F1 officially announced the launch of the F1 Academy in 2022. F1 Academy is an all-girls racing series, part of the Formula league, which trains women to race professionally. It was started and now run by Susie Wolff, the wife of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

Throughout the season, F1 Academy has 7 race weekends, with 2 races per weekend. Each race is 13 laps, so shorter than a typical F1 race. Their racing schedule runs in conjunction with F1, but they have fewer race weekends. Hosting Academy races during the same weekend is a smart idea because people who go to watch F1 in person at any of the seven locations can also watch F1 Academy. When I went to the Miami GP in May 2024, I saw the F1 Academy races live.

In F1 Academy, there are five teams, Rodin Motorsport, MP Motorsport, Campos Racing, Art Grand Prix, and Prema Racing. Each team has three drivers, hence fifteen drivers in total. As of 2024, 10 out of 15 drivers are sponsored by F1, so basically one driver per F1 team. All of the cars are F4 cars, meaning they are smaller in size and built slightly differently than an F1 car.

Formula racing has been dominated by men since it started in 1950. There have only been five women to race in F1, and many raced only for short periods of time. Women haven’t been given the opportunity to race in the Formula league. F1 Academy is the first crucial step to breaking the gender-based dominance. When I saw F1 Academy in Miami, I also noticed that the stands were not as full as they were during F1, even during just the qualifying stage or the sprint. I hope that in the next couple racing seasons we start to see more exposure with wider audiences and also women being integrated with men in F3, F2, and F1 at a more continuous rate. After seeing these women’s performances, I know they are more than capable and deserving of making it to the big leagues. 

Sources used for research: 

• https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12862689/f1-academy-all-you-need-to-know-ahead-of-all-female-series-inaugural-season 
• https://www.f1academy.com/Racing-Series/Teams 
• https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/all-10-formula-1-teams-to-have-f1-academy-drivers-and-liveries-for-the-2024.hxfPWROnTFy5cPaDzuPku