The FIA has launched its own women's series called the F1 Academy. For W Series entrants, the arrival of the new series is disappointing because the cars will be closer to Formula 4 than Formula 3, and because some W Series drivers may be left out. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA president explains more about the new racing series.

The president of the international motorsport federation says the purpose of the F1 Academy is mainly educational in nature, and is not intended to establish women's competitions as is done in other sports. Motorsport is one of the few mixed sports and does not want to lose this character.
"We want the new racing category to be sustainable. And once we achieve that, I think more women will be interested and will be on the grid in F3 or F2. It is a stepping stone," Ben Sulayem told Spain's SoyMotor.

Strong foundation

The FIA president's idea is to make the series permanent. His goal is to create a strong base to get more girls into karting. If that happens, the Academy may no longer be needed. The F1 Academy will start in 2023 with five teams.
Ben Sulayem does not want to talk about certain quotas, nor does he like to look at figures, calling it unpleasant. "If we make the sport attractive to people, more people will come. So I don't want to talk about 30 per cent or any other percentage. They have to come there because they deserve it."

Ben Sulayem therefore knows very well that he has to do something to encourage the movement. The Academy needs to speed up the process. "If we want to see women in F3 or F2, we have to support this project.It is not easy and it is up to us to find a way to make it easier."