This article is part of our Forever Forward series, showcasing the ways Formula 1 is innovating for the 2026 season.
Over two days in mid-September, 18 female drivers from around the world took part in F1 Academy’s rookie test at Circuito de Navarra in Spain, a track often used in other Formula Four-level categories. But this was different from your typical testing.
It’s been nearly 4,000 days since a woman participated in a Formula One practice session. That driver, Susie Wolff, is now the managing director of F1 Academy, the all-female series. Since then, no woman has matched Wolff’s achievement. But Katie Denver, who works on the championship’s performance and talent development, said there’s “a huge buzz around” women in motorsport. The increasing commercial interest in the sport reflects growing confidence.
“People are starting to realize that we will genuinely see female drivers at the top levels of the sport, and I think everybody’s just desperate to make it happen now,” she continued. “We’ve got a long way to go, but we’ve got so much potential. Achieving this is looking more and more encouraging every day.”
And Denver is right, from a business standpoint. Since F1 Academy launched in 2023, its social media presence has grown to 1.38 million followers across Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok. The races air in over 170 global territories, and sponsors range from motorsport veterans such as Tommy Hilfiger, Puma and TAG Heuer to newer names in the racing space, including Charlotte Tilbury and hair product company Wella Professionals. For the last two seasons, all 10 F1 teams have provided backing to teams and drivers, and this commitment will continue.
Changes to the motorsport pipeline — from grassroots to the top — show other signs of progress, but work remains to be done.
Multiple experts told The Athletic that if the system really worked, more diversity would show throughout the motorsport ladder. F1 Academy’s investment in karting and the creation of its rookie test, which offered a holistic assessment of rising drivers worldwide, is a step toward addressing the pipeline’s shortcomings.
The F1 Academy rookie test put drivers through tests on and off the track (via F1 ACADEMY LTD | PARC FERMÉ)
The goal is to increase the talent pool by getting more girls involved in the sport at grassroots and lower levels, allowing motorsport organizations to develop a talent ID mechanism that supports their progression through the ranks. There’s a key transition phase in which competitors, regardless of gender, go from simply enjoying the sport and karting for fun, to stepping into the competitive realm and getting more serious about careers.
“That transition piece is crucial,” Denver said. “As a sport, globally and across the board, we need to be doing more to get drivers in at the grassroots level, so that we can start to facilitate that transition between participation and performance.”
Conversations within F1 Academy about organizing the rookie test began early in the 2024 season. The championship then spent around 18 months planning how to identify and nominate drivers to take part.
Part of Denver’s role is talent identification — analyzing results from different race weekends and categories. She spends most of her time attending F4 and karting races around the world. It allows her to start building a key network of individuals who work with the drivers each day, who can help provide more background information and context around race results.
Denver said this is important, “because we know that the timesheets often tell only a small part of the story, and we don’t always get the kind of additional information that supports why those results might have come about, or perhaps why somebody didn’t have such a good weekend.”
She identifies events to attend by looking at the paths of previous drivers, as well as the credentials of credible karting series. F1 Academy then traces drivers’ careers to examine where they compete in respective regions, whether they previously raced, and whether they are currently competing in multiple categories.
The September test took a holistic approach to evaluating the 18 drivers. The first day focused on driver development, with the rookies observing the operations of an F1 Academy team, as current racers sat in briefing and engineering sessions. More Than Equal, the female driver development organization, also conducted cognitive and physical assessments, aimed at helping F1 Academy to understand the drivers’ standing and progression better. The rookies also underwent media assessments, which included mock interviews. Drivers were rated out of five for the different categories.
The second day, the rookies got behind the wheel, with six hours of track time available. Overall, 60 percent of the evaluation across the two days was dedicated to assessing on-track performance, while 40 percent was off-track. Drivers nowadays need to be able to represent their teams, the sport, and their personal brands both on and off track, given the potential for increased sponsorship appeal within the rise of social media.
The test allowed F1 Academy the chance to properly benchmark prospective talent and compare drivers from around the world in the same machinery, under the same conditions, and at the same time. Rookies received development insights, feedback and guidance on how to prepare for the future, Denver said.
