F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff said at the US Grand Prix that it was crucial the series succeeded in the coming years if motorsport was to increase competitor gender diversity. Wolff said that F1 Academy needed to be more than just another racing series. Wolff said that she was already seeing progress as a result of the exposure F1 Academy and its various recruitment programmes were giving to the concept of women becoming racing drivers. “I said: ‘Yes, we’re not here as a flashy series that is trying to gain exposure and give 15 young drivers the lime light. The sport wants to give opportunities to women and if I think of a 19-year-old girl zipping up the Ferrari race suit next year, that’s a powerful image that I can’t quantify in numbers.

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