F1 News: Susie Wolff Introduces New Initiative To Bring More Women To Motorsport
Former driver Susie Wolff has spoken out saying "there are just not enough women competing to rise to the top" as the fight continues to bring more women into motorsport.
Wolff broke records in 2014 when she joined Williams as a development driver, being the first woman to participate in a race weekend in over twenty years. Wolff went on to become the test driver for the team before she retired at the end of 2015.
The former driver is still very much in the industry, championing other women in motorsport. She joined Mercedes F1 in 2016 as an ambassador and was also the team principal for the Venturi Racing Formula E team in 2018. Wolff was later promoted to CEO of the Formula E team until the end of 2022.
The British former driver has launched the 'Dare to be Different' initiative which will hopefully help bring more women into motorsports. It will offer schoolgirls the opportunity to take part in motorsport activities. Wolff spoke to the Irish Times about the initiative, explaining:
“We just need more young women entering the sport, there are just not enough women competing to rise to the top.
“Naturally it would help to have one young woman racing, I believe when you can see it you can believe it, open up the sport, make it more accessible and you will inspire the next generation.”
Wolff went on to reflect on her time with Williams. She continued:
“At my time at Williams, I had Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, it was a very strong line-up so I don’t have any bitterness that I didn’t get my chance.
“But there were some very tough moments along the way, walking into a garage and people having a lot of scepticism when they see you in the car, so you felt you had to prove yourself more than your male counterparts. That was part and parcel of what I was used to.
“I realised performance is power, if I perform then my gender is irrelevant going into the best teams, I have more of a chance to be successful. Motorsport is one of the few sports where you don’t get to see the athlete, when I had my helmet on I wasn’t even visible. So I would just get my helmet on and not get distracted.”