Jonas Leo
F1 Academy Managing Director Susie Wolff has offered an candid account of the arduous negotiations and strategic maneuvering required to secure the unanimous backing of all ten Formula 1 teams for the all-female racing series in its pivotal 2024 season. The unprecedented alignment marks a significant turning point for the championship, designed to foster female talent and create a clearer pathway to the pinnacle of motorsport.
The F1 Academy, established in 2023, was created by Formula 1 to address the stark underrepresentation of women in racing, particularly in the single-seater ladder leading to F1. It aimed to provide a professional environment for aspiring female drivers, utilizing Tatuus F4-T-318 chassis, Autotecnica engines, and Pirelli tyres, with a focus on driver development. However, its inaugural season, while laying foundational groundwork, struggled significantly with visibility and securing sustainable financial support, issues that Wolff confronted head-on upon taking her role.
Wolff recounted a stark "pinch-me moment" that underscored the urgency of reform. Her initial experience at the first F1 Academy race she attended, held at Circuit Paul Ricard in France, painted a sobering picture of the series’ fledgling state. "I remember getting near the track thinking, it’s strange, there’s no cars around," Wolff explained during a recent interview with Talks At Google. "It’s so quiet. And I drove in, and I thought, ‘Have I got mixed up with the dates or something?’ Because I’ve never been to such an empty racetrack. And I drove in and it was literally just the F1 Academy trucks and nobody there. I’d never been at such a deserted racetrack before."
The quiet track mirrored a deeper financial turmoil. Upon arrival, Wolff was immediately met with the grim realities of the series’ commercial model. "I got out of my car and I immediately got met by two of the team bosses who said, ‘Listen, this is not working. We’re not finding any sponsorship. So we’re out at the end of the year.’ It’s like, ‘OK, great to see you.’ And then some of the drivers came to see me and said, ‘Well, listen, we’re supposed to pay for one third of our budget, but we also can’t find the money. So I’m just telling you now that I can’t pay what I owe you.’"
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This fragmented financial structure was identified as a primary impediment. The initial setup dictated that Liberty Media, Formula 1’s commercial rights holder, would cover one-third of a driver’s budget, with the driver and their team each responsible for another third. This arrangement, intended to distribute the financial burden, instead created a "flooded market" where multiple entities were independently seeking sponsorship. "So we had a flooded market of everyone searching for sponsorship, some asking for €5,000, some asking for €500,000, and it was just so disjointed," Wolff elaborated. The fundamental challenge was clear: "No sponsor is going to pay to be in a race car that’s racing in front of an empty audience, literally nobody in the grandstand." The series, at this point, often raced on standalone weekends or alongside less prominent support categories, far from the spotlight of a Grand Prix weekend. This lack of visibility, coupled with the financial uncertainty, threatened the very existence of the F1 Academy.
Recognizing the critical need for a paradigm shift, Wolff quickly engaged with Stefano Domenicali, the CEO of Formula 1, outlining the unsustainable situation. Her proposed solution was bold: integrate the F1 Academy fully into the Formula 1 ecosystem by securing the commitment of all ten F1 teams and centralizing all commercial assets. This would not only guarantee financial stability but also elevate the series’ profile exponentially by ensuring all F1 Academy races would run as support events during F1 Grand Prix weekends.
Domenicali gave Wolff the green light for the ambitious plan, but notably tasked her with the formidable challenge of securing the F1 teams’ buy-in independently. "He said, ‘No, no, no, you can do that,’" Wolff recalled. This decision placed the onus squarely on her shoulders, initiating a period of intense lobbying and strategic persuasion across the highly competitive and often politically charged Formula 1 paddock.
Her campaign began, somewhat ironically, with a condition from her husband, Toto Wolff, Team Principal of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. "Obviously, I had one at home," she quipped. "But the one at home is my biggest supporter, but also my biggest critic. And he said, ‘Well, I can’t be the first, so get six on board. You’ll have the majority, then I’ll have to do it.’" This strategic stipulation meant Wolff had to first build a coalition among rival teams before Mercedes would officially commit, adding another layer of complexity to her task.
