F1 Academy starts again in Montréal: more women on the track, more opportunities for business

The real obstacle to the presence of women in Formula 1 lies in the statistics of the society in which we live. A driver's career begins with karting (often as young as four or five years old) and families rarely encourage girls to take this path. Moreover, the absence of successful female role models makes it difficult to reverse the trend.

The result? An extremely small talent pool, which translates into little chance of finding 'the female Verstappen'. The few girls who do get to compete often do so later, with less time to accumulate experience and sponsors. A vicious circle that perpetuates the absence of women at the top.

Paradoxically, the Formula 1 of the past was characterised by more inclusive dynamics. In fact, the world championship, instead of being a closed-box game in which the usual 10 teams (11, from 2026) face each other and divide the economic pie, was open to the frequent entry and exit of teams, as well as drivers. In that Formula One the concept of 'qualifying' made sense, i.e. the Saturday cut-off that determined whether the team and driver could take part in the race the next day.

In this context, in which it was easier for both a team and a driver to attempt to emerge in Formula One, there were some successful and unsuccessful attempts at female participation in races. Below are the five women drivers who participated in world championship grand prix races, only two of whom qualified and actually raced the GP.

The first woman to participate in an F1 Grand Prix was Italian Maria Teresa de Filippis. She participated in five races in 1958 and 1959, qualifying for three. Her best finish in the race was tenth place. Another Italian, Lella Lombardi, participated in 17 grand prix races between 1974 and 1976, starting twelve times. She remains the only woman to have entered the points zone - half a point - finishing sixth in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, in a race interrupted by rain.

In 1976, British skiing Olympian Divina Galica changed sports and tried to secure a place in the British Grand Prix. This was the only time more than one woman driver (Lombardi and Galica) participated in the qualifying of a Grand Prix - unfortunately, both failed to make it onto the grid.

Four years later, South African Desiré Wilson (a race winner in British Formula 1) also attempted to qualify for the Silverstone race, but again failed. The last woman driver to participate in the F1 World Championship was the Italian Giovanna Amati, who joined the British Brabham team at the beginning of the 1992 season. However, she encountered difficulties in qualifying and failed to secure a place in any of the three races she participated in, before being replaced by male drivers. After that, another two decades passed before Britain's Susie Stoddart (wife of Toto Wolff) became the last female driver to participate in F1 during the 2014 season, but only in some practice sessions.

Susie Wolff herself is involved as managing director in the creation of the F1 Academy project, a women's single-seater racing championship. This competition, founded by Formula 1 in 2023, aims to promote the inclusion of women in motorsport and facilitate the transition from karting to the higher formulas. It is the second exclusively women's motorsport series after the W Series, and follows the technical regulations of FIA Formula 4.

The category is designed to provide young drivers with a formative and competitive environment in which they can develop the skills they need to pursue their careers up to the highest levels of motorsport. To encourage participation, Formula 1 covers part of the costs, contributing 150,000 euros per driver per season.

From 2023, five teams with experience in formulae propaedeutics will participate: Prema Racing, ART Grand Prix, Rodin Motorsport, MP Motorsport and Campos Racing. From the 2024 season onwards, each Formula 1 team directly supports one driver, also providing him with the team's official livery. The remainder are supported by other sponsors or private entities.

The sporting format features a grid of 15 single-seaters, with each team fielding three cars. The number of rounds is seven weekends, but each round includes two races. The scoring system follows that of Formula 1: points are awarded to the top ten (25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1), with 2 additional points for pole position and 1 point for the fastest lap, provided it is achieved by a driver classified in the top 10. It should be noted that the first of the two races of the weekend is run with the grid inverted compared to qualifying, a bit like it happens in Formula 2 and Formula 3. From the 2024 season, the top five finishers get points valid for the FIA Superlicence, the licence that allows them to drive Formula 1 cars.

