Another driver in the racing series was Naomi Schiff, who is now a full-time presenter on the Sky F1 channel.

What is the F1 Academy?

The F1 Academy is a new all-female series that is funded by Formula One. The F1 teams have their own chosen female drivers in the category, who are aerodynamic testing cars and/or contribute to the simulator work (which is now vital in F1, given the lack of time available to teams during the pre-season testing).

The F1 Academy is steered towards young drivers who are developing their careers and progressing to higher levels of competition. This all-female racing series is an excellent platform for female drivers, as it opens a lot of doors for women making their way into the likes of F1, and hopefully soon we’ll see the first woman racer in 30 years.

Training the likes of Jessica Edgar, Chloe Chong, Lola Lovinfosse and Nerea Marti, the F1 Academy is training some of the sport’s fresh and up-and-coming drivers.

 

Female F1 personnel

Susie Wolff, married to former race driver Toto Wolff, is the current managing director of F1 Academy and was the co-founder of the ‘Dare to be Different’ organisation in 2016, which aims to increase the participation of women in motorsport, including team personnel. Up to now the organisation has had a positive impact, with a result of two female F1 team principals in recent years, including Claire Williams (Williams F1) and Monisha Kaltenborn (Sauber F1).

One of the more famous female technicians in recent years has been Bernie Collins, who was the strategy engineer for the Aston Martin F1 team. She was responsible for the opportunist strategy which helped Sergio Perez win the Shakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain in 2020 when the team was operating under the name of Racing Point.

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