2023 was a historic year for women in motorsport

More areas than ever in motorsport are filled with women who are excelling on and off the track. 2023 was a standout year for women on the track with the first season of F1 Academy, the Iron Dames securing their first win, Sophia Floersch scoring points in F3 and so many more notable moments for the history books.

F1 Academy

F1 Academy was launched in 2023, succeeding W Series as the only all-female single-seater championship and as a F1 feeder series, this new association with Formula 1 brought new exposure, allowing fresh audiences to enjoy the competition.

Susie Wolff was appointed the Managing Director in March of 2023 and has developed her ideas to support and improve the series.

Although the series was only broadcasted as highlights, it was announced later that year that the series would be fully broadcasted in 2024 and viewers have already been able to watch the first round live.

It was also announced that all ten F1 teams would support one driver in the series which meant the F1 liveries would also be seen in F1 Academy and the drivers would be apart of the F1 teams’ personal academies.

At the end of the year, the series crowned its first champion, Marta Garcia, who earned a fully-funded Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) drive for 2024.

Formula 3

Sophia Floersch raced in the FIA Formula 3 championship in 2023 and made history as she became the first-ever woman to score points in the series, taking seventh in the Feature Race at Spa-Francorchamps.

Floersch was confirmed to continue in F3 this year with Van Amersfoort Racing.

Indy NXT

Three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick headed to America after the series went into administration to take part in the Indycar support series, Indy NXT.

Chadwick claimed a total of five top 10 finishes with a season highlight of sixth at Portland International Raceway. She has remained with the Andretti team for another year.

World Endurance Championship

In the LMGTE Am class, the Iron Dames of Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting made history by becoming the first all-female team to claim victory at the Bahrain season finale.

The team also celebrated an earlier podium at Portimão and they secured second in the LMGTE AM standings.

Doriane Pin who is a part of the Iron Dames project became the first woman to stand on the WEC LMP2 podium at Sebring’s season opener with Prema Racing. She has since moved on to F1 Academy as the Mercedes driver.

Initiatives

In 2023, Girls on Track activities included visits to McLaren Formula E, Mercedes F1, a Mission44 collaborative event at Silverstone Museum, community days at Williams and Alpine F1 headquarters and an Extreme E activation in Scotland where 80 local schoolgirls completed motorsport exercises such as Batak, Pitstop challenge as well as learning about the championship’s sustainability credentials.

More Than Equal released their one-of-a-kind research about women in motorsport in their attempt of finding the first female Formula 1 driver in over 30 years.

Safety

Motorsport circuits put women’s safety on top of their priority lists in 2023 with Zandvoort leading the way with enhanced safety measures.

Overall safety measures were also looked at across many championships as a very hot Qatar GP put health and safety into question and multiple tragic deaths made people realize just how dangerous the sport can be.

The Highs and The Lows

Of course, with the high points there are low points and the 2023 year was no different.

Jessica Hawkins became the first female F1 test driver in five years when she drove 26 laps of the Hungaroring for Aston Martin but the announcement post comment section was filled with unnecessary and sexist comments.

In December, the FIA announced an investigation into a possible conflict of interest between a member of Formula One management and a F1 team principal who turned out to be Susie and Toto Wolff. The investigation lasted three days and a lot of uncertainty surrounded it, and Susie Wolff has since taken legal action again the sporting body.

While the investigation took place, the Managing Director was faced with online abuse and the media showed their double standards. In the majority of articles and posts the former racing driver was only referenced as Toto Wolff’s ‘wife’.

- by Lizzy Oxendale