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Newsweek
01-08-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Formula 1 Is Exploding in Popularity Among Women
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Formula 1, a historically male-dominated sport, has seen a rise in popularity among women. In July, Formula 1 (F1) and Motorsport Network released their 2025 Global F1 Fan Survey, a large study that takes place every four years to gain insight into the global F1 community. More than 100,000 responses from 186 countries revealed a shift toward a young female fan base, with significant growth in the United States. "Female fans now account for three in four new fans," reported. "Most are newer to the sport and skew younger, with nearly half of all Gen Z respondents being women." History of Women in Formula 1 The 2025 Global F1 Fan Survey revealed Formula 1's fan base is shifting toward young women. The 2025 Global F1 Fan Survey revealed Formula 1's fan base is shifting toward young women. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty This year marks 75 years since Formula 1 began in 1950, with the first-ever race at the Silverstone Circuit in England. Since then, five women have competed in a Grand Prix: Maria Teresa de Filippis, Lella Lombardi, Divina Galica, Desiré Wilson and Giovanna Amati. Amati was the most recent woman to compete in 1992. Despite a lack of female driver representation, women have been forging successful careers in Formula 1 for years, and with the launch of the F1 Academy in 2023, the sport's landscape is changing. Susie Wolff is the managing director of the F1 Academy and began her motorsport career in karting. She went on to compete in Formula Renault, Formula 3 and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, before making history at the 2014 British Grand Prix for being the first woman to participate in a grand prix weekend in over 20 years. At the time, she drove in the first practice session for Williams Racing. And Bernadette "Bernie" Collins is a strategy analyst for Sky Sports and F1TV. She was featured in Forbes' 30 Under 30 list and previously worked as the strategy engineer for the Aston Martin F1 team. In January 2025, Haas' Laura Mueller became the first full-time female to take on the role of race engineer. She works directly with Formula 1 driver Esteban Ocon, bridging the gap between him and the team and ensuring the car's maximum performance during a race weekend. Formula 1 Launches F1 Academy "I've seen a slow but growing shift in the number of women working in our sport," said Lia Block, adding she has noticed the change in the paddock, but that it wasn't limited to F1 but the "entirety of the motorsport world." Lia Block is a driver for Williams Racing in the F1 Academy's 2024 and 2025 seasons. The F1 Academy was announced in 2022 and began in 2023. It's a women-only, Formula four-level series founded by Formula 1 that develops young talent, with the goal of progressing them into higher levels of the sport including the W Series, Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula 3, Formula 1 said in their announcement. Earlier this year, F1: The Academy—a docuseries produced by Reese Witherspoon's company, Hello Sunshine—made its global debut on Netflix and offered viewers a behind-the-scenes look into the lives of the 15 drivers competing in the championship. Lia Block credited her father for her passion for car racing and followed in his footsteps as the ARA Rally Champion in 2023—the youngest champion in the series' history. The 18-year-old is the daughter of late rally car legend Ken Block, and she began karting as a preteen. "It makes me so happy to go back to my local karting track and see multiple young girls racing in each class, versus six years ago when I first started karting and was the only girl in the entire series," she said. "My love of racing began early, as I grew up in the motorsports world, watching my dad," she said. "I was always surrounded by loud cars and got sucked into it without realizing it. I tried different sports growing up, but eventually started racing off-road at 11 years old." Lia Block's career has mostly been off-road and rally-style racing, so securing a spot in the F1 Academy "has been such an honor," the teen told Newsweek. Lia Block arrives in the paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on June 20, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. Lia Block arrives in the paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on June 20, 2024 in Barcelona, ' Drive to Survive' Effect In 2018, Liberty Media—the American owner of Formula 1—announced it would end the long-running tradition of using grid girls, or female promotional models, on the starting grid. A year later, Drive to Survive premiered on Netflix and documented the 2018 World Championship. So far, the hit show has had seven seasons and picked up two Sports Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Sports Documentary Series – Serialized" in 2022 and 2025. According to Drive to Survive has garnered a cumulative audience of over 700 million people worldwide since its launch. James Bower, commercial director at Atlassian Williams Racing, told Newsweek: "Drive to Survive has definitely been a major reason for the growing the female audience—and the audience overall—particularly in the U.S." He added, however, that the documentary—which offers a peek inside the lives of the Formula 1 drivers, team owners and team principals—"definitely isn't the only reason." "We have seen F1's popularity boom since it was acquired by Liberty Media in 2017 when there was a big effort to open up social media, get new