Logan Hannah is a British based motorsport star who went from karting at the age of 10, to driving and competing in GT3 & GT4. She competed in the world final of Le Mans and was crowned female driver of the year in 2017, and made history after becoming the first female to ever compete in F4 UAE. After a year off, she is ready to once again take the wheel for the 2024 season. Meet Logan Hannah, one of the most talented females in the motorsport world today.
Hello Logan! How have you been?
“Hello! Very, very busy. This past week I have been testing in France, as well as getting through the last 7 weeks of university.
So – balancing university and your racing career, how has that been? Have you found the balance to be difficult?
“Well, when I got to uni, it was a case of ‘you have to do this on your own now’ and it did become a bit of a juggling act, I’ll be perfectly honest with you. There have been cases where I have found myself at a racetrack in the evening where I have had to finish an essay that is due or study for an exam. It is not easy to manage a full-time degree and a full time job.”
Has your degree assisted you in any way with your racing career?
“Yes. The way it has kind of built me into the person that I am, not only being involved in motorsport, (but) traveling the world and having to deal with the pressures of it all from such a young age and kind of morphed me into the person that I am now.
“Being able to talk to people and have a little bit more behind the eyes than first appears definitely helped.”
You started Karting very early on in your life, how do you feel your childhood may have differed to others?
“I lived in Dubai for 12 years out there and the fuel is cheap. My dad loves cars and has always loved cars, he started racing as a hobby. He eventually managed to get his company to give him a load of money to go racing, so I was like a ‘pig in mud’, I loved it!
“I never missed a day that he was on track. I was always there, even if it meant not going to school, I made sure I was there. That then translated into me racing, and it was purely down to the team that my dad was racing for told him that I was no longer allowed to help. I then thought if I am not allowed to help my dad, then I want to drive.
“Childhood in the Middle East is very different. Everyone is very activity and sport focused so there doesn’t seem to be a lot of kids who don’t do sports. Family wise, it was a case of, you missed birthdays, you missed events, you are away on race weekends, but I was happy because it is something me and my dad could do.”
How did it feel to be crowned ‘Female driver of the year’ in 2017?
“That was a real turning point for me because that was the year after I had moved back from Dubai, so I had started racing in the UK, and started thinking about building that racing profile in the UK.”
What do you think the future of motorsport looks like for women?
“I think that there are lots of initiatives that are being pushed forward to help with the inclusion of Formula One. The rest of the sport has been neglected a little bit, because there is so much more to motorsport than just F1; there is rallying, indycar and GT racing that take up so much more of that sport than just what F1 sees. But there has been a big push to get girls into motorsport through their love of Formula One.
“I think things like F1 Academy are good, in the sense that there is support from F1 teams, whereas things like the W series before didn’t. As for looking for a female champion, I think we will be waiting another 10-15 years because they are either going to pick someone up from scratch or pick someone now. But, in order to do that they need to find a girl that is not only marketable, but is good in the car and can win.
“I think there are a lot of good things being done, but there are definitely more that can be done in all aspects of it (motorsport), whether that’s for girls behind the wheel or the girls that are working in the teams.”
Have you seen or noticed a better turnout of young women attending races or wanting to get into the sport?
“Yes. From when I first started when I was younger, there were only one or two girls that were racing that could gain a spot on a team.
“So, I think it has become more accessible in the last 10-15 years, since social media has come out the drivers have been able to gain a personality and it has been more about, more than just what they can do behind the wheel, and things like ‘Drive to Survive’ have completely changed the game in the sense that, all these drivers in F1 now have personalities, and people are following them for more than just the racing. They want to keep up with their personal lives just as much as they want to see them go around the track.
“There is definitely a greater following of females in motorsport now. Participation numbers haven’t gone up as much as they would have expected, but that probably won’t happen for another 10-15 years. It’s all about getting the girls in at about age six or seven to be able to still be racing cars in like, ten years’ time.”
What advice would you give to those who are starting their racing career and are looking for sponsors?
“Well, I was quite fortunate that my family was able to fund all of my racing until I went up to F4. My advice would be something so simple, but make sure that you are spelling the brand’s name correctly. More often than not, you will see people that will email a company and they have not spelled the company’s name right. Making sure emails are engaging, that sort of stuff. Make and produce a good, non-wordy deck.
“Unfortunately, nobody cares about the karting you did ten years ago, they only really care about what you have done in the last few years. If you are young and you are trying to find money to go racing, there are thousands of other kids looking to do the same thing. Find a thing that makes you different; for me, it was that I am a female racer who wants to race against the boys, that was my thing. I race at the front and that is where I always want to be, and I would like you to help me do it.
“A well-done website and good social media can make a big difference. It’s a full-time job, and if you keep working at it, it will happen. Good things come to those who wait. In sponsorship, they invest in your racing, but they also invest in you as a person.”
Is there a piece of advice you learned during your career that would have helped you at the very start of getting into the motorsport world?
“Don’t take anything for granted. It is quite a simple thing, but there have been many a weekend I have rocked up and not been feeling it. But you have to go into every race with the approach that every weekend could be your last.”
