The Female Future of F1

Published: Thursday, June 11, 2026

by Madeline Fournier

Abbi Pulling has just made history as the first woman to win a race in the GB3 racing
format. This is wildly important because before Abbi Pulling was racing in GB3–the British Formula 3 racing series–she was the champion of a program started by former Formula 1 test driver, Susie Wolff called F1 Academy. F1 Academy was designed to be a Formula 4 equivalent that was only open to female drivers to
try and encourage more women into the world of racing and give them opportunities in the
racing world.

 

Pulling raced in F1 Academy for 2 years, during its maiden year in 2023, and then again
in 2024 when she won the Championship. In total she had 9 wins, 10 pole positions, and 21
podiums. Winning the Championship her second year though came with a huge advantage, each
season of F1 Academy, the champion walks away with their next year of racing fully funded by
the CEO and Founder, Susie Wolff. This money funded Pulling’s season this year in GB3 where
she has had excellent results all season, including this first win in the series for her or any
woman, proving she has what it takes to move up the ranks towards the goal of F1.

This is a very big deal for women everywhere in motorsport. Previously there had been
female F1 drivers, most notably Lella Lombardi who was the most successful of the 5 female
drivers ever with 12 starts and she even scored half a point after coming in 6th at the 1975
Spanish Grand Prix. However, since 1992 there have been no female F1 drivers. Only a few
women have tested cars and been part of the development series for F1 teams, like how Susie
Wolff tested for Williams in 2014 and 2015.

 

Wolff designed F1 Academy to hopefully get women back into F1 and give them more
opportunities in motorsport. So far, there have been no women in F1 since its creation, but 2
former champions of F1 Academy have shown great success in motorsport. Abbi Pulling being
one of them, breaking records and making history in GB3. Doraine Pin was the F1 Academy
champion last year in 2025, and since then she has joined Mercedes-AMG F1 team as a
development driver, making her the first woman to ever drive a Mercedes F1 car. Pin is also
currently competing in the ELMS endurance series and will be competing at the prestigious 24
Hours of Le Mans race in June.

 

Now, in its 4th year, the F1 Academy championship is being led by Alisha Palmowski
and is showing no signs of stopping its momentum. The opportunities it has afforded female
drivers across the entirety of motorsport has been incredible. Both Abbi Pulling and Doriane Pin
have broken records and made history since their championship wins in 2024 and 2025. Susie
Wolff’s goal of providing opportunities to women and girls has opened doors for them even
outside of F1 Academy, with certain F1 teams like McLaren taking on girls in their Driver
Development Programs. F1 Academy is taking great strides in opening doors for girls in
motorsport, and with the success of drivers like Abbi Pulling making headlines across the world,
F1 Academy is only growing stronger, adding hope to girls everywhere that we will see a great
female driver back in F1 soon.

 

For more information reach out to Madeline Fournier at madeline.fournier@student.shu.edu 

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