After a blockbuster opening in Jeddah in March, F1 Academy is back in action. The winner of the second race in the first round, Abbi Pulling, bagged two more wins to conclude the perfect weekend. While the British driver is earning praise all around for her performance, F1 Academy has found itself on the wrong side of the fence.
The all-women championship roped in Ferrari WAGs to promote the series while they were there to support their partners. Rebecca Donaldson (Carlos Sainz’s girlfriend) and Alexandra Saint Mleux (Charles Leclerc’s girlfriend) appeared in the promotional video.
In the snippet doing the rounds of social media, Donaldson can be heard saying, “Hi guys, we are here at the F1 Academy paddock getting to support all the girls. Super great experience whilst we’re here in Miami.”
a aleatoriedade do story da f1academy pic.twitter.com/sRFhChOIgM
— bia (@anything4jjk) May 4, 2024
F1 Academy is an initiative taken up by Formula 1 to promote women’s representation in open-wheel racing. All 10 F1 teams are supporting the championship with their backing for one driver of their choice. The all-women championship races all around the world over the course of the F1 season.
For the first race in Jeddah, Lewis Hamilton made an appearance to cheer for the podium holders. The move garnered support from the fans who appreciated Hamilton’s gesture. Ferrari WAGs, who perhaps have little to do with motor racing, other than their association with the F1 drivers, have not evoked a similar sentiment.
One fan on X let their disappointment known and asked, “What is the point of it?”
My biggest question is, why are they using the wags to support the F1 Academy, like? What is the point of it? https://t.co/ehpIZ3zDV3
— Rue| ルー (@oscodium) May 5, 2024
Another user recalled Vogue’s edition in 2023 where they featured Max Verstappen’s girlfriend, Kelly Piquet, for a cover story on women in motorsport.
getting the wags to do this is like putting kelly piquet on the cover of vogue to talk about women in motorsports. absolutely ridiculous https://t.co/tjeMt5fASZ
— elvi (@sedicimilton) May 5, 2024
Meanwhile, another fan was perplexed and failed to make sense of the move.
say whatever you want but it’s absolutely ridiculous to have wags promote drivers instead of drivers https://t.co/Fx0a4mBAER
— elenora (@thenasdottir) May 5, 2024
F1 Academy taking big strides in its mission
Motorsport is one of those realms of sports where women arguably have the least representation. Taking F1’s example, no team has a female driver representing them on the grid. F1 Academy aims to nurture female talent to see them take charge in the pinnacle of motorsport.
The championship is currently in its first iteration ever since taking over from the W Series. The defunct all-women championship saw the likes of Jamie Chadwick take the next step by earning a place in Indy NXT. F1 Academy has similar goals and Managing Director Susie Wolff is confident of producing the first female F1 driver by 2030.
It’s 2⃣ out of 2⃣ race wins this weekend for Abbi Pulling in F1 Academy!
She’s joined on the podium by Bianca Bustamante and Doriane Pin pic.twitter.com/8fRyExoxSv
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 5, 2024
She might, however, need a bigger backing from F1 teams. F1 Academy currently uses rudimentary chassis with engines incapable of going beyond 250 kph (155 mph).
If F1 teams fund bigger and better cars, drivers like Doriane Pin and Abbi Pulling are more than capable of showing their true potential. In return, F1 teams get female drivers tested in grittier conditions.
