Susie Wolff claims there is ‘no chance of diversity’ if F1 Academy doesn’t work

Susie Wolff is the managing director of the F1 Academy series.

Susie Wolff claims there is ‘no chance of diversity’ if F1 Academy doesn’t work

Susie Wolff (Credits: Goodwood)

Formula 1, as a sport, has primarily been dominated by male drivers since its inception in the 1950s. While the pinnacle of motor racing has evolved by leaps and bounds, female participation has still been an issue. Over the last few decades, women’s participation has almost vanished in F1, and to rectify this, F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff is banking all his time and effort on the F1 Academy series.

The F1 Academy’s sole motive is to grow the participation of female drivers in F1 in the upcoming years of the sport. Susie Wolff ardently believes that if the project doesn’t work, it might prove to be the last throw of the dice to make sure that women are considered as real contenders for F1 seats in the future years.

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I'm very conscious of this just not being a flash in the pan, something shiny new, and then it just dies away. That would be a huge regret if that does happen. Because then there is no chance for wider diversity in the sport. I think, if this doesn't function, nothing's going to function.
Susie Wolff said, as reported by Motorsport,

She further highlighted the importance of expanding the series beyond 15 drivers as she believes if that doesn’t happen the series might perish in years.

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 I would have loved the luxury of it just being a race series with 15 young drivers that could have existed and been rocket fuel to progression. It has to be something much more because we will simply run out of drivers in a few years if we don't do more than just exist as a race series.

Susie Wolff indicates that all the F1 teams are not convinced about the F1 Academy project

While Susie Wolff has made it her life’s mission to make the F1 Academy series a grand success, he has admitted that some of the F1 teams have their doubts about whether the series would be able to deliver as per expectations. 

They've all taken a leap of faith to join us on this mission and we need to make sure that we are delivering a strong package.
Formula 1 (Credits: Mercedes AMG PETRONAS)
Formula 1 (Credits: Mercedes AMG PETRONAS)

Looking at Wolff’s comment, it is quite clear that while she is optimistic about the venture, some of the F1 teams don’t necessarily share the same optimism around it.

One team principal, in particular, said to me: ‘F1 Academy is just putting a plaster on the problem, are you actually going to try to fix the problem?

Lewis Hamilton, the former 7-time world champion, has, on several occasions in the past, shown his support for diversity in F1. He genuinely feels women’s participation is the right way forward, and considering this, it is going to be fascinating to see whether the series will deliver results or just fade away after a few years of trial runs.