GRR

INTERVIEW: Susie Wolff on “the F1 Academy effect” and shaping the future of the sport

08th January 2025
Ian Parkes

After two years of F1 Academy, managing director Susie Wolff can "feel a wave of impact" even if there is a lack of what she describes as "hard data" to support her belief.

In essence, Wolff's theory is abundantly correct. With all races occurring over Formula 1 weekends, and with ten of the drivers supported by F1 teams, F1 Academy has, without a shadow of a doubt, blossomed in year two.

ian wolff interview pic 1 header.jpg

The series is still very much in its infancy, taking baby steps, but the philosophy built by Wolff, of showcasing the Academy on the F1 platform, has projected it into the consciousness of motorsport, in general, on a truly global scale.

"I was always very ambitious with my plans for F1 Academy, racing, with F1, getting the F1 teams on board, and of course, it was up to us to show them that this was a platform that was going to be impactful," Wolff said.

"I think we've achieved a lot this year. We've already announced we're increasing to more cars for next season, so I think we're off to a very solid start. But this is a long-term project, and we'll only see the results kind of mid-term.

“So, it's about continuing to progress, continuing to make sure we make the right decisions, to make sure, for example, that our champion progresses in the right way.

“Also, that we're getting into the world of karting, to increase the participation so that we make sure that on every level of the sport we are having the impact that we need to make it more diverse in the long term."

ian wolff interview pic 2.jpg

The series will increase from 16 to 18 cars for 2025, providing a competitive feel, whilst its 2024 champion, Abbi Pulling, will now take up her 'prize' of a seat in GB3, continuing the partnership she forged with Rodin Motorsport these past two years.

Pulling dominated to such an extent it was akin to Max Verstappen in F1 in 2023, winning nine of the 14 races, and finishing on the podium on a further five occasions. At 21, F1 Academy may have unearthed its first female star if Pulling can continue the remarkable level of progression witnessed this past year.

In November, in an all-female Formula E test, and with no knowledge of the machinery or the Jarama circuit that was a late replacement for Valencia given the devastating floods in the region at that time, Pulling was fastest by three-tenths of a second from Jamie Chadwick, a three-time winner of the W Series that was the forerunner to F1 Academy before it went bankrupt.

In tandem with the F1 Academy programme, Pulling also competed in British F4 with Rodin Motorsport, taking part in eight of the ten rounds, scoring a victory and two additional podiums en route to finishing seventh in the championship.

ian wolff interview pic 3.jpg

Wolff is naturally keen to avoid piling too much pressure on Pulling too soon. She said: "We need to be realistic. We have obviously put her into GB3 fully funded, [with] 20 test days, so she has the right chance at being prepared for the season in a top team with a good team-mate, so all the ingredients.

"But I'm very clear that GB3 will be a two-year programme, so we are already in the stages of saying, 'Okay, what are the performance parameters you need to hit so that we can unlock the second season of GB3?'

"Next stage, if that season is strong enough, is a season of F3, but we initially want to put her in the best position to succeed in the next level. Certainly, based on what I've seen from the dominant way she won [F1 Academy], I believe she can go into GB3 and be competitive, 100 percent.

"The fact she won in British F4, at the same time as winning in F1 Academy, for me, was a really, really happy day because that was justification that our best are going out there and competing against the best."

Whilst Pulling has placed herself in the spotlight, naturally it is the overall impact of F1 Academy that is the focus for Wolff.

Following the collapse of the W Series, it immediately raised the question as to whether a pathway could ever exist that would end a drought now approaching 50 years when a woman last competed in F1.

Forces of Inspiration logo.jpg

Festival of Speed

Presented by Mastercard

ian wolff interview pic 4.jpg

F1 Academy was swiftly born, and Wolff could not be happier with what she has witnessed so far, even if she recognises that "people want hard data" because "this is motorsport and data is king.”

"What's challenging for me is that we're not a governing body, so I'm not out to try and increase license holders, and I don't have access to that data anyway," she said.

"I'm also creating opportunities off track, which is very difficult to track what impact it's having, who is going on to study STEM subjects because they want to work with Formula 1 one day, for example. We have a much wider mission anyway, with a vision of trying to change perceptions in the sport.

"With the huge exposure we've managed to gather in year one, and bearing in mind that we have nearly all the F1 broadcasters with us, the fact we're racing with F1, that we have brands like Charlotte Tilbury and Tommy Hilfiger helping us reach a brand new audience, I think we really are changing that perception.

"We're giving that huge female fan base the impression that, 'Okay, this sport isn't just for men', and I think that's one of the big hurdles that we have to break down, particularly for the next generation.

"They need to see these young women in race suits, on the pit wall and in the garages for them to believe that they can do it. I don't have the hard numbers and the data, but I certainly feel a wave of impact."

ian wolff interview pic 5.jpg

Speaking in Abu Dhabi at the time, ahead of F1 Academy's conclusion to the season in the country, Wolff highlighted a Champions of the Future kart race that took place 20 minutes away.

"We've never had so much female participation – 25 per cent –and when you speak to those in the world of karting, they're calling it the F1 Academy effect," she said.

"They have never seen so many little girls now turning up to the race track with their parents and saying, 'Okay, we want to race because our clear goal is to get our daughter to F1 Academy'.

"So, I think we've established that destination, and we're seeing the impact. But obviously we need to see hard numbers. I think those will only come in the mid-term when we see what the seeds that we've sown now come to fruition."

As to when there will be a female driver in F1, that will always remain the over-riding question. Midway through season one of F1 Academy last year, Wolff indicated it would unlikely be for ten years. It is a comment she concedes she now often regrets.

"It makes me think that I don't have faith in the girls that are racing now, and that would be unfair, because, like we've seen this year with Abbi, if you give someone a chance, you never know quite what they're capable of.”  

ian wolff interview pic 6.jpg

"In the end, I don't want the success of F1 Academy to be judged on if I get one girl into Formula 1. I think it will come down to finding that exceptional talent because to make it to F1 you need to be exceptional.

"But you also need to have the right trajectory, and that means having the funding, getting into the right team and getting noticed by the right people. The more that we are existing, the more the involvement from the Formula 1 teams, means they will know when we come across an outstanding talent."

Referencing 14-year-old Luna Fluxa Cross, who joined Mercedes' Junior Driver Programme two years ago and who recently won the Champions of the Future Academy senior category, Wolff added: "If Mercedes is now backing her to get testing in an F4 car quite early, that's a young girl, from a very young age, who has had the right support around her.

"With the right amount of track time, who knows? But then who also knows, with the talent we [in F1 Academy] have now? Let's see what Abbi can do in GB3, and let's see if she can make that move up into F3.

"But I certainly feel that we need to have more participation for us to find that outstanding talent."

Images courtesy of Getty Images.  

  • race

  • modern

  • F1 Academy

  • interview

  • Susie Wolff

  • forces of inspiration

  • susie-wolff-f1-academy-2023-mi-main.jpg

    Formula 1

    Susie Wolff: A female F1 driver is still eight to ten years away

  • f1 academy expands MAIN.jpg

    Modern

    F1 Academy to expand to 18-car grid from 2025

  • f1 academy 2025 calendar.jpg MAIN 2.jpg

    Modern

    2025 F1 Academy calendar

Seasonal savings in our winter sale

Shop Now
Video Alt Text