Former W Series driver Abbie Eaton has cautioned that the F1 Academy must not be viewed as the 'long-term solution' for female representation in motorsport, insisting that champions require more long-term financial backing to successfully climb the single-seater ladder.
While Eaton has championed the all-female racing series for what it has done for women in motorsport so far, including the integration into Formula 1 race weekends and the platform that it has given drivers, she pointed to the financial challenges that many face.
"I think F1 Academy only exists because of W Series, and W Series only failed because F1 Academy was going to start," Eaton said during an appearance on the Everything Trackside podcast.
The W Series was a free-to-enter all-female single-seater championship which launched in 2019 with the aim of eliminating financial barriers and propelling women towards F1. Despite successfully elevating the profiles of some drivers such as three-time champion Jamie Chadwick, the series struggled with financial difficulties and went into administration in 2023.
"They are different in the sense that the W Series was fully funded, and you won money in it. F1 Academy, you have to bring budget to the seat. Yes, it's subsidised but it's still a lot of money that you've got to bring," Eaton continued.
"So in that respect, it's a bit more business but it is fully supported by F1 as well, so it's not being allowed to fail. It has to succeed, and part of certain deals that come through is that F1 sponsors have to invest in F1 Academy, which is fantastic.
"Do I think it's the solution going forward? No, because it shouldn't be females racing and males racing. But, I think the general public forgets that F1 Academy isn't an end destination. F1 Academy is the start of the journey.
"It's for the most inexperienced drivers to learn. And some of these drivers haven't done anything before F1 Academy. Some have done karting, some have done a bit of pre-season testing, but a lot of them are really new to it.
"So, they're going to make stupid mistakes. They're going to do moves that are not going to come off, and they're going to crash, and they're going to spin. It's not to say that, 'Well, yeah, look how naff females are in motorsport'. No, it's not. If you put a load of lads the same age, in the same situation, with the same background, the same thing would happen.
"I think what needs to be maybe looked at a little bit more is when the championship's won, the investment into the champion needs to be more long-term, and it needs to be more... You know, Abbi Pulling won it, and she had the drive in GB3, and then this year she almost didn't make the grid because she didn't have enough money.
"That is bonkers, and it shouldn't be like that. If they're going to say this is the pathway to get a female in F1, then it should be funding into FIA F3, so it's still on the F1 calendar because GB3 in the UK is great, the cars are great, but there's no publicity.
"You've gone from millions of people watching to hardly anyone watching. They need to keep it on the F1 weekends, and then it's easier for the fans to follow the journey of that champion as well.
"But ultimately, the difference in cost is in the millions to be able to keep on that journey as well."
