It is no secret that Formula 1 has had a huge growth in its popularity in the last six years, following the release of Netflix series “Drive To Survive” bringing in £73 million more in revenue from global fans each year. Having had a drastically controversial reception, it is criticised by longtime fans due to its dramatised narrative and tendency to exploit the incorrect usage of race clips, some consisting of different tracks and seasons altogether. To happen just once, could be marked as a simple mistake, a misclick, but to be caught out on several occasions? Whilst the series is immensely popular and has brought great value increase to the sport, fans have speculated that entertainment value is greater in the eyes of the big cheeses at Netflix than the integrity of not only the sector of Motorsport, but also the drivers, as it appears every season of the show entails a selected one to be portrayed as the “villain” through editing, both morally and wholly questionable. However, many of these new fans face an immense amount of discrimination and borderline bullying for discovering the sport this way, with the large majority of negativity coming from male fans.
In order to find out whether the issue has subdued in any way at all, I asked a variety of Formula 1 fans about their experiences of dealing with discrimination on different levels, from just being a fan due to finding the sport via the Netflix show.
Three of three subjects when asked stated that they have faced discrimination within Formula 1 in some way, however only one had faced criticism for finding the sport through “Drive To Survive”, who said that they have been questioned about their knowledge of Formula 1 in the tone of “an interrogation”, purely for the means in which they discovered their passion for the sport.
However, both of the other two had not faced any discrimination in terms of the Netflix series as they had been interested in the sport prior to its release, but have a saddeningly long list of negative experiences in dealing with sexist remarks and interactions in relation to their passion for motorsport. To delve deeper into this large, dark chapter of not just Formula 1, but the entire world of motorsport, I put together a survey directed at female fans of any form of motorsport bracket to find out just how many deal with what is masked to be a smaller issue than it was a few years ago.
A shocking 100% of replies had faced a form of gender-based discrimination for liking their sport, entailing being told they only like the sport because of drivers’ appearances, being excluded from conversations and communities for just being female, and receiving inappropriate comments and messages.
One response stated that they were “catcalled at a racetrack, just yesterday, on three different occasions by seven men in total, there were remarks about me wearing a skirt.” This blatant sexism does not appear to be solely coming from male fans, strangely enough, as the response then went on to say that in the same day, she was singled out by another woman who claimed that she was “too girly for such a sport”, implying that the clothes she was wearing determined her ineligible for a, wrongfully, male dominated atmosphere.
Unfortunately, that was not the most alarming of the responders’ experiences, with one saying that she has had male fans make jokes and casual comments about raping her, this is not just sexism, and it is arguable that it never was, leaning more towards intent of sexual assault, making jokes about it at the expense of a woman who is simply at a racetrack for the same reasons that the male fans making the jokes are : enjoyment, and passion for a sport.
So, the question I pose to you is this : is the sport doing enough to combat this? As a female fan of Formula 1 myself, I needed the answer to this, and I reached out to Formula 1 podcast “The Fast and The Curious” hosted by Greg James, Christian Hewgill and Betty Glover to see if they would be open to talk with me. Being the incredible, lovely team that they are, I received a reply from producer Will Tyrrell, they proposed that they could do one better to help me in my investigation, and they posed my question to feminist icon and renowned managing director of all-female racing league F1 Academy, Susie Wolff. I asked if she herself felt that young women were still being made to feel unwelcome, or if enough change has occurred for Formula 1 to be a supportive environment with the creation of F1 Academy, to which she stated that she believes the motorsport space for women is a completely different dynamic from what it was when she was the first woman to sit behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, she has seen a great deal of change since formulating the new era of F1 Academy. Susie is an absolute pillar of female empowerment and strength, and I hope to be able to interview her myself one day in the near future.
Discrimination of any kind is not the only mark under the name of Formula 1 and its history though, as I, as many others will, remember concerns being raised about the involvement of corrupt countries in the sport, and I aimed to uncover whether any of this has been resolved, or simply swept under a black and white-checkered rug.
It has been discussed many times over the last five years of its place in Formula 1, in holding its own Grand Prix, as to whether Saudi Arabia utilises sport in an attempt to wipe clean its slate, a tactic many poorly-viewed countries enlist called ‘sports-washing.’ But why exactly is Saudi Arabia known for being controversial, is it simply a matter of cultural difference, misconstrued by others, or does it cross into the murky territory of corruption?
As a country, they have no team ownership in F1, despite stating many times that they wish to achieve that one day, they did have sponsorship in the Williams F1 team until 1984 but they hold one of the biggest races of the F1 calendar, bringing in £50 million every year.
The Corruption Perceptions Index is a scoring system used by Transparency International, an organization that marks itself as ‘the coalition against corruption’, they score 180 different countries around the world, Saudi Arabia being one of them.
In 2021, the year of the inaugural Grand Prix, Saudi Arabia scored 53/100, an increase from 49/100 in 2019. Whilst this was an improvement, 53/100 is a significantly low rating, so why did they score so poorly leading up to 2019 with the lowest rating being 44/100 in 2012, and what has been done to gain points that simply wasn’t good enough for 53 upwards? What still needs to be changed?
As for 2012’s low score, it was found that many governments in different regions of the country had very weak checks and balances, governments were easily influenced and manipulated by individuals of power, it was found that public funds were able to be withdrawn. As well as that, and other concerning factors, it was found that there were restrictions put in place, implied to be executed by governments – again due to the influence of powerful parties – restrictions on media freedom, with monitoring of the public also adding to this. Saudi Arabia also have a consistent record of gender-based controversies, even today, such as many female decisions being safeguarded, albeit controlled by male family members, husbands and fathers. This same control also applies to male guardianship in the country, which many say is pure-intentioned and simply cultural, however it means that many women cannot legally make their own decisions, and face unequal rights within a marriage and divorce.
2021’s CPI score at a 53 is a relatively big step up from 2012, I wanted to dig deeper into what changes were made to gain these marks, and whether some of those challenges still remain.
Although the score of 53/100 put the country at 52nd out of 180 others, it was actually a miniscule decrease from the year before due to lack of transparency in certain aspects, with authoritarian control still a big issue in the country as political power elites still held, and still hold a great deal of sway.
So, again I pose my question, is a country like Saudi Arabia using a vastly popular sport with increasing growth to reupholster and micromanage its image to the rest of the world? This is known as ‘sports-washing’, and surprisingly, Saudi Arabia are repeat offenders of this, having been awarded the right to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034, as well as acquiring the Newcastle United football club, all attempts to boost the countries image.
Other countries have been erased from the Formula 1 season’s race calendar in the past, such as the dissolvement of the Russian Grand Prix in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine. Whilst this was a drastic situation that needed to result in the removal of the Russian GP, shouldn’t there be a standard set for countries who wish to participate in such a global sport, otherwise does it not appear that Formula 1 is brushing over the corruption that some drag with them?
In future continuation, I will be reaching out to Amnesty International and Transparency International to not only volunteer myself, but find out more direct from the source whether 2026 will be the year that Saudi Arabia shocks everyone in a positive light.
All in all, Formula 1 is a contradicting field in terms of discrimination, sexism and sports-washing, and in my findings I feel that there has only been a margin of improvement within the acceptance of female drivers in F1 Academy. The distinct league has set new precedent for the future, as well as creating safer spaces for female fans, however the same cannot be said for Formula 1 itself, with many female and new fans feeling more unwelcome than ever. As the 2026 season unfolds from March, we shall have to wait and see if the new year is enough of a refresh for welcoming, accepting spaces, and fingers crossed, less discourse.