Katherine Legge, who has competed in various championships including the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup and Formula E, has delivered a strong assessment of F1 Academy.
The British driver described the all-female racing series as a “gimmick” that needlessly segregates women and ultimately halts their career progression on the traditional single-seater ladder.
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Speaking on the Welcome To The Party show, Legge raised concerns about the idea of an all-female series.
“The problem we have now is we have the inception of the F1 Academy or the W Series as it used to be known. The premise of it is to get these women an opportunity to get on the first rung of the ladder, and from there, they then go out and race with the guys,” Legge said.
“And I want to say, like, 10, 15 years ago, there were six of us racing professionally. It was a snowball going down a hill. There was more and more and more and more and more. And then the F1 Academy came along, and kind of sucked all of the young female talent out of those lower echelons. And they haven’t moved out there.
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“So there is nobody behind me. Who’s gonna fill that gap? They’ve all gone to be this all-girl team, and I love women’s sports with all my heart, but there is absolutely no reason to segregate us, because we can race against the guys.”
The champion of F1 Academy receives a fully funded race seat in another racing series, such as the GB3 Championship, to help them progress along the traditional single-seater ladder. However, there has been some criticism that there is not enough funding available to further progress their careers.
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2023 champion Marta Garcia received a funded seat to step up to the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship and has since moved to endurance racing.
2024 champion Abbi Pulling moved to the GB3 Championship as well as earning a spot as a rookie and simulator driver for the Nissan Formula E Team.
2025 champion Doriane Pin has moved to the LMP2 category in the European Le Mans Series, while also being promoted to development driver at the Mercedes Formula 1 team. She also became the first woman to test a Mercedes F1 car.
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Legge added: “It’s a gimmick. They’ve got money and sponsorship and everything to run their female series. But then, to get out of it, they give them, ‘Oh, you can be a test driver in Formula E, or you can be a support driver for Formula 1 or whatever. There’s no money then supporting them to go and do what they should have done in the first place, which is Formula 4 or Formula 3 or something like that.
“They get stuck in this cycle, and it’s almost like, if you’re gonna make a women’s series, then make it for everybody, not just the young ones coming in, and suck them out. And then make it a Formula 1 car, give us the same equipment as the guys have.
“I still don’t agree with it, by the way, because there is no reason for segregation. But I would like to talk to all the sponsors, and the people that are involved in it, and ask them why they are OK supporting this segregation that ultimately stalls these young girls’ careers.”
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F1 Academy held its inaugural season in 2023 and has since gone from strength to strength. Managing director Susie Wolff has been clear from the beginning that the ideal situation would be to have women racing alongside men; however, the series was introduced to increase the number of young girls and women entering motorsport.
Doriane Pin, PREMA Racing
Doriane Pin, PREMA Racing
“There is a huge audience out there of females who love Formula 1, and rightly so,” Wolff said at the Autosport Business Exchange London in 2025. “I love F1, we can love this sport, and it is right as we move forward that we show this sport is evolving and it is taking mindful actions to connect with the female audience.
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“That doesn’t mean I am on a feminist crusade to show what women can do, absolutely not. But this is a sport where men and women can compete against each other, one of the few sports in the world, and when you have your helmet on, it doesn’t matter what your gender is.
“When I took on the role, I went and saw the F1 team principals. I said to them, please don’t view me as a woman running a women’s thing. I think the F1 Academy can be a very supportive thing for the development of F1 but I need them on the journey.”
Wolff added: “If we don’t increase participation, and we don’t get more young girls racing, the best will never rise to the top, and in the end, it comes down to talent.
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“We are here to create that opportunity that hopefully the most talented can grab with both hands and move onwards and upwards.
“But we definitely had to focus on trying to change the preconception that it’s a man’s world and inspire not just the next generation of young girls, but the parents of the next generation to realise there is a chance.
“There are possibilities now for young women in racing, on and off track. Suddenly these young women and the mothers of these young women, they can see there is a pathway.”
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