© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
F1 Academy Managing Director Susie Wolff explains how “huge dramatic moments” like the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix affected young women in motorsport.
Former Williams test driver Susie Wolff (and wife of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff) is now the Managing Director of the F1 Academy, and is the driving force behind getting more female drivers a chance to get into motorsport and eventually Formula 1.
While talking to the media about F1 Academy’s ‘Discover Your Drive’ initiative, she explained what she believes helped young women pursue a career in motorsport.
One of those things, she believes, is the huge interest and drama surrounding the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which two championship contenders – Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen – entered equal on points.
“From my own perception, the world has changed,” Wolff said.
“MeToo happened, there was this real sense of empowerment, and this led to huge motorsport investment. You’ve also got more following.
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“And then the third topic is huge dramatic moments like Abu Dhabi. It really creates a fan base and young female athletes which made the sport realise: ‘Okay, we need to connect with this.’
“But we’d made the call on that together. I didn’t see myself taking on this role but it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” she concluded.
The finish of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was, of course, even more dramatic, as it saw Lewis Hamilton unjustly lose the race and the title battle, after the race director disregarded the rules which govern the use of the Safety Car.
Susie was one of the first people to publicly call out the injustice of what happened in a social media post in which she wrote that “the way in which Lewis was robbed” has left her “in utter disbelief”.
