F1 Academy and Brands Open Lanes For Women Beyond Formula 1

F1 Academy and its partners used the bright lights of this year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix and its special events to introduce the sports and business worlds to the women driving its race series. 

In 2025, those F1 Academy drivers and their sponsors will have the Vegas street course and its Strip straightaway to themselves.

Wrapping up its second season under managing director Susie Wolff—a former Formula Renault, British Formula 3 and DTM driver, and Formula 1 development and test driver—F1 Academy just announced a seven-race 2025 schedule with three new stops. The series runs its first-ever races in both Shanghai and Montreal, but its biggest sports marketing opportunity may lie in new season-ending races in Las Vegas.

“’I’ve been in this sport a long time, and I’ve certainly been in very many situations where I had the feeling that I was there as a box-ticking exercise, covering diversity,” Wolff said. “But for the very first time in my career in motorsport, I’ve seen so much authenticity behind trying to create positive and impactful change in the sport.” 

In racing, getting across the finish line is a team effort, and this year, F1 Academy expanded that team with an influx of support from several influential sponsors, including The Female Quotient, Cisco, Amex, Charlotte Tilbury, and Tommy Hilfiger.

And with women now comprising 42% of Formula 1’s global fanbase, F1 Academy and its partners want to reach those fans by proving there’s not only space for women on the track but also in Formula 1’s operations, business, and networking spaces. 

“What I have been able to share is vision: This is where we are now, and this is what we want to get to, and we want you to come on the journey with us because we believe together, as a collective, we can create that positive change so much quicker,” Wolff said.

Finding the right formula

Among the partners, The Female Quotient, an experiential and media firm dedicated to equality in the workplace, signed a deal with F1 Academy earlier this year to host Equality Lounges, panels, and brunches for women in business and sports.