Motorsport has historically been a man’s world, but in recent years more women are entering the sport and finding success. It’s a long shot for almost any driver, particularly a female one, to make it to Formula 1, but we have a few women we’re keeping our eyes on as they attempt to beat the odds. 

By Calla Kra-Caskey

In 2022, Feeder Series named Jamie Chadwick, Maya Weug and Abbi Pulling as the three female drivers most likely to make it to F1. A lot has happened for women in motorsport since then: W Series collapsed, F1 Academy launched, and Jessica Hawkins became the first woman to test an F1 car since 2018. Although Hawkins won’t drive in F1 herself, she predicted in September that the series would have a female driver in four to eight years. 

F1 Academy has pointed thousands of new eyes towards women in motorsport, but the series is only in its second year. While it’s important that drivers already on the single-seater ladder get opportunities they may have lost because of their gender, funding or other factors, many of these young women are older than their male counterparts racing at the same levels.

Most likely, the next woman to make it to F1 hasn’t yet stepped into cars. But nothing’s impossible, and efforts across series and disciplines have made it possible for women at many stages of their careers to fight for F1 seats. 

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Where are they now? 

At the time our previous article was published, Jamie Chadwick was leading the 2022 W Series. Although the season ultimately ended prematurely, Chadwick was indeed crowned champion for the third time.

In 2023, she crossed the Atlantic to compete for Andretti Autosport in Indy NXT. She struggled in her first season but managed five top-10 finishes, ending the season 12th overall. Her 2024 season was more successful, as she finished on the podium in Indianapolis and took pole position and her first Indy NXT win at Road America. In September, after finishing seventh at the end of the season, Chadwick completed an IndyCar test for Andretti. 

Ferrari junior Maya Weug stepped up from Italian F4 to FR Europe in 2023 and scored all 27 of KIC Motorsport’s points. With a best result of sixth, Weug placed 17th overall in the championship and was the third best rookie.

In 2024, Weug returned to F4 machinery to compete in F1 Academy. Through the first five rounds, she has managed six podiums and currently stands third in the championship. Weug’s plans for 2025 are unknown, but considering her demonstrated success at higher levels, a return to F1 Academy could be seen as disappointing.

Alpine’s Abbi Pulling, who competed in W Series alongside Chadwick, moved to F1 Academy in 2023. Though Pulling was considered an immediate favourite, she only finished fifth with seven podiums but no wins in the first year of the series. But she returned with a vengeance in 2024, and through the first five rounds, she’s taken an incredible seven wins and has yet to finish off the podium.

Pulling also competed in British F4 this year, winning one race, taking two additional podiums and finishing the season in seventh overall despite missing two rounds for F1 Academy commitments. Although Pulling ruled out a direct step to Formula 3, she’s all but sealed the F1 Academy championship, which now comes with the prize of a fully funded GB3 seat with Rodin Motorsport. 

Doriane Pin

The first new entry on our list is Doriane Pin. Her results this year have been impressive, all the more so considering the Frenchwoman is in her first year of single-seater competition. A member of both the Mercedes Junior Team and the Iron Dames, Pin has impressive motorsport connections that could help her climb towards F1. 

Pin began her car racing career in 2020 in the French edition of Renault Clio Cup. In 2021, Pin joined the Iron Dames to compete for Iron Lynx in the Le Mans Cup. She stood on the podium five times – every race the team finished – and ended the season fifth in the drivers’ standings. In 2022, Pin dominated the Ferrari Challenge Europe, taking nine wins on her way to the championship. She became the second female winner after her Iron Dames stablemate Michelle Gatting.

Pin has an impressive prototype resume: in 2022, alongside the full-time Iron Dames members, she won the Gold Cup class of the 24 Hours of Spa. She also took second place and a victory with Iron Lynx in the European Le Mans Series’ LMGTE-Am category.

In 2023, she competed for Prema, which shares ownership with Iron Lynx, in the World Endurance Championship’s LMP2 category. The #63 entry took a podium in Pin’s debut race at Sebring and went on to finish eighth in the teams’ trophy. Pin became the first woman crowned FIA WEC Revelation of the Year, an award given to an outstanding newcomer to the series. Pin has competed in some of the world’s most prestigious endurance races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona. She could very well have an impressive endurance career ahead of her.

At the end of 2023, Pin started racing in single-seaters, joining Prema for F4 South East Asia. Despite only competing in the final two rounds of the season, Pin was the runner-up for the title with a win and three additional podiums. Later that winter, she competed in F4 UAE. A pole position and victory at Yas Marina, as well as seven additional points finishes, helped Pin secure 10th in the championship despite her missing the final round. 

This year, Pin has competed in F1 Academy with Prema and FR Europe with the Iron Dames. The Prema driver was unstoppable on track in F1 Academy’s Jeddah opener but was passed in the standings by the dominant Pulling thereafter. Nevertheless, Pin has managed two victories and four podiums, with another two podiums lost to penalties.

In FR Europe, Pin’s season was marred by rib fractures that caused her to miss two rounds. The 20-year-old has yet to score points in FR-level machinery, with a best result of 14th. 

Pin is likely to continue in FR Europe next year with Prema. Should she continue to improve upon her results, an eventual move to F3 could be on the cards. Her results in just one year of single-seater racing, plus her wealth of endurance experience, show Pin has the talent and adaptability necessary for an impressive career.  

Alisha Palmowski

A driver rumoured to be competing in F1 Academy next year, Alisha Palmowski has been impressive in her first year of single-seaters, in which she was the runner-up for the GB4 Championship crown. 

