F1 Academy Giving Women Racers a Path to Formula 1

• The Formula 1 Academy is a F1 support series that features a field of some of the world’s top female open-wheel racers.
• The F1 Academy is in Miami this weekend to race in support of the F1 Miami Grand Prix.
• Several F1 teams directly support F1 Academy drivers, as the series hopes to help propel its top racers to the top levels of racing.

Formula 1’s all-female driver development series F1 Academy will be racing its third and fourth events of the season May 3-5 in Miami as part of the F1 Miami Grand Prix event schedule.

And while F1 has no rules against women driving in the F1, in its 70-plus year-history there have only been five women to officially compete in a Formula 1 grand prix race. The first was Italian driver Maria Teresa de Filippis, who made her debut in 1958 and 1959.

Of the five female drivers who raced in F1, only one scored points—Italian driver Lella Lombardi, at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. The last female driver to take part in an F1 grand prix was Giovanna Amati, an Italian racer who failed in her qualifying attempt at the 1992 British Grand Prix.

The F1 Academy hopes to add drivers to that list.

Over the past two decades, there has been an increase in both those representing and supporting women in motorsport. From reporters and team officials, to programs like the FIA Girls on Track program and the F1 Academy, the ultimate goal is to see women in higher levels of racing.

The F1 Academy, which replaced the similarly intended woman-only W Series, was launched in 2023 to include teams that participate in other series (ART Grand Prix, Campos Racing, MP Motorsport, Prema Racing, and Rodin Motorsport). This series races Formula 4 cars and features 16 young drivers, 12 of whom are sponsored by Formula 1 teams, and four by the sponsors of the F1 Academy itself—Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, Charlotte Tilbury, and the F1 Academy itself.

The field this weekend in Miami includes two American drivers, 19-year-old Chloe Chambers and 18-year-old Lia Block. Chambers is supported by the Haas F1 Team and races for Campos Racing, while Block races with ART Grand Prix team with the backing of the Williams F1 team.

The goal of the F1 Academy is to prepare the next generation of female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition and give female drivers access to more track time, racing and testing, and to give them the experience and resources necessary to progress down the journey to F1.

“It’s given an opportunity to have females in the sport, away from being a racing driver, so it’s all around, they’re really pushing and striving to give the opportunity and the facilities to educate and help boost females along their careers,” says Abbi Pulling, F1A Alpine Academy driver and current F1 Academy points leader. “The role of women in motorsports is forever progressing.”

Jamie Chadwick was a three-time W Series champion who is now racing for Andretti Global in the Indy NXT series.

“(It used to be) when you go back to a karting paddock, I was like one of three (women drivers) in the paddock,” says Pulling. “Now, there’s three or four per class, which still isn’t a lot considering there’s 30 to 40 (drivers) per class, but it’s growing, which is what we want to see.”

For the three years that the W series ran (2019, 2021, 2022), the three championship titles were won by British racer Jamie Chadwick. While she didn’t get her shot in F1, Chadwick used the experience to get a ride in the NTT IndyCar Series feeder series—Indy NXT—with Andretti Global.

“(W Series) gave me the opportunity to compete in Indy NXT,” Chadwick says. “Without the W Series, I never would have had the opportunity to get to this point in my career. It was a savior when it first came around, and then the three years I was in the championship it gave me a huge platform that I didn’t have prior to that, to get the support to go on to Indy NXT.

“I think preparation-wise, it was a big step. Something like the W Series was probably closer to a Formula 4 level than what it was perceived as being, so it was a big step up from the sporting point of view.”

The goal of F1 Academy is to provide these young women drivers with the opportunity to race, and also to encourage young women in motorsport.

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton is a big supporter of the F1 Academy. Here, he congratulates Doriane Pin after a F1 Academy win.

“It’s not just for myself, but it’s for the next generation of junior drivers coming,” says Bianca Bustemante, F1A McLaren Academy driver.

Previously, the W Series opened its 2022 season at Miami, alongside the Formula 1 series. The women of F1 Academy did not, however, race in Miami last year. It’s a stage upon which the women can hardly wait to compete, and inspire others.

“The F1 Academy shows the younger generation of girls that there is a place for us in motorsport,” says Maya Weug, F1A Ferrari Academy driver.

Author Dylan Masamitsu, a current high school senior at Churchill School and Center in New York City, will attend Santa Clara University in fall 2024 and plans to study journalism. Dylan’s love of racing comes from her family, particularly her father and grandparents.

F1 Academy Standings

After 2 of 6 scheduled rounds:

1. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, 44 points
2. Maya Weug, Prema Racing, 33
3. Doriane Pin, Prema Racing, 32
4. Bianca Bustamante, ART Grand Prix, 18
5. Nerea Marti, Campos Racing, 15
6. Chloe Chambers, Campos Racing, 13
7. Jessica Edgar, Rodin Motorsport, 12
8. Hamada Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport, 12
9. Tina Hausmann, Prema Racing, 8
10. Carrie Schreiner, Campos Racing, 7
11. Aurelia Nobels, ART Grand Prix, 6
12. Amna Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport, 6
13. Lola Lovinfosse, Rodin Motorsport, 4
14. Reema Juffali, Prema Racing, 0
15. Lia Block, ART Grand Prix, 0
16. Emily De Heus, MP Motorsport 0