Formula 1: On track with bringing women into the sport?

OPINION: Ceara Dwyer

2023 brings new opportunities for women in motorsport, with Formula 1 announcing a new all-women series set to begin this year. This comes after the W Series, pioneered in 2018 to allow women enter the world of motorsport free of charge, was cut three races short last year due to lack of funding.

The last woman to ever race in an F1 grand prix was Giovanna Amati, who competed over 30 years ago, taking part in just three races in 1992.

Since then, women have remained the minority in the sport both on and off the track, despite always technically being eligible to compete and work in the sport.

The main issue is, of course, lack of funding, but also a lack of opportunities for young girls to get into karting, and eventually progress and move up the ranks. This is not due to unwillingness on women’s part, but with no backing and a pre-assumption that they won’t make it to F1 mean very little opportunities are presented to women to enter the world of motorsport.

I think schools especially should encourage girls to get involved with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) subjects on a more regular basis, and outline the many careers that STEAM leads into.

For example, F1 in Schools Ireland is a competition designed to challenge young people in the areas of STEAM to design, build, and race a working miniature F1 car. This competition encourages students to reach their full potential and enter the exciting world of motorsport and Formula 1 in general.

The Midlands is well represented in the F1 in Schools Competition 2023 with teams from Athlone Community College, Marist College, Moate Community School, and Our Lady’s Bower competing.

I am currently taking part in the F1 in Schools competition as Team Manager of P1oneer Racing, an all-female team from Our Lady’s Bower. I feel this competition has given me a great insight into the background of Formula 1, and how much work goes into not just manufacturing a racing car, but managing the team behind it with budgeting, sponsorships, and marketing roles. My team considers the inclusion of women in F1 to be of the upmost importance as we all have a passion for the sport.

Ciara Hughes, Manufacturing Engineer at P1oneer Racing, agreed there is an opportunity to break down barriers in motorsport. “A lot of women and young girls are afraid to get involved in F1 and motorsport as in the past it was considered to be a men’s sport. It is important that we change this attitude and encourage women to get involved and make motorsport something everyone can enjoy,” she said.

I also spoke to Laoise McNamara, Team Manager of Trajectory Racing, another Our Lady's Bower entrant in F1 in Schools Ireland, who said: “Our team sees F1 in Schools as a great opportunity to promote STEAM subjects to other girls and to hopefully encourage them to consider science and engineering as exciting and enjoyable options for the future.

“Currently there are no female role models on the track in Formula 1 but off track there are a number of females working at all levels within the various F1 teams such as Red Bull’s principal strategy engineer, Hannah Schmitz, who has contributed hugely to Red Bull’s success in recent years,” she continued.

I hope one day to see a woman make it into the world of Formula 1, and sooner rather than later. Hopefully F1’s new series will give women a well-deserved chance to break into the sport and succeed.