The F1 Academy races, as well as Formula 2 and Formula 3, are timed as support events for the F1 World Championship, and the mid-championship standings see Maya Weug in the lead, driving a Ferrari liveried MP Motorsport. Right behind is Frenchwoman Doriane Pin, in a Prema coloured Mercedes. Also of note is Alba Larsen, Danish born in 2008, who was immediately competitive in this first season in the F1 Academy. Larsen started with karts in 2020, at the age of twelve. To make a comparison with more famous colleagues in Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton started at six; Charles Leclerc at seven; Max Verstappen, son of former Formula 1 driver Jos, even at four (at seven in competition).

The F1 Academy is not only a sports project, but also a sophisticated commercial operation. Each F1 team has adopted a driver, contributing to the creation of dedicated liveries, customised storytelling and targeted communication campaigns. Ferrari is backing Maya Weug, with a single-seater featuring the classic red and distinctive Prancing Horse features. McLaren has opted for Ella Lloyd, combining traditional papaya orange with pink elements for a high-impact livery. Mercedes deploys Doriane Pin by integrating her into its communication ecosystem that emphasises excellence, technology and inclusion.

This strategy allows teams to reinforce their brand identity on segments that are less well served: women, families, young fans. Sponsors also move accordingly. Brands oriented towards diversity, fashion or lifestyle see the F1 Academy as an unprecedented channel to convey values and products to targets often neglected by traditional motorsport.

Liveries thus become narrative tools. They don't just represent an aesthetic, but tell visions, values and alliances. Merchandising campaigns linked to the F1 Academy cars are already active, while social content, mini-docu and paddock activations are creating a fresh, modern and inclusive image.

In addition to the ethical and social issue, the topic has significant economic implications. Formula One is a global entertainment product, built on media icons and marketing operations. In an environment historically dominated by white men, the entry of diverse profiles - like that of Lewis Hamilton, the first black driver in history - has shown how diversity can generate engagement and new audience segments.

A female driver in F1 would be a strategic asset to attract new sponsors, broaden the fanbase (in which the presence of women is growing steadily) and offer targeted products and content. According to F1 2023 figures, women already represent over 40% of the TV audience in some markets, and Liberty Media - the current commercial rights holder - explicitly aims to make F1 more inclusive and family-friendly.

The public image of women in sport has finally changed over time. So-called 'grid girls' (umbrella girls) - women tasked with parading around the grid during race weekends for purely promotional purposes - were banned by Liberty Media, the current holder of F1's commercial rights, at the start of the 2018 season. Liberty stated that this practice was not in line with its brand values and was considered contrary to modern social norms, especially as the sport increasingly caters to a female and family audience.

In addition to the growth and training of women drivers, Formula 1 offers other job opportunities for the female gender, even in top roles. Examples are Monisha Kaltenborn, team principal of the Swiss team Sauber from 2012 to 2017, and Claire Williams, deputy team principal of Williams Racing from 2013 to 2020. More recently, there has been much talk about the decision-making talent of Hannah Schmitz, the chief strategic engineer of the current F1 world champion, Max Verstappen.

Despite significant improvements, women remain underrepresented in F1, with few opportunities to showcase their talents on the track or in leadership positions. In 2023, women accounted for 13% of employees at Mercedes and 6% at Red Bull, two of the sport's leading teams. Overall, that season, F1's gender pay gap report found that women accounted for 31% of the sport's staff.

The challenge of gender equality in F1 needs investment, vision and a solid training pipeline. But the most far-sighted companies have already understood that promoting the presence of women is not just a question of fairness: it is also an opportunity for growth and differentiation. Because in Formula 1, as in business, those who start late risk never making it onto the podium.

During the weekend, Formula 1 qualifying and the race will take place at Italian evening times. Qualifying will start at 10 p.m. on Saturday, while the race starts at 8 p.m. on Sunday. On the weekend that also sees the 24 Hours of Le Mans take place, fans can watch as many as three F1 Academy races, due to the race being cancelled in Miami due to bad weather. Race 1 will take place on Saturday at 15.10, Race 2 a few hours later (20.45). Finally, Race 3 is scheduled for 4.45pm on Sunday, as an appetiser to the Formula 1 Grand Prix.