Katherine Legge Calls F1 Academy a ‘Gimmick’ in Sharp Critique of Women’s Racing Pathway

Legge questions F1 Academy’s role in the ladder

Katherine Legge has delivered a blunt assessment of F1 Academy, arguing that the all-female championship risks slowing the very career progression it was created to encourage.

‘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. But she argued that F1 Academy and W Series before it had pulled emerging female talent away from the lower levels where they would otherwise be competing directly against male rivals.

Funding and progression under scrutiny

F1 Academy champions receive a funded seat in another category to help continue their development. Marta Garcia stepped up to the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship before moving into endurance racing, Abbi Pulling moved to GB3 and earned a rookie and simulator role with Nissan Formula E Team, while Doriane Pin has moved into LMP2 in the European Le Mans Series and been promoted to Mercedes F1 development driver.

That broader question of how young drivers are moved toward top-level opportunities remains a recurring theme across Formula 1, including in the way teams manage rookie running, as seen with six rookies set for Austrian GP FP1.

Legge’s criticism is that the support does not go far enough once drivers leave the series. ‘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,’ she said.

Wolff defends the purpose of the series

F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff has consistently framed the championship as a participation tool rather than an endpoint. She has said the ideal outcome remains women racing alongside men, but argued that the series exists to increase the number of girls and young women entering motorsport.

At the Autosport Business Exchange London in 2025, Wolff said F1 Academy was designed to challenge perceptions and create visible pathways. ‘If we don't increase participation, and we don't get more young girls racing, the best will never rise to the top,’ she said.

The debate now sits at the heart of F1 Academy’s identity: whether a dedicated platform can expand opportunity without becoming, as Legge fears, a separate lane that drivers struggle to exit.