The F1 Academy chief, Susie Wolff, has hailed Formula 1’s decision to back the all-women series as a “landmark moment” in motor sport. From next season all 10 F1 teams will nominate one driver and display their colours on one car competing in the series that launched this year.
F1 Academy’s five teams – ART Grand Prix, Campos Racing, MP Motorsport, PREMA Racing and Rodin Carlin – each run three cars and three drivers. From 2024, 10 of these 15 drivers will be supported by F1 teams. The details of the drivers and liveries will be confirmed at a later time, F1 said in its announcement of the groundbreaking deal on Wednesday.
“First and foremost, I want to thank the Formula 1 teams for their support and vision as we embark on this journey together,” said Wolff. “This landmark moment not only demonstrates the depth of support for F1 Academy from across the F1 community but will inspire a whole generation of young girls to realise the opportunities both on and off track in motorsport. I am confident that we will have a positive impact across our sport in the long term.”
Stefano Domenicali, the boss of Formula 1, said: “We created F1 Academy to bring about real and lasting change to ensure young female talent have the right system in place to follow and achieve their dreams. Today is a very important moment as it shows the impact the project is having and the support it is receiving from across the F1 community.
“Susie, the teams, and everyone involved are working tirelessly to ensure we go from strength to strength and continue to deliver on the important objective we have set out together. In 2024 the F1 Academy will join our race calendar, raising the awareness and profile of the series globally and to have the F1 liveries on the grid will be something very special.”
More to follow