By Kalie Hand
As with many other sports, Formula One was originally a predominantly male-dominated sport. Whether this domination was through viewership, industry jobs, or the athletes themselves, there were very few opportunities for women in the world of motor racing. However, as of late, many incredible women have made a name for themselves within the world of Formula One; notable names include Doriane Pin—2025 F1 Academy Champion and official Mercedes F1 team Development Driver; Hannah Schmitz—the head of strategy at the Red Bull F1 team; and Laura Mueller—the first female race engineer in F1. Despite all these wonderful women paving the way for many more in the future, women continue to regularly face misogyny in the motor racing world.
Specifically, female Formula One fans and viewers are an easy and common target for this misogyny. A particularly common comment that is brought up when a woman expresses her interest in motorsport is “You only like it because the drivers are hot,” bringing back the assumption that a woman could only take interest in Formula One because of the drivers’ appearances and not the sport itself. This is an incredibly frustrating comment because it fundamentally doesn’t make sense. During races, the drivers have helmets on and are almost completely concealed by the car itself, making it impossible to even see the drivers’ appearances during a race. So why, if a woman were to only be watching Formula One for the drivers’ physical appearance, would she take time out of her day to watch a car drive in circles for two hours just for the few minutes after the race finishes that the driver gets out of the car and removes their helmet?
Similarly, the world has seen a rise of “performative males,” who are men who “pretend” to like stereotypically feminine things such as fine literature, matcha, feminism, and pop music in order to appeal to women. This identity has, of course, been flipped back onto women in order to discredit their interests and passions. Women will often be called “performative F1 fans,” insinuating that women only take an interest in motorsport in order to appeal to men: this is inherently untrue. According to FORMULA 1’S RECORD-BREAKING 2025 SEASON IN NUMBERS, 42% of Formula One viewership is now female, and in 2025, 48% of all new fans were female,clearly showing that Formula One continues to grow and expand its female fanbase every day. Moreover, it shows that women’s interest in motorsports has nothing to do with appealing to men, but instead with their own passion and love for the sport.
It isn’t just fans who have noticed this shift in diversity in the fanbase; Lando Norris, 2025 Formula 1 World Drivers’ Champion and current driver for the McLaren F1 team, told an interviewer, “It was a very male-dominated sport. Now most of my fans actually are female, and that’s an amazing thing that we’re able to attract and bring in a younger generation, because they are the future of Formula One,” beautifully exhibiting his support and gratitude to female Formula One fans. He conveys how female viewership will only continue to grow and will continue to become crucial to the world of motorsport.
Additionally, misogynists will often weaponize information and facts against women, often asking them to “name five drivers” or ask intentionally difficult questions such as “who won the 1974 Monaco Grand Prix?” expecting women to be a walking encyclopedia and prove their legitimacy as fans. However, being a fan of something doesn’t have to mean knowing every nook and cranny of the topic, but it instead means finding joy and interest in a specific topic. The reason that this sort of questioning is inherently misogynistic is that it assumes that women will not know the answers to these questions. Ironically, many of these people who are asking these questions also probably do not have the answers themselves. Another reason that these questions originate from a place of misogyny is that these people would likely never ask a man these very same questions because they believe that men do not have to prove their legitimacy as fans, while women do.
Clearly, Formula One has come a long way in being a more inclusive and diverse sport; however, there are still lengths to go before everyone is truly equal in the world of motorsport.