F1 Want Wo Since 1976

By Hannah Elliott

F3, F2 and, in two or three years, F1. (F4 is an open-wheel racing category intended for junior drivers; the cars use four-cylinder engines with a power output capped at 160 brake horsepower.)

“F1 has faced reality regarding the lack of women in the sport,” says Vincenzo Landino, a motor sports reporter at FormulaMetric.com. “The fact that F1 responded by starting a pipeline shows it.”

This isn’t the first female-only racing series. When it premiered in 2018, the W Series (get it?) was criticized by prominent drivers including Pippa Mann and Sophia Flörsch for “segregating” women and preventing them from competing with the best drivers in the world. It also received no financial support from F1. Instead, W Series teams were backed by privately raised money from people such as Caitlyn Jenner, who founded Jenner Racing.

The F1 Academy has so far earned positive media coverage and is bolstered by vociferous pledges of support from F1 brass. “Formula One wants to ensure we are doing everything we can to create greater diversity and routes into this incredible