Women in F1: have women raced, and what is F1 Academy?
Women are allowed in F1, which has no gender rule, but only two have started a Grand Prix: Maria Teresa de Filippis in 1958 and Lella Lombardi in the 1970s. Lombardi is the only woman to score, with half a point in 1975. No woman has raced in F1 since 1992. F1 Academy, an all-female series launched in 2023 and led by Susie Wolff, exists to rebuild that pipeline.
Are women allowed in F1?
Yes. Formula 1 has no rule barring women; the championship is open to anyone who can earn the superlicence and a seat.[2] Five women have entered a Grand Prix weekend, but only two ever qualified and started a race: Maria Teresa de Filippis, who debuted in 1958, and Lella Lombardi, who started twelve races in the mid-1970s.[2]
Has a woman scored or won?
One woman has scored in the World Championship. Lella Lombardi took half a point for sixth place at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, a race stopped early after a fatal crash, which is why only half points were awarded.[1] No woman has won a Grand Prix or a World Championship, and the most recent to attempt to qualify for a race was Giovanna Amati in 1992.[3]
Why has no woman raced recently?
The barrier is opportunity and the pipeline, not a ban.[2] Susie Wolff drove first practice for Williams at the 2014 British Grand Prix, the first time a woman had taken part in an F1 weekend in 22 years, and she now leads the effort to change the numbers from the ground up.[4]
What is F1 Academy?
F1 Academy is an all-female single-seater championship that Formula 1 launched in 2023 and runs within its own structure, with Susie Wolff as managing director.[4] It exists to tackle the lack of women in the junior ranks by giving female drivers track time, testing and funding on a clear pathway toward the higher categories, and its champions have begun stepping up: 2025 winner Doriane Pin became a Mercedes development driver for 2026.[5]
:::analysis The all-female format draws the obvious question, since F1 itself is mixed. The reasoning is practical: girls have historically fallen out of the karting and junior ladder for lack of funding and seat time long before talent is the deciding factor, and a dedicated series is an attempt to keep them in the system long enough to compete on equal terms higher up.
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Related reading
- [1]Lella Lombardi remembered (Formula1.com) (formula1). Accessed 2026-06-20.
- [2]History of female F1 drivers (Autosport) (autosport). Accessed 2026-06-20.
- [3]List of female Formula One drivers (Wikipedia) (wikipedia-en). Accessed 2026-06-20.
- [4]Susie Wolff to lead F1 Academy (Formula1.com) (formula1). Accessed 2026-06-20.
- [5]F1 Academy champion's Mercedes test (The Race) (the-race). Accessed 2026-06-20.