F1 Academy, one more step for women towards Formula 1?

In our country, only two women have achieved the feat of taking the controls of an F1 car, although none of them had the opportunity to do so in a Grand Prix. the deceased Maria de Villota went down in historyin addition to signing numerous achievements and several records in other categories, for being the first Spanish driver in Formula 1. The woman from Madrid collaborated with the Renault F1 Team to present some corporate events and take part in a test at the Paul Ricard circuit, and later, in 2012, signed as a test driver for the Marussia team.

A tragic accident in that same year at Duxford aerodrome, United Kingdom, ended the progression of María de Villota and a year later she would die from neurological lesions suffered on impact. Despite her short career, the Madrid driver sowed a legacy that still lives on among girls taking their first steps in the world of motorsports.

Carmen Jorda is another of the proper names that has shown that F1 for women is an achievable goal. The woman from Alicante competed in many championships and at the age of 26 managed to make the leap to the motorsport elite with the signing of her as a development driver for the Lotus F1 Team.

In recent times, women have been gaining a greater role in the motor world and the Spanish academy has more and more examples of this. Cristina Gutiérrez, Marta García, Laia Sanz, Ángela Vilariño, Emma Falcon, Belén García or Nerea Martí are some of the great references in our country who follow in the footsteps set by De Villota in different disciplines.

a male story

However, and despite the advances that are being made in favor of equal opportunities, the dream of Formula 1 seems distant. In fact, the premier motorsports category, in its 73-year history, only has five women who have participated in a Grand Prix. It was the Italian Maria Teresa de Filippis who opened a space for women with her participation in five Grand Prix in 1958 and 1959. Years later, her compatriot Lella Lombardi, the British Divina Galica, the South African Desiré Wilson and the also Italian Giovanna Amati they continued their milestone by running officially in the category. Neverthelesssince Amati’s last participation in 1992, F1 has not had a woman in its ranks again.

a faulty trampoline

With the intention of giving those opportunities that were being denied to female pilots, in 2019 the W-Series, a women-only championship in which men pulled the strings like Adrian Newley (Red Bull chief designer), david coulthard (former F1 driver) or Matt Bishop (former communication director of McLaren).

“At the heart of the DNA of the W Series is the firm belief that women can compete equally with men in motorsport,” said the announcement of the birth of a project that would be exclusively for women.

The criticism was not long in coming. A part of the motoring world denounced that far from promoting equality, the W-Series encouraged the separation between men and women. Three seasons later (in 2020 it was not played due to the coronavirus pandemic) the competition has not met its goal of bringing women closer to Formula 1 and the problem continues. In fact, the championship has served to elevate the name of the British Jamie Chadwickwho, despite having won the three titles disputed, has not had the opportunity to make the leap to F2 or F3, the most common path to F1, and this year he will race in the North American Indy NXT for lack of something better.

On the other handthe state of health of the W-Series is not the best. Last season the last two Grands Prix were not held, in the United States and Mexico, due to fundraising problems and the news of this early end generated a great controversy about the lack of aid from Formula 1 and the big companies. institutions to avoid the sad outcome. The controversy even reached British Parliamentwho pointed out that greater support for women’s sports is necessary.

The seven-time world champion also came out to denounce the situation lewis hamilton. “With the organization, with Formula 1 and Liberty doing so well, it wasn’t much of an effort for them to help them. We have to do more to encourage young women. Not enough attention has been given to women in the sport in the entire history of Formula 1. And now not enough emphasis is being placed on it, ”said the Mercedes driver at the Austin GP press conference last month October.

A new category of training

Now, after several unsuccessful attempts, Formula One seems to be fully involved in the creation of the F1 Academy, a new category that allows female pilots to achieve that long-awaited dream of fighting with the best in the ‘Great Circus’. The objective of this new category, which will feature the British Susie Wolff As CEO, it is none other than preparing young drivers to reach higher categories of racing, including the W-Series, Formula 3, Formula 2 and of course Formula 1.

The new championship, which has received strong support from Formula 1 senior officials, is co-founded by the CEO of F2 and F3 and by Stefano Domenicalipresident and CEO of F1, who defended “to be doing everything possible to create greater diversity and routes to this incredible sport.”

The competition, which will start on April 28 at the Spielberg circuit (Austria), will be made up of five teams, which unlike the W-Series, will not belong to the organization, but will be private and run by current Formula 2 and Formula 3 teams. The French formation, ART Grand Prixthe Italian Prema Racingthe Dutch MP Motorsportthe british Rodin Carlin and the Spanish racing fields They will form the grid of 15 drivers, three for each team.

Longest track time

One of the most important aspects of this category will be track time. And it is that, the calendar will have seven events of three races each, making a total of 21 races. In addition, you have to add 15 days of official tests throughout the season. All these sessions will help the pilots gain valuable experience at the controls of the single-seaters, leaving aside the more technical aspects, to focus on the preparation both physically and mentally that the athletes will receive.

The drivers will get behind the wheel of the Tatuus T421 chassiswith motors supplied by Autotecnica with 174 horsepower and 13-inch Pirelli tires. Something much more manageable than the single-seaters of the W-Series, which were closer to the F3.

Likewise, F1 Academy will be cheaper than other junior categories. Formula 1 will contribute 150,000 euros as a subsidy for the cost of the car and the drivers will have to contribute the same amount of money, while the rest of the necessary expenses will be covered by the teams themselves.

Spanish representation

The F1 Academy has a strong Spanish accent with the participation of a benchmark team in our country, such as Campos Racing, which will have the Valencian pilot among its ranks Nerea Martithe French Lola Lovinfosse and the Uruguayan Maite Cáceres.

After finishing in seventh position in the W-Series last season, Martí was enthusiastic about racing with Campos Racing this inaugural season of this new category: “It is an excellent new opportunity to continue taking steps forward in my sports career and I have no doubt that together Campos Racing and I will be able to meet all our goals“.

For his part, the team manager, Adrian Campos Jr., defined Martí as “one of the most competitive drivers in recent seasons”. “I am sure that we will achieve good results together. It is exciting to have a Valencian driver in a Valencian team and fight for an international championship,” he said.

But, the presence of Spain in this championship does not stop here. And it is that, of the seven circuits that the competition will visit, two will be in our country, making Spain the only State that repeats. Thus, the F1 Academy will run in Valencia, at Ricardo Tormothe weekend of May 5 to 7 and in Barcelona, ​​in the Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunyaon May 19, 20 and 21.

With this new championship, Formula 1 will seek to pave the way a bit so that women have more tools with which to break down those insurmountable walls that throughout history have prevented them from succeeding in the premier class. They, for their part, will not save a drop of sweat to conquer that dream. Meanwhile, Your work and dedication will serve the girls and adolescents as gasoline in the form of motivation. Because they are the ones who should assume the baton left by figures as great as María de Villota so that women continue to conquer spaces in motorsports and in the world.