Women In Motorsport: The Revolution

August 7, 2023

There have been concerted efforts to draw women into the slipstream of single-seater racing’s ascendance over the years. Leaning on growing fandom, Dare to be Different (2016) and Girls on Track (2019) initiatives strove to bring an influx of young girls into karting, widely recognised as the training ground for professional racing. And the W Series (2019-2022), an all-female open-wheel championship, tried to establish a platform for women to prove their mettle on a level playing field, outside of the perceptibly sexist structures of the Formula races. And yet, progress in the last decade has been incremental at best. Women’s participation in motorsport racing has still never risen above 5% of the pool, and the W Series went into administration less than a year after its third season. ELLE