Despite major inroads in recent times, women are still struggling to find enough opportunities to race in motorsport.
A recent all-female Formula E test was a step in the right direction, but hasn’t done much to boost the full-time hopes of many drivers.
As is typical, those who shine in motorsport get the opportunities, and the best from that day of testing included Abbi Pulling – who is very much on some people’s radar, and Jamie Chadwick, who is well already well known.
Beneath F1 Academy, which is Formula 1’s feeder series for women, there appears to be very little funding and little opportunity – so what is making the situation worse?
Sophia Floersch criticises F1 Academy travel costs
F1 Academy has just released its new calendar for the 2025 season, consisting of seven races spread out across different months of the year.
Looking at things such as the effective two-month gap between each of the first four races – the majority of which are all in different continents, it’s easy to see why there would be complaints.
Formula 3 star Sophia Floersch has taken to X (formerly known as Twitter), to complain about the potential costs of travel and a lack of funding below the series.
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“There is no founding after F1A! You should research who receives the F1A sponsorship money,” she said. “The travel costs themselves are quickly k€100. A lot of money for hopes.
“Are the drivers allowed to provide information about what they receive from sponsors? Where does the money go? The truth of the career will come to light after the F1A.
“But then nobody writes about it anymore. Did the F1A report on the results of the girls in the FRECA? Was F1A still interested in Marta Garcia?”
Are there limitations for F1 Academy?
Judging by the demands of other series such as Formula 2, 3, and the Porsche Super Cup, it has always been a logistical nightmare to cram all the series into one day of a Formula 1 event.
Adding both the W-Series and F1 Academy to that cluster in recent times has been a challenge, but there’s no excuse why the championship cannot at least attempt to make more geographical sense.
Sending drivers from the Middle East for the season opener, before heading to Miami and then back to Europe makes little sense.
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With both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia together in April, putting those two together would work, while sending them to Imola (far less travel) instead of Miami just a week later is a good idea too.
After Imola, there would be a shorter break before Barcelona and Zandvoort, but most of these races are bunched together with more sense, saving money and providing drivers with more opportunities elsewhere.
There’s a long way to go for F1 Academy, and female participation in motorsport as a whole, and today was another reminder of the work there is yet to be done.