Formula 1 hasn’t had a female driver since 1976 and, according to the sport’s CEO, Stefano Domenicali, this is unlikely to change in the next five years, but he believes that there are steps being put in place to allow for the opportunity for women to make their way into the sport. With prominent racing team McLaren appointing Bianca Bustamente as a development driver and all 10 Formula 1 teams taking part in the F1 Academy, a new all-female feeder series in the sport, Formula 1 is starting to take female athletes and fans more seriously, giving them the credit they deserve.

“I started watching Formula 1 and noticed it was a predominantly, if not all, male sport, and now seeing how Bianca Bustamante is in a new wave of drivers who could possibly be included and change the face of Formula 1 is inspiring for women to pursue career paths and know there is a possibility for them to make an impact in motorsport,” Aksanaa Sakthi (’25) said.

Previously, the sport had been male-dominated not only in regard to the drivers, the engineers and the people in leadership, but also with its viewers and fans. In recent years however, the sport has seen a massive increase in female viewership. Domenicali states that now about 40% of fans of the sport are now women, up from 8% in just 2017. Due to this rapid increase in female fans, people at the head of the sport have started to make a conscious effort to ensure the involvement of women in all aspects of the sport.

“I’m pleased that Bianca is joining our program,” Director of McLaren Racing Driver Development Emanuelo Pirro said in a statement on the Mclaren website. “She’s a promising young talent with a brilliant work ethic and is aligned closely with our team’s values. We’re excited for Bianca to represent the F1 Academy series team and look forward to seeing her race in Papaya in 2024.”

Bianca Bustamente, an 18-year-old F1 Academy Racer, is the first female driver to join McLaren’s developmental program, and she is making history by paving the way for other young women looking to break into the sport. She has participated in motorsports since she was 5-years-old and has dreamed of breaking into racing at the highest level, but being a woman from the Philippines, F1 is a very difficult and expensive sport to break into. She has been a very promising talent in motorsport, winning many karting championships all across Asia. McLaren’s development program is set up to spot talent and mold these drivers into future F1 drivers. McLaren racing is one of the oldest teams with one of the most respected legacies in the sport, with many world-class racers getting their start on the team such as seven-time World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton. McLaren is one of the 10 Formula 1 teams to announce their participation in F1 Academy, with all teams taking part in order to boost the sport’s diversity.

For the first time, F1 Academy races will begin to be held as supporting events during the Formula 1 Championship as a way to develop young female drivers for the opportunity to drive in higher levels of motorsport. The hope for F1 Academy is to make Formula 1 more accessible to women and to ensure equal opportunities in the sport. 10 of the 15 drivers were backed and nominated by a Formula 1 team. This support from the F1 community and the launching of a new global initiative hoping to increase the female talent pool in motorsport such as karting and F1 Academy Discover Your Drive allows for generations of young girls to realize they have the potential and opportunity to have a career in the sport and race at the highest levels.

“As a young female viewer F1’s willingness to accept women in all aspects of the sport has made me realize I could possibly pursue a career in the sport and that this recent focus on women and their inclusion in the sport is just getting started,” Sakthi said.

Teenage girls have been the largest growing fanbase and Formula 1 has made strides in including their burgeoning female audience. In recent years catering to this increase of female interest and viewership has been a priority of the sport in assuring its success in the future. The increased viewership of women has certainly aided in the struggle for not only female drivers but for female reporters, mechanics and engineers to be taken seriously. Susie Wolff, the director of F1 Academy, believes that the sport has been making changes to include women in the sport and allow for the new generation of aspiring female drivers to have role models to look up to within the sport. Wolff has been a long time champion for women’s inclusion in all aspects of the sport. Women have been breaking barriers in the sport and are pushing their way into the forefront of Formula 1 by making their presence known by making themselves vital to the continuing success of the sport.

“Really happy to hear of the progress [F1 Academy’s] made,” Hamilton said in a statement to F1 “She’s [Susie Wolff] really fighting for that inclusivity, so, I think it’s really great the steps we are taking. Really happy to hear that all of Formula 1 is onboard.”