When will we see a successor to Leila Lombardi, the last woman to start a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1976? We will still have to wait a little longer. In 2024, Sophia Flörsch was the only woman on the grid in the highest single-seater promotion formulas, including Formula 2 and Formula 3. To find traces of other female drivers, you have to go down to FRECA where Doriane Pin and Marta Garcia were entered this season, for mixed results (no points for the two Iron Ladies drivers).
To give young female drivers a chance, Formula 1 has created, in 2023, a new championship reserved for women: the F1 Academy. This season, it was Abbi Pulling who won the title at the end of an impressive campaign (9 victories in 14 races). Thanks to this success, the 21-year-old English driver will be able to compete in the 2025 British GB3 season with the Rodin Motorsport team with which she was associated in 2024 in F1 Academy.
If the protégé of the Alpine fold dreams big and hopes to climb all the ranks of single-seaters, Abbi Pulling remains aware and considers that the physical challenge to reach Formula 1 is still too great at the moment. “I'm still aiming for F1 and I think if we see a woman there, we won't have a Max Verstappen entry at 17. A 16 year old girl wouldn't be strong enough to drive a Formula 2 car. That's the harsh reality, believes Abbi Pulling. For a more mature and developed woman, it will be easier to drive that car and fight to get into Formula 1. When – not if – we see a woman in Formula 1, she will be older, in the twenty, I would say. »
Pulling, a career relaunched thanks to the F1 Academy
Above all, the F1 Academy champion considers that access to the highest promotion formulas is unequal between women and men, and is much easier for men, both sportingly and financially. « [Les garçons] start testing at 14 all over Europe – then they do F4 in Italy, Germany, the Emirates… all that adds up to a million [d’euros]and this from the age of 15 or 16. They do this for two years… then they move on to FRECA or GB3, or sometimes both. They then carry out 30 to 40 days of testing [par an]. If I could afford it, I would do it and I would continue to measure myself against others”confie the native of Gosberton.
“Unfortunately, in my situation, I cannot do that. This is where the F1 Academy has been so important. It shouldn't be necessary, but it is. This is the sad reality. I hope that it will be around for a very long time and that it will continue to give opportunities to girls who are in my situation and who cannot cope without it.”
Abbi Pulling knows what she is talking about: in 2021, she was unable to finish her season in British F4 due to lack of resources. The following year, she was able to have a new opportunity with the W Series, before joining the F1 Academy in 2023. “We are comfortable financially, but on the scale of motorsport, we are very far from it. We don't have tens or hundreds of thousands of euros, let alone millions. Without [la F1 Academy et la W Series]I won't be here today, recognizes the British. For this, I am forever grateful and it has kept my dream alive.(…) The current period is so positive for a woman in this sport. As long as I perform well, I am sure that with the support around me, I will be able to continue to climb the ladder. »
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