While in karting, Palmowski competed in the Daniel Ricciardo Series UK, twice finishing as junior runner-up. In November 2021, Palmowski won the Ginetta Junior Scholarship, securing a fully funded seat in the series for 2022. That year, she finished 13th in the series with a best result of eighth. She was also the runner-up in the 2022 Ginetta Winter Series. In 2023, Palmowski took a significant step forward with 15 podiums, three pole positions, and one fastest lap on the way to fifth in the championship.

In 2024, Palmowski made the move to single seaters, competing in GB4 for Elite Motorsport. She took three victories, including an impressive last-to-first charge during the Snetterton round’s reverse-grid race, and eight additional podiums. Additionally, as the highest ranked woman to compete in the series, Palmowski won a €30,000 scholarship for a 2025 F1 Academy campaign.

Palmowski’s burgeoning talent has been recognized by the likes of the British Racing Drivers Club, which named her to the BRDC Rising Stars programme, and Autosport, which selected her as a finalist for the 2024 Young Driver Award. Formula E team Envision Racing also rewarded Palmowski with an invitation to the all-electric series’ women’s test, in which she finished 16th.

At only 18 years old, Palmowski has a promising future ahead of her. Should she carry her 2024 momentum into an F1 Academy title challenge next year, Palmowski will only strengthen her F1 prospects. 

Luna Fluxá

Feeder Series gave Luna Fluxá an honourable mention in 2022, when she was a new addition to the Mercedes Junior Team. Fluxá had been crowned IAME Euro Series champion in the X30 Mini class the year before. Now 14 years old, the Spanish driver has continued to impress. 

Through 2022 and 2023, Fluxá competed in various series at the OK-Junior level. In 2024, she stepped up to senior karting, though since she only turned 14 in August, she is on the younger end of competitors. Fluxá was selected as a sponsored driver for F1 Academy’s collaboration with the Champions of the Future Academy Program and has dominated the OK-N Senior level, winning five out of eight finals so far. 

This year, Fluxá has also competed in the Champions of the Future OK Championship, ending up 56th out of 152 competitors, and the FIA Karting European Championship, ending up 30th of 84 in the standings. In the FIA Karting World Championship, Fluxá was 48th out of 104 competitors. 

Fluxá comes from an impressive motorsport pedigree: her older brothers Lorenzo and Lucas have both taken victories in single-seaters this year, with Lorenzo also coming third in ELMS’ LMP2 class. Their great uncle, Miquel Fluxà Rosselló, is a billionaire, and it is clear that the Fluxá family has the funding for single-seaters, which should help Luna chase her F1 dreams. Should she follow the example of her brothers, it is unlikely she’ll step up to cars next year; Fluxá is too young for the Spanish F4 Championship, in which both of her brothers raced. 

In addition to having Mercedes backing, Fluxá joined the Iron Dames this year. Her connections to both teams, as well as to F1 Academy itself, provides the Spanish driver with a strong base to progress up the single-seater ladder.

Lia Block

Another driver taking an unconventional path to single-seaters is Lia Block. The American driver made her name in rallying, becoming the youngest ever American Rally Association champion. Along with the ARA, Block has competed in Extreme E and Nitrocross. 

In November 2023, Block was announced as part of the Williams Racing Driver Academy, which would support her F1 Academy campaign with ART Grand Prix. By far the driver with the least single-seater experience in the field, Block finished at the back of the pack in pre-season testing. But she has improved steadily through the season, most recently achieving two fourth-place finishes on the streets of Singapore, and currently sits eighth in the standings. 

Block has supplemented her F1 Academy campaign with appearances in several other F4 series. She opened her 2024 season, and her single-seater career, in the Formula Winter Series with GRS Team, achieving a best race result of 25th. The 18-year-old has also competed in two rounds of Spanish F4 with GRS, with a best result of 17th, and one round of Italian F4 with ART, with a best result of 23rd. None of those appearances resulted in points, but her future is promising should she demonstrate similar progression to what she’s shown in F1 Academy. 

The commercial pull of Block, the daughter of the late rallying legend Ken Block, could also help her progress up the single-seater ladder. She has 1.2 million followers on Instagram, which is helpful in the ever-important sponsor game. She drove the Williams FW08 F1 car from 1982 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year and has participated in iconic events such as the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. As an American, Block also appeals to a fan demographic F1 is avidly pursuing. 

Ella Lloyd

Also in her first year of single-seaters, Ella Lloyd has impressed so far in both her British F4 season and her one-off F1 Academy entry. The Welsh driver has competed in both car racing and show jumping, although she’s prioritised single-seaters over horses in recent years. 

Lloyd began her car racing career in the 2022 Ginetta Junior Championship, finishing 21st with a best result of 11th. In 2023, she moved to the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, ending the season as runner-up with 10 victories. 

Lloyd broke into single-seaters by competing in two rounds of the 2024 Formula Winter Series, achieving a best result of 20th. She followed that up with a British F4 campaign with JHR Developments that she ended 11th with four podiums. The 19-year-old’s final standing is made more impressive by the fact she missed a round for an F1 Academy wild card appearance in Singapore, where she placed ninth and seventh. 

Last month, Lloyd joined the McLaren Driver Development Programme, whom she will represent in the 2025 F1 Academy season while competing for Rodin Motorsport. Through McLaren, Lloyd also participated in the Formula E women’s test and finished seventh. Her new connection to the F1 team and promising results in her first year of single-seaters makes Lloyd a driver to watch in the coming years. 

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency