F1 Academy - remarkable decade claim made

The F1 Academy has done 'more for women in motorsport in a month than has been done in 10 years'.

That is the astonishing claim made by Carlin deputy team principal, Stephanie Carlin.

The Farnham-based junior team has been at the forefront of developing young talent for F1, helping to launch the careers of numerous world champions and no fewer than seven of the drivers on last season's F1 grid.

The F1 Academy was announced at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and is the sport's effort to increase the opportunities for young female talent in motorsport, combining a 15-car, all-female series into the existing 'career ladder' alongside F3 and F2.

Carlin is one of the five teams that will run three cars in the series that gets underway next year, with deputy team principal Stephanie praising the initiative.

"F1 Academy has already done more for women in motorsport in the last month than has been the case for the last 10 years," said Carlin.

"For the first time, the top teams in junior motorsport are speaking exclusively with women drivers about races, test programmes and driver development.

"These are conversations that happen with leading junior drivers every season.

"However, due to the under-representation of women in the sport, these are almost always conversations exclusively with men.

"As preparations for F1 Academy now start to gather pace, there has already been so much progress and positive momentum."

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