Current F1 Academy drivers joined the rookies during the test in Spain (via F1 ACADEMY LTD | PARC FERMÉ)
“There were a couple of underdogs and surprises where we were like, ‘Hey, actually, thank God we gave them that opportunity,’” she continued. “Because they really did show us that they are a serious driver that’s got big plans for the future. And for those types of drivers, providing an opportunity like this, when perhaps they don’t have the same amount of resources or support around them, it put them on to a platform and a stage for them to show that they should be considered.”
Resources and support are two key words that carry a heavy weight in any driver’s career trajectory, regardless of gender. But there are specific challenges for women, and on the motorsport ladder, climb the number of women participating begins to drop. Approximately 10 percent of all motorsport participants identify as women. Women typically start their careers a few years later than their male counterparts, and stereotypes do still exist. Lauren Forrow, More Than Equal’s head of driver development, said, “It’s a bit of a numbers game.”
F1 Academy is doing more than just creating an F4-level category for women. It’s also focusing on “trying to hone in on top-end karting (female talent) and then supporting a driver’s preparation for progressing because, compared to other sports, it is a very challenging and complex pathway to navigate.
“There’s not one clear route, not everybody follows the same journey. That means that there’s never really one right answer.”
The roadmap for female drivers
Motorsports is an individualized journey. Denver explained that career steps are dictated by where drivers can afford to compete and by how many sponsors support them, among other factors. And if a driver doesn’t come from a motorsport household, there’s an extra level of difficulty as they’re “not immersed in the network,” she continued.
To get more drivers in at the entry level, the pathway forward needs clarity and visibility. More Than Equal supported the creation and launch of F1 Academy’s Driver Development Guide in June, which aims to demystify the motorsport journey and provide a more precise roadmap.
Right now, the early steps on that path seem simple, though expensive.
A driver begins with renting a kart at a local track, to start building “the love for the sport,” as Denver described it, and they then progress through national championships before looking at international karting series, such as Italy’s Champions of the Future Academy Program. Denver said, “It’s all equal equipment. It’s an engine lottery, and it’s one entry fee. You get six rounds at global kart tracks, and you’re up against some of the best in the world on equal machinery. The only difference in that kart is the driver. So for us, from a talent ID perspective, it’s kind of as close as we’re going to get to perfect.”
What comes after graduating from karting is where Denver feels “it’s quite challenging.” If a driver opts to pursue a career in single-seaters, they are likely to start in F4 at 15 years old, but this step is more than just competing in an F4 series. There’s winter testing to consider as well, for added on-track practice.
If a female driver then advances to F1 Academy, Denver said they “wouldn’t recommend that a driver jump straight from F1 Academy to F3 (on the F1 support bill at grand prix races), for example.” This is where GB3, where Abbi Pulling is competing in 2025 after winning the 2024 F1 Academy title, or Eurocup-3, comes into play.
What makes this tricky, though, is that the pathway becomes more individualized after a driver graduates from karting, and as Denver highlighted, “It’s a long pathway.”
But as previously reported by The Athletic, changes are needed to the pipeline to make it more inclusive. Denver commented, “If everything was equal all the way up, we would for sure see women competing and being very competitive against their male counterparts. I think there’s no question about that.”
Williams F1 team principal James Vowles talks with Lia Block before an F1 Academy race in Singapore in September (Bryn Lennon / Getty Images)
More Than Equal is conducting research into the various barriers to female driver participation, including physical barriers to sport, and this academic research will support F1 Academy’s development framework. Forrow said, “We wouldn’t treat two cars the same. So why would we treat two drivers or two female bodies the same? For me, it’s really about females being supported in a way that recognizes the differences.”
When it comes to developing drivers, the final result isn’t the only factor to consider. What led a driver to that point matters too — when their career started, their training and how they progressed. F1 Academy is taking a step toward a deeper focus on women drivers’ talent development, and not just through the rookie test, but also by considering how long drivers can compete in the all-women racing category.
The rules state that drivers can only compete in F1 Academy for two seasons. From 2027, drivers may seek permission for a third season, though this might not be granted. They need to show performance growth across their first two seasons and indicate “strong potential for continued growth,” according to a news release announcing the third season consideration.
It’ll take time for change to happen throughout the motorsport pipeline. But there’s reason for optimism given that these steps forward continue emerging, even around the gaps that remain.
Denver added, “The more backing that women get, it becomes … it’s almost confidence. It brings confidence to the whole point of what we’re doing and what we’re telling you, that this female driver is as good as that male counterpart at this level.”
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