Female F1 breakthrough predicted in "a few years" after half-century wait

Aston Martin ambassador Jessica Hawkins believes that Formula 1 could see its next female driver emerge in "a few years" as the F1 Academy continues to develop the talent pool.

F1 has not seen a female driver contest a grand prix since 1976, when Lella Lombardi featured in the Austrian Grand Prix. Famously, the Italian is also the only female to register on the scoresheet, claiming half a point at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix.

While Susie Wolff has featured in free practice sessions with Williams across the 2014 and 2015 campaigns, Giovanna Amati was the most recent female driver to attempt to qualify for a race, falling short of the mark on each of three attempts with Brabham in 1992.

Now in its fourth season, the F1 Academy follows in the footsteps of the defunct W Series in promoting female talent both on and off the track, and although there has so far been no driver graduate into Formula 3 or beyond, Hawkins, who competed in W Series and acts as Aston Martin's head of F1 Academy, is confident that it is only a matter of time before this is corrected.

"I think we're a few years away from it," she told the Road to Success podcast. "But I do believe it will happen.

"I would be a fraud if I sat here and said I didn't think that would happen because I do believe it. If I were to say no, it would go against everything I stand for."

Reflecting on her own experience as a young driver where female role models were few and far between, and were certainly not front and centre on television broadcasts, Hawkins added: "It is different now because if you look at F1 Academy, wow, I could have only dreamt of that at my age. 

"And some of them probably don't realise what it was like even just a few years ago. I think the championship has the ability to really make some drivers.

"Some drivers will go into it, and they'll sink. Some drivers will go into it, and they'll swim. And the ones that swim, they're the ones that are good enough to go up and fight for these Formula 1 seats and fight for opportunities within motorsport."

In September 2023, Hawkins became the first female to drive an Aston Martin Formula 1 car, enjoying a test at the Hungaroring. 

Having racked up the miles, she is "convinced" that strength is not a barrier to progression, dispelling a popular myth. 

"Having driven one myself for half a race distance, I could have done a whole race distance," said Hawkins. "My neck was struggling. My neck was really struggling. But I think every single person's first time in a Formula 1 car, their neck struggled. That wasn't because I was a female. 

"That was also because I hadn't been racing in a Formula 2 championship leading up to it. I hadn't been racing in a Formula 3 championship right before it. Even the Formula 1 drivers, their first time back in a year, their neck is probably sore at the end of the day. That wasn't because I was a female. I could have done a race distance if it wasn't for my neck."