WOMEN IN MOTORSPORT – BREAKING BARRIERS
Women In Motorsport: Breaking Barriers
Whilst motorsports has always been a primarily male-dominated space, women have been breaking barriers and changing the landscape of the sport since the mid-20th century. Maria Teresa de Filippis was the first; she geared up her engine in 1958, awaiting the flag to indicate the beginning of the 1958 Belgian Grand Prix.
As the 24 laps went underway, she historically crossed the line in 10th, marking herself as the first woman to ever participate in a Grand Prix weekend. Teresa de Filippis withdrew from the 1958 season; her incredible efforts inspired and paved the way for future drivers like Lella Lombardi, who qualified to compete in the 1975 South African Grand Prix that another woman would be seen in a F1 car.
Lombardi famously made history when she scored her first point in her second race at the subsequent race in Spain becoming the first- and to date, the last – woman to score a point in F1.
Since then, there hasn’t been a female driver to compete in an F1 Grand Prix. Despite this fact, women have been making history in a variety of series, showcasing talent and highlighting role models for young girls, which has increased the participation of women.
The growth of female participation across all levels of racing has increased to 10% in recent years, with an average of 13% in karting and 7% in Formula and GT Racing. Despite the slow progress, change is happening, and with initiatives like F1 Academy and Formula E’s all-woman test day, more eyes are recognising the talent shaping a more inclusive future in racing for women.
Shaping A Generation:
Since Teresa de Fillippis’s historic debut, the motorsports landscape has evolved significantly, with Susie Wolff paving the way for the next generation. Teresa began her career when she was just eight years old. She went into karting winning the 24-hour Middle East Championship and also grabbing the Scottish Junior Intercontinental A titles that year as well.
She won the British Woman Karting Driver of the year award for four consecutive years following this. After her years in karting she made the next step up into Formula Renault, in 2000 she debuted in British Formula 3 where she raced for a year before moving to DTM which kick started a seven year career, claiming two seven place finishes which meant she was a first time point scorer in Germany’s most competitive series.
In 2015, Wolff made headlines becoming the first woman in over two decades to take to the track with an F1 car participating in four practice sessions throughout her time as a Williams development driver. The following year Wolff retired from racing, deciding she wanted to dedicate her time to inspiring young women and increasing female participation throughout motorsports.
She created the scheme Dare to be Different (now known as Girls on Track) which helped girls from the ages of 8-14 on their racing careers whilst also focusing on increasing the number of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
Wolff became the CEO of Formula E’s Venturi Racing, achieving a successful season in 2022 when the team secured second place in the standings.
After all of her achievements she was awarded an MBE for her dedication to increasing . Taking a step back in 2022 Wolff joined Formula One Management, where she became the managing director of F1 Academy, an initiative looking to bring more woman into motorsports, making the feeder series more financially viable for drivers and providing the necessary spotlight to grab attention for female racing drivers.
Breaking Records:
Continuing on with building a legacy, Jamie Chadwick is a prominent name within motorsports, taking the usual pathway into motorsports through karting, she claimed a variety of championships before moving into the Ginetta Scholarship Program, where she won the British GT Championship – becoming the first ever woman to do so.
She claimed a further championship after dominating in the W Series in its inaugural season in 2019. That year she notably joined Williams Driver Academy, she continued to dominate for a further two years before the three-time before moving across the sea’s to America.
Chadwick joined the Andretti Global family, beginning her campaign in Indy NXT as the first full-time woman in the series in 13 years.
The first season was a learning year for Chadwick who rounded off the year in 13th overall in the championship, securing five Top 10’s in 14 races. Heading into her sophomore season in the series, Chadwick started the year off well, securing her maiden podium around the Indianapolis Road Course.
Success continued to follow her throughout the season with Chadwick claiming pole position at Road America before cruising onto winning her first race in America, the first female winner in over 10 years. Following the success of her second season, finishing seventh overall in the standings, Chadwick took the next step in her career, testing an IndyCar. She completed a total of 87 laps around the Barber Motorsports Park with Andretti’s #25.
The Next Generation:
Young drivers like 19-year-old Ella Lloyd are the next generation for women in motorsports, signalling a promising future for motorsports. The Welshwoman took a different pathway into motorsports, starting out from a young age, Lloyd participated in horse racing, competing in a variety of competitions where she won the prestigious 148 Bronze League medal with her horse.
In 2022 she decided to take the next chapter in her career and begin competitively car racing in the Ginetta Junior Championship where she excelled in her first name, bringing a spotlight to her name after scoring in 15 out of the 25 rounds of racing.
The following year she moved up in the GT Championship where she continued the momentum grabbing 10 victories, a further eight podiums and rounded out the season as vice-champion, in only her second year of car racing.
Following the incredible year, Lloyd got her first taste of single seaters when she competed in two races in Formula Winter, her call up to race full-time came a couple of months later, in her first year she grabbed two podium positions and finished in 11th overall out of 33 drivers.
After her strong performances she was called up to race in Singapore as the wild card entrant for F1 Academy, where she secured points in both races. This caught the eyes of F1 teams, including McLaren, who signed her onto their Driver Development programme.
The Next Generation:
Abbi Pulling had begun rising through the ranks in recent years, gaining a lot of attention to her name after dominating in 2024’s F1 Academy, leading with 95 points. Pulling began her career when she was eight years old, taking to the karting scene.
She quickly emerged as a top talent, securing a Double British Junior TKM Championship, becoming the most successful woman in karting. After competing in karts she made the next step up into single seaters in 2020 when she joined JHR Development for F4, where she secured four podiums in her rookie season before rounding out the season in sixth overall.
Pulling withdrew from the 2021 F4 season due to funding issues. Abbi then moved over into W Series, where she secured pole position at the Circuit of the Americas after just four races.
She continued racing in W Series until its final year before revamping into F1 Academy where she currently is in her second year racing. She has dominated in 2024 securing her seventh victory of the season in Singapore, whilst also racing in F1 Academy Pulling also participated in Formula 4 where she grabbed a victory claiming another record of being the first female to do so before grabbing a further two podiums.
Despite missing seven races due to calendar clashes with F1 Academy, she finished seventh overall in the standings.
Over the years, inspirational women like Susie Wolff have paved the way for younger generations of drivers like Jamie Chadwick, Ella Lloyd and Abbi Pulling to rise within the sport. The increase of female viewership in motorsports signals a promising trajectory, with initiatives like F1 Academy and greater female representation inspiring a new generation of women to get involved with racing, whether on track or behind the scenes.
Written By Caitlyn Gordon.
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