Thanks to the brilliant work and dedication from members of the motorsport community, the future of female progress and participation in F1 is looking bright. That was, until, ‘More Than Equal’ – an initiative set up to find the first female world champion – released a report finding that women have: “A very low degree of confidence” in inclusive culture in motorsport.
The 62 page report told us that many women find the environment “unwelcoming” and that the highest statistic of female participation has stayed firmly at most people’s first ‘step on the ladder’ in motorsport – Karting. The report also cleverly highlights the financial backing that female racers get doesn’t come close to the support their male counterparts receive.
Young female racers with immense talent in the higher rankings – such as Formula Academy – (Abbi Pulling, Chloe Chambers and Lia Block just to name a few) are the more privileged women in the sport, but they still feel the lack of progression from Formula Academy. How are women meant to be able to compete in F1 if they don’t have a ladder to climb up to it?
Indycar seems to be a lot more open to female champions than F1/2/3 ect. Racers like Jamie Chadwick who are one of the most talented and well known have the option to roam and enter into different series’ or subcategories of Indycar to get to where they feel most comfortable. They are able to race to be a world champion in Indycar in any series, thus making the series more accessible.
Because of this, lots of female racers tend to switch to indycar, as it is more of an opportunity for them to race against the boys and have a realistic chance of a trophy without the barriers that F1 seem to put up. Even male drivers who have tried to get to F1 and who have spend years in F2 (Marcus Armstrong, Callum Illot) have made the decision to go down the Indycar route.
When we spoke to Logan Hannah, 22, GT3 racer, she said: “I think we will be waiting 10-15 years for a female world champion. They will either pick someone up now, or they will get a young girl, aged six or seven.”
In 2024, we have not seen a female racer who came from Formula academy get into F1. But, with the establishment still young, will we see a female F1 world champion soon? Or will we see a female indycar champion instead?
