Elite female racing driver explains real reason why there are no women driving in F1

A female racing driver has explained why there are no women currently racing in Formula 1.

In the history of the sport, only five women have competed in an F1 Grand Prix - and none since 1992.

In the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix - which was abandoned due to a crash that killed four people - Lella Lombardi became the first and only woman to score points in F1.

Various women have been test and development drivers for F1 teams, with Susie Wolff competing in four free practice sessions for Williams across the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

It is over in the United States, notably in the IndyCar series, where women have had far more success in single-seater cars.

Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an IndyCar race back in 2008, while Simona De Silvestro - who was planned to drive for Sauber in F1 in 2015 at one stage - recorded a podium finish in Houston in 2012.

.@DanicaPatrick, trailblazer 👏

In 2008, she became the first woman to win an #INDYCAR race at Twin Ring Motegi.

🎙️: @JoeyMulinaro pic.twitter.com/54iUO9ev8b

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) December 15, 2023

There is an all-female team competing in the World Endurance Championship, with five drivers in total competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans earlier this month.

And F1 Academy, a F4-equivalent female-only category, was set up in 2023 and only allows female drivers to compete, with the ultimate aim of eventually getting a driver into Formula 1.

All 10 F1 teams support the series and each have a driver who races using their car's branding.

Abbi Pulling won last year's title, earning herself a fully-funded seat in the GB3 Championship for this season.

For most of the competitors, funding is a significant issue in terms of progressing much further than that level - but there are other major hurdles.

Carrie Schreiner, who competed for Sauber in the 2023 and 2024 editions of F1 Academy and won one race, gave her view on what is also preventing female drivers from getting close to Formula 1 at the current time.

"There are too few girls," she told Bild. "That's why it will probably take a few more years.

"The problem is that you need a Super Licence for Formula 1. To get one, you need 40 points - you get those in the junior series like Formula 2 or Formula 3. You have to get in there and then be at the front or win races. No woman has ever managed that.

"Whoever wins the [F1 Academy] season gets 10 points. You don't get the Formula 1 cockpit for free.

"No team boss can say: I'm putting a woman in the car now, just because she's a woman. That's not realistic.

"We women are being supported [in F1 Academy] and everyone out there is being shown that this is not just a man's sport. We need to be more confident. The more girls take part, the greater the chance that one of them might make it at some point."

The current F1 Academy championship leader is French driver Doriane Pin, who finished second behind Pulling last season and is part of the Mercedes junior team.

In an interview in December, Lewis Hamilton named 21-year-old Pin as one of two drivers he would choose to race for his own F1 team.

"She's a bada**," he said. "If I were to make a team... maybe one day I will... it'll be diverse from the beginning."