Susie Wolff has always demonstrated a passion for Motorsport, and her indisputable talent has contributed to her incredibly successful career. Not only has Wolff made Formula 1 history, but she has also launched and participated in several successful initiatives to help increase the number of young girls and women in karting, making her one of the greatest trailblazers for women in Motorsport.
Wolff started her career in Motorsport like many other successful racers, in karting. At only 13 years old, Wolff was crowned British Woman Kart Racing Driver of the Year. Wolff held this title for four years in a row and was eventually named the Top Female Kart Driver in the World. After a successful karting career, Wolff began her professional racing career in the Formula Renault UK Championship in 2001. Wolff managed three podium finishes and was nominated twice for the British Young Driver of the Year Award. In 2005, Wolff briefly competed in Formula 3, where she started two races, scoring points in one. However, an ankle injury ruined her chances of participating in a full season.
Wolff joined Williams Racing in 2012 as a development driver and held this position for three seasons before her promotion to Test Driver in 2015. At the British Grand Prix in 2014, Wolff made history by becoming the first woman to participate in a Formula 1 weekend in over 22 years by entering FP1 for Williams. Mechanical issues forced Wolff to retire after only one lap, but she participated in another FP1 at Hockenheim later that year and appeared as the team’s test driver twice more before retiring from her career in Motorsport to focus on her Dare to be Different initiative, which launched in 2016.
Dare to be Different was designed to inspire young girls and women from all different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds to become involved in all areas of Motorsport. In 2016, Dare to be Different had five major headlining events, where girls had the opportunity to try out karting with mentoring provided by highly successful women in Motorsport. At the events, young girls were also able to talk with women in STEM about career opportunities in Motorsport and were able to try out media presentations with Sky Sports. Wolff’s hard work and dedication to diversity and women in Motorsport led to her being awarded an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2017.
In 2019, The FIA Women in Motorsport Commission and Dare to be Different joined forces to launch a new motorsport program for young girls ages 8-18, Girls on Track. The first Girls on Track event took place at the 2019 CBMN Niobium Mexico City E-Prix and had several activities for the girls to take part in such as karting, pit-stop challenges, media training, STEM activities, and fitness/well-being workshops. Wolff also made history in 2018 by becoming the first female team principal of a Formula E team, VENTURI racing. Wolff has stated that her team is full of a lot of great women, and not because they are there to reach a quota.
“There are a lot of great women within my team that were employed because they are the best people for the job, not because they are women. I think it is getting better but fundamentally, it is still a man’s world.”
Wolff’s incredible success demonstrates to young girls and women across the world that a career in Motorsport is possible. Moreover, with her dedication to increasing the number of women in Motorsport through her initiative Dare to be Different, Wolff is breaking down the barriers women disproportionately face in karting when it comes to numbers, equal opportunity, and money. This gives young girls the opportunity to showcase their talent and develop successful careers. It is without a doubt that Wolff’s one of Motorsports’ greatest role models. Her success and relentless commitment to increasing the number of women in Motorsport are nothing short of inspirational. Not only are Wolff’s efforts guaranteed to change the involvement of women in the industry, but they will also greatly impact the future of Motorsport for generations to come.