Women in F1: Since the birth of Formula One in 1950 it’s been very hard for women to compete in it. The sport has not had a female driver since 1976 in Austria. Maria Teresa de Filippis is the first woman to race in the F1 World Championship, she participated in five World Championship Grand Prix. Lella Lombardi was also one of those women who got to race in F1. Since then, no other woman has competed in The World Championship. Women participation in F1 is still a dream.
What is Formula One?
Formula 1 is a car racing sport in which there are 10 teams with 2 drivers competing against each other for the constructor’s title and the driver’s title. In total 20 drivers race against each to finish at the top at the end of the season.
The 2023 season consists of 23 races all around the world. F1 is a male-dominated sport with no different category for women racers. In 2019 W series was introduced and in 2020 was called off because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the season resumed again in 2022 but soon was shut down due to lack of funding. Jamie Chadwick was the winner of all 3 seasons.
In 2022 F1 announced F1 academy the all women racing league for 2023. This academy is supported by F1 itself and has a budget of 16,000 dollars per driver. The 2023 season has 7 events containing 21 races in different circuits starting from the 28th of April to the 22nd of October. A total of 15 players will compete against each other. The purpose of the academy is to make them ready for all the competitive motor races like F2, F3, and Wseries (Women’s series).
About F1 Academy and Women participated in f1:
F1 Academy has 5 constructors have 3 drivers each making a total of 15 drivers competing against each other. It focuses on young women drivers so that they can compete in future bigger events with experience and support from their teams in single-seated races like F2, F3, and Wseries.
In the W-series the racers didn’t have enough time to practice or did not have enough opportunities to stay on track for a longer period, they only had a 30-minute practice session, one qualifying, and a race at the end, leaving the races with a lack of practice and experience but in F1 academy the player get three practice session, two qualifying sessions of 15 minutes flowed by 3 races, the race 1 will be of 30 minutes+1 lap, race 2 consists of 20 minutes + 1 lap and lastly 3rd race consists of 30 minutes and 1 lap.
F1 Academy’s global programmed, “Discover your Drive,” is a huge step towards gender inclusiveness. With the help of this effort, more women will be able to take advantage of numerous motorsports opportunities and programmed.
The gender gap in motorsports still exists despite the fact that young girls are becoming more interested in them. Surprisingly, just a small percentage of the 45,000 teenage girls who frequent TeamSport facilities each year participate in professional racing. Furthermore, only 146 of the cadets at the TeamSport Race Academy, which serves cadets from 8 to 12, are female, underscoring the underrepresentation of women at the grassroots level. Senior-level racers have an even greater gender gap, with only 5% of all Motorsport UK racing permit holders being female.
As the first-ever winners of the F1 Academy, Marta Garca and Amna Al Qubaisi broke down barriers in this traditionally male-dominated field. Their accomplishment serves as an example of the potential for women in motorsports and encourages young women all around the world to follow their love of racing. F1 Academy wants to close the gender gap in motorsports and give women equal chances through “Discover your Drive,” creating a more welcoming and diverse racing culture.
