F1 Academy have announced a new global initiative to increase female participation in motorsport; the series say only five per cent of all Motorsport UK race licence holders are female; F1 Academy, Motorsport UK and TeamSport Karting have joined forces to deliver the programme
Thursday 8 June 2023 21:24, UK
F1 Academy have launched F1 Academy Discover Your Drive, a global initiative, which aims to increase female participation in motorsport on and off the track.
The scheme will focus on Youth Engagement, Talent Identification, Participation & Progression, and Community, with women being given the chance to compete in entry-level programmes and professional schemes.
The inaugural season of F1 Academy is approaching its halfway point, with Marta Garcia leading the championship by 41 points from Hamda Al Qubaisi after nine races.
"When we launched F1 Academy in March, one of our key objectives was to increase the pipeline of talent entering our sport, both strengthening the pool of drivers aiming to make it to an elite level and supporting those who want to pursue roles off track," said managing director Susie Wolff.
"The launch of F1 Academy Discover Your Drive is an important step to achieving this and as we join the F1 global calendar next year, the reach of the programme will be huge and will give us the platform to inspire many girls and young women around the world.
"To have the support of like-minded organisations like Motorsport UK and TeamSport Karting to deliver our first national programme is hugely important, and I look forward to seeing it grow and be impactful long term."
The last female driver to take part in an F1 weekend was Wolff herself for Williams at the 2014 British GP, when she took part in Practice One. Lella Lombardi is the last driver to race in the Grand Prix itself, in 1976, and she's the only woman to score points when she finished sixth at the 1975 Spanish GP.
The first talent identification programme to launch will be F1 Academy Discover Your Drive Karting UK, where the next generation of female karters will hope to be found.
Motorsport UK, which has provided the pathway for drivers such as Lando Norris and George Russell to F1, and TeamSport Karting will operate the scheme.
According to Motorsport UK, 45,000 young girls visit TeamSport venues every year, but only a small percentage ever progress to competition.
Those who impress will be given development sessions with TeamSport in order to compete in junior levels of indoor karting.
Six venues will support the pilot programme for the rest of 2023, with the target of all 35 TeamSport karting tracks joining the scheme next year.
This year's F1 Academy finale at the Circuit of the Americas will be part of the United States Grand Prix support bill on October 21-22, with all their rounds on F1 race weekends in 2024.
The next round of this season's championship takes place at Zandvoort on June 24-25.
