More Than Equal launches new female driver programme

More Than Equal - the initiative that’s on the hunt for the first female F1 racer for nearly half a century - has launched a driver development programme for aspiring young women.

The scheme will seek out female talent with elite potential, offering access to its in-house coaches and a bespoke physical training programme provided by specialists Hintsa, which has overseen the workout regime of basically every F1 race winner for the last decade.

More Than Equal will also work closely with Rob Smedley’s new Global Karting League, which was launched last year with the aim of making grassroots motorsport 96 per cent cheaper.

The series’ electric karts will also feed back data that can be used to identify the quickest drivers with the most potential. Ex-Ferrari and Williams F1 race engineer Smedley told TopGear.com “there is absolutely no reason why we can’t have a female Formula 1 world champion”, echoing the outcome of More Than Equal’s study into the subject last summer.

You don’t have to be an established racer to apply: public applications are being taken via More Than Equal’s website, with a form to outline your current performance level, driving history, age and development stage. The deadline is 31 January, so you’ve got plenty of time…

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for a further assessment and an interview, with the chance to meet the coaches and ask questions about the scheme.

“No woman has raced competitively in Formula 1 in close to 50 years, and very few women are racing at the elite level of any motorsport series currently,” said More Than Equal CEO Ali Donnelly. “In order to enact lasting structural change, we need to do things differently. For us, that means investing in and developing female drivers early in their careers, and we are thrilled to be taking the first steps towards that by launching our female-dedicated programme in 2024.”

The last woman to start a grand prix was Lella Lombardi in 1976. F1 Academy boss Susie Wolff was the most recent female driver to take part in an official F1 weekend in 2015, and back in September Jessica Hawkins became the first woman to drive a modern F1 car in five years when she tested Aston Martin’s AMR21 at the Hungaroring.

Meanwhile, More Than Equal’s Head of Driver Development Tom Stanton added: “Our programme is designed to support and enhance the development of female drivers in three key areas: as a driver, as an athlete and as a person. I’m excited to be working with Smedley Group and Hintsa Performance to maximise the potential of talented drivers, making them the winners of the future.”

Are you one of said winners of the future? Get applying here!