EXCLUSIVE: Pundit hails Susie Wolff's F1 Academy approach after American winner

Susie Wolff smiles at the premiere for the Ferrari movie — Photo: © IMAGO

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EXCLUSIVE: Pundit hails Wolff's F1 Academy approach after American winner

Jennie Gow details how W Series laid foundation for F1 Academy to succeed

Jim Kimberley

Tuesday 25 June 2024 22:00

F1 Academy welcomed a new winner in Barcelona, as American racer Chloe Chambers took victory in Race 2.

Although Abbi Pulling is leading the way, the victory for Chambers marks a sign of the advancement each driver can take.

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Chambers wasn't one of the 15 representatives in 2023's inaugural season, but the Haas-affiliated racer did contest the curtailed 2022 W Series championship.

It's a timely reminder to show how far female representation is growing, with Chambers' result coming just one day before 2024's International Women in Engineering Day.

F1 'totally behind' F1 Academy

"W Series is a very different prospect to F1 Academy," begins Gow, reflecting on the short-lived championship that ran out of money to continue in 2022.

"For all of its rhetoric of wanting to improve the sport and find more females to come into the sport, it lacked the pulling power because F1 didn't support it. So, to me, the big difference is that F1 is totally behind the F1 Academy.

"It's part of what they are now. It's a massive brand. It's a good brand for them to have, and they have all the branding, marketing, and advertising opportunities that go along with it.

"You see Charlotte Tilbury on the grid in Miami and all of the F1 presenters and people involved with F1 have gone into the F1 Academy paddock to go and get their makeup done by the Charlotte Tilbury desk in the F1 Academy hospitality.

"So that sort of link, that sort of experience changes the game."

Wolff has 'clear approach'

Gow continued to explain that the trajectory of F1 Academy is thanks to the direction of the championship's Managing Director, Susie Wolff.

"With Susie Wolff behind it, they have a clear approach that they are taking to gain momentum, traction, and to try and achieve what's never been done before.

"That is to really have a feeder series that will be that: a feeder series into the other junior categories that will promote good racing amongst females.

"[W Series] was massive for all of those careers, and it was an amazing platform for people to actually find a voice, find what they were good at.

"Yes, they were aiming at drivers who are slightly older, who probably didn't have a chance of trying to cross over and go through all the categories they would need to come to F1 at the right time.

"But they were the foundation of everything we are now and everything we have now, so their role didn't diminish."

Gow praises Chadwick's achievements

W Series saw Britain's Jamie Chadwick become its champion in all three seasons of the sport, and she is now making history in Indy NXT.

Gow, however, is frustrated that the 26-year-old driver had to go across the pond to continue her career.

"As far as Jamie's concerned, I still find it hard to know that there was someone so talented who I've followed since she was in Ginetta Juniors that couldn't get the backing to be in F1 or to at least try.

"Hopefully that is now not a problem for the junior drivers who are coming through. "They will have a defined route, and they will be helped enough by F1 to go through all the different formulas."

F1 Toto Wolff Haas F1 Academy Abbi Pulling W Series