‘We had one shot to get it right’ – Susie Wolff on the ‘F1 ACADEMY effect’ and the crucial next steps for the future

“But I also know, having run a team for four years, what it takes in the business side to make things work. I think that perspective of both has been really advantageous in trying to build up F1 ACADEMY in the right way for long-term success.” 

Setting out her vision for the next five to 10 years, Wolff sees 2025 as pivotal, with her hopes that F1 ACADEMY’s Netflix docuseries will ‘put us on the map’. 

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Ultimately, although getting the first female f1 driver to enter an F1 race since 1992 remains the headline goal for most fans, Wolff understands that it’s a numbers game. With only 22 spots on the F1 grid from 2026, it’s up to F1 ACADEMY to spur on the movement of young talent, increasing the amount of young girls getting involved at an early age in the hopes of driving a new generation forwards. 

“I would like to see there being big competition for the best 18 drivers to make it in (to F1 ACADEMY),” she concludes. “I would love to see the progression of the best onwards and upwards in motorsport.  

“This was always a long-term project and, in the mid to long-term, we need to see more young girls competing in karting and more talented young drivers progressing up the ladder in the hope that one can make it to the pinnacle of the sport.”