Susie Wolff, present managing director of the F1 Academy, was born with a ardour for motorsport. “I feel it’s all the time been in my DNA,” she mentioned in an extended chat with Gunther Steiner on *The Crimson Flag Podcast* on YouTube.
Talking about her childhood, spent in karting from a younger age, “If I wished to journey a motorbike, I simply did it,” Toto’s spouse mentioned at size her function within the F1 Academy and the tasks it entails.
“I wish to break these preconceptions that motorsport is only for boys or that in the event you’re a lady and like motorsport, it’s important to be a tomboy. I hope to interrupt down these prejudices as a result of these days there are such a lot of ladies who observe this sport, and it doesn’t must be only for males,” she defined.
Why is it so troublesome for a girl to succeed in System 1? In response to Susie Wolff, the largest problem lies within the lack of function fashions to look as much as.
“On this sport, we put on a helmet, so that you don’t know who’s beneath – whether or not a person or a girl. I’ve discovered that efficiency issues. Everybody can have an opinion, there’ll all the time be those that assist you and people who oppose you. However in the event you actually go on observe and do your finest, it doesn’t matter in the event you’re a lady or a boy. It doesn’t matter what the newspapers say as a result of efficiency is what counts. I’ve all the time targeted on that. However racing additionally includes monetary boundaries since you want sponsors to assist you. That’s why it turns into very troublesome and demanding.”
Will the F1 Academy have the possibility to draw a bigger viewers because of the Netflix docuseries popping out subsequent yr? “I really feel privileged to guide the F1 Academy as a result of I’ve carried out the identical factor these ladies are doing. I do know what the difficulties are, I understand how arduous it’s, and that’s why I relate to them a lot. There are individuals on this discipline who attempt to inform me what to do, and I maintain again from responding: To start with, have you ever ever pushed a automotive? No. Second, are you ladies? No. So don’t inform me that’s how issues are, since you don’t know. You don’t have the attitude of being a girl on this sport.”
In response to Susie Wolff, the largest problem is firmly believing within the F1 Academy mission and the alternatives it could present to aspiring feminine drivers. “I imagine that if we do properly, this class can have a huge effect on the game. It received’t occur in a single day that we’ll have a girl on the System 1 grid,” she admitted.
Nevertheless, if there’s extra collective participation, as is already occurring with System 1 groups supporting 10 ladies from the class, there shall be higher visibility.
“There are gifted ladies on this sport, even when we don’t typically see them, however we handle to note them. And it’s necessary to indicate the world on the market that there are alternatives for them. That’s what our present on Netflix can do: break down boundaries and the notion that it’s only a male-dominated business. The F1 Academy exists as a result of the game has created alternatives.”
Has Susie Wolff ever considered giving up? “There are days once I take into consideration how robust it’s. Then I feel that if I don’t face this problem, if I don’t push the F1 Academy in the correct course, who will?”
Susie Wolff additionally revealed that Ferrari was the primary F1 workforce to get onboard with the F1 Academy:
🚨| Susie Wolff reveals Ferrari was the primary F1 workforce to get onboard with F1 Academy :
“…i obtained Ferrari onboard – they had been the primary…”
📹 snippet from @TheRedFlags_Pod | #F1 pic.twitter.com/ufPiObcZpa
— sim (@sim3744) October 4, 2024
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