Rebalancing the Grid: Female Drivers in F1
F1: Chequered Flag
BBC
4.2 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 12 March 2025
⏱️ 84 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When will we next see a female driver in Formula One? Eleanor Oldroyd is joined by former F3 driver Alice Powell and BBC reporter Charlotte Simpson to examine why there aren’t any female drivers currently at the sport’s elite level.
They look at the existing programmes designed to boost the number of female drivers and ask what more can be done.
Leading female driver Abi Pulling talks through her experiences in the sport, while Susie Wolff explains the aims of the F1 Academy in developing female drivers. We also hear from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri on what the future may hold.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, you're about to listen to a BBC podcast, so I'd like to tell you where you'll find more just like it. |
| 0:05.5 | I'm Izzy Lee Poulton, an assistant commissioner for BBC Sounds, which means I'm involved in the whole podcast making process. |
| 0:12.0 | Whether that's developing fresh formats or facilitating eye-catching artwork, I helped project manage all the details that make our podcast stand out. |
| 0:19.0 | At the BBC, we've got access to storytellers and experts across a huge range of subjects. |
| 0:24.6 | It could be psychologists, comedians, celebrities or journalists. |
| 0:28.6 | No podcasts or day looks the same here. |
| 0:31.6 | So no matter what you like, check out BBC Sounds. |
| 0:33.6 | There's probably another podcast on there that you're absolutely love. |
| 0:42.3 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:47.3 | This is Five Live Sports with Eleanor Oldroyd. Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:51.9 | Welcome to Five Live Formula One, rebalancing the grid. |
| 0:55.9 | Over the next 90 minutes, we'll be exploring why no women currently race in F1, |
| 1:00.4 | what's being done to change that, |
| 1:02.1 | and when we might see a female driver line up on the grid for a Formula One race. |
| 1:06.5 | You're going to hear from F1 Academy Managing Director Susie Wolfe, |
| 1:10.1 | F1 Academy driver Abbey Pulling,fe, F1 Academy driver Abby Pulling, |
| 1:12.2 | and McLaren F1 driver Oscar Piastri, along with many more. |
| 1:16.1 | Alongside me is BBC reporter Charlotte Simpson, who spent the past year looking into why there are |
| 1:21.0 | no women currently racing in F1. |
| 1:23.4 | What was your key takeaway from that, would you say? |
| 1:26.2 | Hi, Ellie. |
| 1:27.4 | Well, my key takeaway with that is that |
... |
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