It’s official! As of May 28, 2025, the F1 Academy Documentary, “F1: The Academy” is officially out on Netflix. It is very similar to “Drive to Survive”, except this time, for the F1 Academy series. It highlights different moments in the 2024 F1 Academy Season. 

While this show provides a lot of great exposure to F1 Academy and hopefully inspire women who dream of being in F1 one day, it still doesn’t quite hit the spot where it should. While it is filmed quite nicely, it focuses very much on the cream of the crop, meaning Bianca Bustamente, Abbi Pulling, Doriane Pin, and Lia Block. There is still half the grid left who were barely mentioned in the show, and if they were, they weren’t necessarily recognized for their racing. It clearly showcases the drivers’ successes and failures, without necessarily romanticizing one or the other, but doesn’t quite indicate to us why women have been left out of F1 for so long. This show is by far the biggest form of exposure women in racing could receive so far, so the producers could have used this show not just as a source of inspiration, but also a form of activism, and a form of protest. Susie Wolff repeatedly says “It’s not a moment. It’s a movement.” And while there is a lot of truth in her statement, F1: The Academy could have used the show to build the movement even bigger. 

There is a chance that many fans who do not have a lot of exposure to F1 in general end up watching The Academy, and while that is a good thing, the show could have done more to support that. Newer fans likely do not know the stakes of getting into F1, particularly for women. While they do suggest the connection to money and affordability, especially through Abbi Pulling’s story (and don’t get me wrong, that is also very important), I don’t really see the show going beyond that, even though there is so much more to unpack. 

Overall, I would say this is a great show, and a great start to influencing women to dream big. However, there is more to be done in order to truly show the audience why women deserve to race.