Formula 1 is one of the most elite sports in the world but behind the roar of engines and record-breaking speeds, there’s a glaring absence: women on the starting grid. In this piece, I explore why female visibility in F1 remains a challenge, and what’s being done to change it.
Since its first race in 1950, only two women have ever started a Formula One Grand Prix. In the 1950s, Maria Teresa de Filippis was the first woman to compete. Over two decades later, Lella Lombardi made history, as she is the only woman to score points in a Formula One race to this day. For decades, women have faced a track filled with obstacles. Women have been given fewer opportunities in racing, limited sponsorship, and long-standing stereotypes that have kept many female drivers out of the elite levels of motorsport.
I asked Brianna Veale if she could name any women currently involved in F1, either on or off track. She replied that she knew of “Bianca Bustamente, Lizzy Mackintosh, two of my biggest inspirations to get into Formula 1.” When young girls don’t see women competing at the highest levels, it’s harder to imagine themselves there. This is why the importance of knowing the women involved in F1 is so crucial.
Brianna shared with me how she believes that “There’s so few female drivers on F1, especially development drivers, partially because the opportunities have only recently been made more accessible and available to young girls.” In 2023 the F1 Academy was launched, it is a motor racing all-female championship, founded and organized under the management of Formula Motorsport Limited. The goal is to finally see some women driving in Formula 1. The visibility for women is increasing, and the support they are receiving is growing, but many believe the question is no longer if a woman will return to the grid – but when.
“I’d love to see women drivers in F1, I’d love to get into the career I want in 5 years and be interviewing female Formula One drivers about their races.” For Brianna, the importance of seeing women in F1 encourages her to follow her dreams and passion of becoming an F1 journalist. Luckily with the F1 academy being backed by all the sport’s ten teams, the initiative is already producing promising results.
The fight for visibility isn’t just about putting a woman on the podium, it’s about changing the culture of a sport built around exclusivity. Until opportunity meets talent equally, Formula 1 will never truly reach its full potential. The hope is that we see female drivers on the front lines, and with the results of the F1 academy, women racing for Formula One may finally happen again.