Wolff’s diplomatic efforts yielded early successes with key figures within the F1 hierarchy. Fred Vasseur, Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari, a long-standing acquaintance, proved to be an enthusiastic early adopter. "I said, ‘Would you consider coming into F1 Academy?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, and we can paint the car red.’ I said, ‘OK, paint the car red. What about a Ferrari sticker?’" This immediate positive response from one of F1’s most iconic teams provided crucial momentum. Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, also emerged as a "hugely supportive" ally, further bolstering the nascent initiative. McLaren, known for its forward-thinking commercial strategies, recognized the value of the F1 Academy’s mission.
Perhaps one of the most significant diplomatic triumphs was securing the support of Christian Horner, then Team Principal of Red Bull Racing. The rivalry between Mercedes and Red Bull, and by extension, between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner, had been particularly intense in recent seasons. Despite this backdrop, Horner proved "very supportive." Wolff credited "friends who worked very closely commercially with Red Bull, who had explained why this was such an important project for F1," for helping to bridge any potential divide. Red Bull, with its extensive junior driver program, clearly saw the strategic benefit of identifying and nurturing female talent from an early stage.
With Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull on board, Wolff swiftly secured commitments from two more teams, achieving the critical mass of six teams that allowed her to count Toto Wolff and Mercedes in. "So suddenly I had four teams. I had got two more on board, and suddenly I had that magic six that meant I could count Toto in. That was seven," she recounted. This crucial breakthrough meant a majority of the F1 grid was now aligned with the F1 Academy’s vision, significantly increasing its credibility and leverage.
The final three teams, however, presented a more formidable challenge. Wolff refrained from naming them, noting, "I don’t mention their names in the book because I feel it’s not fair on them, were very dubious." These teams likely harbored concerns about the financial outlay, the return on investment, or perhaps simply required more convincing regarding the long-term strategic benefits of the F1 Academy. Undeterred, Wolff proceeded with the legal documentation for the seven confirmed teams, a strategic move that signaled unwavering commitment and demonstrated the strong momentum behind the project. By the time it came to the official signing, the weight of collective support, combined with Wolff’s persistent advocacy, eventually brought the final three teams into the fold, achieving the unprecedented unanimous backing.
The culmination of these efforts was, for Wolff, a profound moment of personal and professional achievement. "It was also a pinch-me moment for me, because I wasn’t ever hugely confident that we could get it done, but we did. And I think that was definitely down to a lot of tenacity, of refusing to take no for an answer." This tenacity transformed the F1 Academy from a struggling, largely unseen series into a fully integrated component of the Formula 1 weekend experience.
For the 2024 season, each of the ten F1 teams now supports one driver in the F1 Academy, with their cars sporting the iconic liveries of their respective F1 counterparts. This not only provides a tangible link to Formula 1 but also ensures that the series benefits from the global marketing and commercial reach of the F1 brand. All seven rounds of the 2024 F1 Academy calendar are now scheduled to run alongside Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends, dramatically increasing exposure for the drivers and the series itself. The financial burden on individual drivers has been significantly alleviated, with the F1 teams’ involvement ensuring more stable funding.
This strategic overhaul is expected to have a transformative impact on women’s motorsport. It provides an unparalleled platform for young female drivers like Maya Weug (Ferrari Driver Academy), Abbi Pulling (Alpine Academy), and Lena Bühler (Sauber Academy) to showcase their talents in front of F1 teams, sponsors, and a global audience. The F1 Academy now serves as a more legitimate and visible rung on the motorsport ladder, offering a clearer pathway for aspiring female racers to progress through the ranks, potentially towards F3, F2, and ultimately, Formula 1. The success of Susie Wolff’s campaign not only secured the future of the F1 Academy but also laid crucial groundwork for a more inclusive and equitable future in motorsport.
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Author Profile
- Jonas Leo is a passionate motorsport journalist and lifelong Formula 1 enthusiast. With a sharp eye for race strategy and driver performance, he brings readers closer to the world of Grand Prix racing through in-depth analysis, breaking news, and exclusive paddock insights. Jonas has covered everything from preseason testing to dramatic title deciders, capturing the emotion and precision that define modern F1. When he’s not tracking lap times or pit stop tactics, he enjoys exploring classic racing archives and writing about the evolution of F1 technology.
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