Susie Wolff has discussed the growth and momentum of F1 Academy in its first three seasons, but also insisted that she is not one to sit on it and looks to continue progressing.
“I think the momentum we’ve had, the support we’ve had from within this paddock, the great racing we see on track and the ability we’ve had to really transform the careers of young women who are trying to make it in racing has been something which has definitely given me a lot of pride. But I’m not one to sit still,” Wolff explained during an interview on the F1 Academy YouTube channel.
The all-female racing series has seen substantial changes since its inaugural season in 2023. Initially, it was not broadcast live, apart from the season finale. Wolff quickly worked to change this.
“When I took on the role and arrived at a couple of races last year, to which I drove into an empty race track, it made me realise that if we are going to disrupt and have an impact with F1 Academy, we need to be seen,” she told Motorsport.com in 2024.
Wolff introduced a collaboration with Formula 1. All 10 teams support a driver and the races are held during F1 grand prix weekends, allowing them to be broadcast live. Wild card entries were incorporated in 2024, giving aspiring drivers from outside of the series the opportunity to be granted a seat for a specific weekend.
Reverse grids were also introduced in 2025 to encourage more exciting racing across the weekend.
“Well, I think one of the clear advantages is definitely having so much support from F1,” Wolff continued in the F1 Academy interview. “We’ve definitely been given the ability to be bold, to be disruptive with their full support behind us and that’s really allowed us to get a lot of support in a short space of time.
Nina Gademan, PREMA Racing, Lia Block, ART Grand Prix
Photo by: Joe Portlock / LAT Images via Getty Images
“And I think the sport has recognised that it has a huge female fan base and we need to make sure that we respect and speak to that fan base and make sure that we also reach new audiences and through F1 Academy we can disrupt, we can do things differently.”
Taking inspiration from the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive, which boosted the popularity of F1 in the United States, F1: The Academy was released on the same streaming platform in May 2025.
“The Netflix docuseries was very valuable for us because sometimes in life you have to see it to believe it, and there is this outdated preconception that men love cars and racing is for boys, not for girls,” Wolff added.
“So to switch on a series and see a young girl zipping up a Ferrari race suit and jumping in what looks like a miniature Ferrari Formula 1 car, that image alone just challenges the perceptions of what belongs in the sport. And for it to be on a platform like Netflix and reach a whole new audience was super powerful for us.”
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