Netflix F1 Academy star: 'No reason' women can't race in Formula 1
'I know there’s not [a difference between men and women], because I did it'
An ex-professional racer who stars in Netflix’s new F1: The Academy says there’s no reason women can’t compete in the top levels of motorsports with men.
“I know there’s not [a difference between men and women], because I did it,” says Susie Wolff, the managing director of F1 Academy, a Formula 1 initiative designed to develop and support female drivers, which is the subject of the new Netflix show.
As an ex-professional Formula 3 racer who was also a test driver for Williams F1, Wolff started karting at eight years old and carved out a space for herself in a sport that, for decades, had little interest in making room for women.
Now, she’s front and centre of F1: The Academy, a documentary from Reece Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine, which follows a cohort of 18 female racers aiming to get to motorsport’s highest level.
It challenges what Wolff believes is one of the sport’s most persistent myths: that women are somehow inherently less capable of competing in Formula 1.
She says that’s an outdated, inaccurate stereotype, because there’s “no difference” between men and women drivers.
“How good a driver you are isn’t dependent on your gender,” Wolff tells The Female Lead, “it’s your character traits as an individual that determine if you’re capable of being one of the best or not.”
“It doesn’t just come down to physicality, it comes down to hand-eye coordination, balance, peripheral vision, your ability to multitask,” she told The Female Lead.
She adds, “There are also some terrible male drivers as well.”
So why aren’t there any women in F1?
On this, Wolff is clear: what’s been lacking is the financial support, visibility and industry backing.
For many of the drivers in F1 Academy, this is the first time they’ve raced in front of the kind of audiences the sport can command – and the first time they’ve been given the tools to thrive.
A place in the academy includes €150,000 subsidies per car from Formula 1, direct links to F1 teams for guidance and exposure, and brand partnerships that bring in funding and help widen the sport’s reach.
“The truth is, the sport isn’t segregated,” Wolff explains, noting that there’s no rule preventing women from competing in Formula 1. “Women have every chance to succeed both on and off the track.”
Now, with F1 Academy lowering costs, building audiences and securing backing from brands like Charlotte Tilbury, Tommy Hilfiger and PUMA, that opportunity is finally starting to look real. These partnerships support everything from free karting and scholarships to custom race suits and gear.
“In my lifetime, I didn’t even think we’d ever see this moment where all the stakeholders are investing to create opportunities for young women,” Wolff says. “That’s something which needs to be applauded.”
She built F1 Academy with longevity in mind – as a serious commercial venture designed to attract sponsors and deliver results. “There's a lot of investment coming into women's sports… but we do need to disrupt in a way,” she says. “We needed to show we were doing things differently to attract a new audience, to change the perception that it’s a man’s world and will always be a man’s world.”
“I’m just so convinced that it's more about creating role models and increasing the talent pool, because I absolutely believe that it’s possible,” Wolff explains.
One of the most powerful tools to do that? Storytelling.
Netflix’s previous Drive to Survive show helped double F1’s female fan base from 8% in 2017 to over 42% today, and Wolff is hoping F1: The Academy might do the same for the women’s championship.
Every driver in the show deserves to be there, Wolff says.
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“To put yourself in the ring and go for it – that commands respect,” she says. “Not all of them can go on to big careers in the sport, but all of them can be proud of how far they’ve come.”
Wolff hopes this visibility will continue to shift the culture of racing, proving, without a doubt, that women belong there.
“It’s just about finding the balance. Women’s sport has to deliver at the same time it’s receiving investment. But if it’s entertaining, it will create fandom – and fandom helps the whole model to fly.”