Despite the furore surrounding the sport, and controversy in how it is being dealt with, away from centre stage Formula One will continue its efforts toward furthering diversity and inclusivity this weekend as the all-female F1 Academy series takes groundbreaking steps in its second season.
The first race will take place on Friday, International Women’s Day, at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as the series, intended to ultimately assist in returning a woman to competing in F1 for the first time in 40 years, attempts to maintain a positive direction for the sport amid the damaging headlines coming out of the Christian Horner dispute and the recent allegations against the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
However the location of the opening race of a series intended to promote diversity has also not gone unnoticed, with Saudi Arabia repeatedly accused of using F1 and, by association, the Academy of sportswashing.
Human rights groups express grave concerns about women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, including highlighting the plight of the Leeds University student Salma al-Shehab, who is currently serving a 27-year jail sentence for tweeting about women’s rights.
Amnesty International states that: “Despite Saudi claims over ‘reforms’, women are still second-class citizens in the country and anyone daring to talk about women’s rights in Saudi Arabia risks arrest and a long jail sentence.”
The series is making a concerted effort to bring more women into motorsport and ultimately F1, which has not had a woman start a grand prix since Lella Lombardi raced in Austria in 1976. She and Maria Teresa de Filippis remain the only two women to have raced in F1 since the championship began in 1950.
After a relatively low-key opening season in 2023, this year represents a serious step up for the Academy championship in terms of visibility. This season 10 of the 15 drivers competing will represent an F1 team, driving in their livery during the 14-race campaign, across seven meetings, all of which will crucially take place on F1 race weekends.
The teams have each chosen a driver whom they will support. France’s Doriane Pin will race for Mercedes, Maya Weug from the Netherlands for Ferrari and Britain’s Abbi Pulling for Alpine.
They will drive the same car, the standard Tatuus F4 being run by five experienced F3 and F2 teams with three drivers each, but the collaboration is expected to be of enormous benefit for the drivers in question and for establishing a strong connection between F1 and the Academy, with the aim of increasing interest in the sport among girls and young women.
Lewis Hamilton has been a vocal supporter from the off and visited the drivers in the Academy paddock at the US Grand Prix last year, when he praised the forward strides it was taking. “Really happy to hear of the progress [F1 Academy’s] made,” he said at the time. “I think it’s really great the steps we are taking. Really happy to hear that all of Formula One is on board.”
The series has also been more enthusiastically backed by other F1 drivers this year, now there is a direct connection with their teams. “It’s great that F1 is giving the chance for these women to showcase their talents and, with the F1 teams backing them, and with extra visibility racing on F1 weekends, it’s the beginning of great things to come,” said the Mercedes driver George Russell in Jeddah.
His positivity was matched by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. “It super important,” he said. “To see this new series with all the F1 teams involved is amazing, to give the chance to all these women that are hoping to join F1, to give them a platform to show what they are really capable of.”
The inaugural season was won by Spain’s Marta García who, alongside the runner-up Léna Bühler, was ensured a seat and the backing to compete in the Formula Regional European Championship in 2024, alongside men, in a series that is a major stepping stone toward the F1 feeder series, F3 and F2. They will receive the exposure and experience vital to advancing their careers and this year’s winners will stand to make the same step. This year the series will also award FIA superlicence points, required for drivers who wish to compete in F1.
The Academy was created and backed by F1’s owners with the intent of addressing one of the major stumbling blocks in the sport: bridging the gap for 16- to 25-year-olds between karting and single seaters, when the costs rise enormously and push many young women out of the sport.
The championship also wants to address the longer-term problem with the lack of female participation in motorsport, which has never risen above 5%.