races on the calendar like the three we now have in America, and really bring the sport closer to the fans," Bower continued. "That is something we embrace at Atlassian Williams Racing, hosting downtown Fan Zones at major races like Austin, Miami, Las Vegas, Singapore and in London, so that fans have the chance to get up close to cars and see their heroes in person." Brett A. Boyle, associate professor of marketing at Saint Louis University, whose research includes sports business, agreed that Drive to Survive has played a key role in F1's growth. "Formula 1 has seen a surge in popularity among young women. Much of that has been due to Netflix's Drive to Survive, which transformed the sport into a character-driven drama, spotlighting rivalries and personal stories." Boyle pointed out that "motorsports—unlike other sports—is challenged by the fact that you cannot see the participants doing their work. However, Drive to Survive and similar productions lift the veil to humanize the drivers, creating compelling backstories." Mike Lewis, professor of marketing at Emory University, whose work focuses on the intersection of sports analytics and sports marketing, echoed similar sentiments. "One of the more significant trends affecting fandom is the ability of organizations to develop compelling narratives. This seems to be especially true for female fans—the Olympics and the featuring of backstories are a prime example," he told Newsweek. "Drive to Survive has brought significant attention to F1 and also provided a vehicle to build compelling narratives. For a sport without geographic connections, this has been an ideal way to build fandom." Rob Bloom, chief marketing officer at Aston Martin, said that over the last 10 years, F1 "has leaned more heavily into the lifestyle and human story, particularly through platforms like Drive to Survive, TikTok and more recently, the F1 movie." "It's certainly brought more interest than ever before to the sport," he told Newsweek. "Within this growth is a new era of fans who are younger, and predominantly female—the fastest growing demographic of F1 fan is 16-24." 'F1: The Movie' Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton attend the Apple Original Films & Warner Bros. Pictures "F1: The Movie" World Premiere in Times Square on June 16, 2025 in New York City. Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton attend the Apple Original Films & Warner Bros. Pictures "F1: The Movie" World Premiere in Times Square on June 16, 2025 in New York City."F1 is enjoying an explosion in popularity, as we have just seen with the release of F1: The Movie, which Williams was delighted to help bring to the screen—the wind tunnel in the movie is actually our wind tunnel at our Grove HQ," Bower said. "Giving F1 the Hollywood treatment will introduce the sport to a whole new audience, and we have also seen major consumer brands coming in to F1 like Lego, LVMH and PepsiCo, which will help extend its reach and appeal." F1: The Movie was produced by seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton and features a star-studded cast including Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon and Javier Bardem. In addition to famous actors, many Formula 1 drivers—like four-time World Champion Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and current World Championship leader Oscar Piastri—made cameos. The film was released in June and has grossed over $512 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Celebrities are often seen enjoying the high-octane action in the paddock on race day. At this year's British Grand Prix, A-listers in attendance included Tom Holland, Keanu Reeves, Vin Diesel, Olivia Wilde and Tony Hawk. The checkered flag is also usually waved by a famous face, with Damson Idris doing the honors at Silverstone. "F1 is being marketed as a global lifestyle brand, with races in glamorous locations like Monaco, Miami and Las Vegas. These sites blend the race with fashion and celebrity," Boyle said. "Social media platforms have amplified the trend, giving rise to fan culture that thrives on memes, commentary and driver posts. This also plays into a young female's interests." The Power of Social Media Bloom added that "in addition to Drive to Survive, many newer, younger fans are connecting with Formula 1 through social media and entertainment platforms—particularly TikTok. The use of social media by teams, drivers and fans has unlocked unprecedented access, connecting the sport's global fan base on a more human level." He added the trend is "only getting stronger," and cited current Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso as an example. "Just look at how Fernando Alonso has embraced TikTok, to the extent of him being named 'TikTok Personality of the Year' in Spain." Bower told Newsweek that at Williams Racing, they're "giving as much behind-the-scenes access on our social media channels" as possible "to show what F1 is really like and the people that make it tick." "The ability for fans to learn more about the drivers, their personalities and their lifestyles has definitely helped [Formula 1's popularity]," he said. "It is about showing the humans behind the heroes—these are 20 gladiators battling it out on track when the helmet is on and the visor is down, but fans have never had so much access to what they are like out of the car." "Drive to Survive is part of that, but the drivers are also able to use social media to connect directly with fans and bring them into their own worlds, rather than only being able to see them from the grandstands." "Today's sport fans, especially the younger generations, are drawn to the personal stories and attributes of athletes," Andrea N. Geurin, professor of sports business at New York University's Tisch Institute for Global Sport, told Newsweek. Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Yuki Tsunoda poses for a selfie with a fan prior to practice ahead of the British Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit on July 4, 2025 in Towcester, England. Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Yuki Tsunoda poses for a selfie with a fan prior to practice ahead of the British Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit on July 4, 2025 in Towcester, England."Drive to Survive, as well as social media, gives fans behind-the-scenes access to these drivers and allows them to develop a more personal connection," she shared. "This access to athletes' lives and personalities means that fans can identify with certain drivers who share similar interests, values or personality traits." T. Bettina Cornwell, head of the Department of Marketing at the University of Oregon, whose area of expertise includes sports marketing, told Newsweek that "social media engagement now would not have been as impactful without the circuit expansion that preceded it." In 2015, the Formula 1 season consisted of 20 races, one of which got canceled. Today, there are 24 Grand Prix races and several new tracks in the United States. The first Miami Grand Prix was held in May 2022, and F1 returned to Las Vegas in 2023 after its last competition in Sin City in the 1980s. "F1 had been primarily a European-centric sport, but recent growth of circuits in Asia and America laid the foundation for expansion," Cornwell said. "There is really nothing like seeing F1 racing in person and the ability to 'feel one with F1' is central to social identification with the sport. It is these experiences that develop attendees into fans." The Formula 1 grid currently consists of 10 teams and 20 drivers, however, that will change in 2026. Cadillac, an American automobile manufacturer, will be added to the lineup next year and feature two more drivers. "Having a U.S.-based auto company competing in F1 will help to draw in American sports and motorsports fans who might not have given as much attention to F1 in the past," Geurin said. "Now, with a Cadillac team, these fans will feel like they have a team to support based on their national pride, which can be a major driver of sport fandom. F1's recent fan report showed that three out of four new fans are female, so if that trend continues, then the Cadillac team will certainly help to draw in new female fans from the U.S." Lissie Mackintosh, 'Filling a Gap' It is through social media that Lissie Mackintosh, now a Formula 1 presenter and content creator, has made a name for herself. "I started watching F1 years ago, when it wasn't as well-known as it is now. After years of watching the sport, I began creating content as a young F1 viewer who wanted to see more online about the sport I loved and just couldn't find it," Mackintosh told Newsweek. "So I guess in that way I was filling a gap." Mackintosh, 25—who earned a spot on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list as the youngest presenter at Formula 1—said she's been "able to show hundreds of thousands of young aspiring female fans that they can do it too, being a visual representation of Asian minorities and women in the paddock." "It was tough because no one had ever done that before, creating content in F1 as a full-time job, so I had no one's shoes to step into and I didn't know if it could go anywhere." The U.K. native noted that a "turning point" came "a few months after making F1 videos" when "Aston Martin invited me to their car launch as an official creator." "That's when I knew that even though no one had done it before, I had to keep going," she shared. Mackintosh currently boasts 430,900 followers on TikTok and has another 346,000 on Instagram. Her interview style is a mix of both "serious content" and "funny videos." "I never would have believed the last four years could have looked how they have—from joining the presenting team at F1 for two seasons, to now working with teams, sponsors and brands to create interviews which I have full creative control in." Mackintosh highlighted other women's achievements in F1, like Mueller and Wolff, and said she "devotes a huge portion of my work to covering women's sports like F1 academy through interviews and race weekends." Lissie Mackintosh attends the European premiere of "F1: The Movie" at Cineworld, Leicester Square on June 23, 2025 in London, England. Lissie Mackintosh attends the European premiere of "F1: The Movie" at Cineworld, Leicester Square on June 23, 2025 in London, Warner Bros. Pictures Formula 1's Future Formula 1's revitalization is something other sports "would like to replicate" one day, Geurin told Newsweek. "With new sport leagues and teams being introduced around the world every year, the competition for leagues to attract and maintain fans is fiercer than it's ever been," she said. "F1 has done an amazing job engaging new and younger fans by meeting these fans where they are—on streaming platforms and social media." Additionally, Formula 1 has "shown that they care about women" through programs like the F1 Academy, Geurin continued, "so it is no surprise that they've been successful in growing their female fan base."
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Ken Block's daughter carries on his legacy: Racing prodigy Lia stars in new Netflix show F1 Academy two years after her father's death in tragic snowmobile accident
As the eldest daughter of one of the world's greatest rally legends, it's perhaps no surprise that Lia Block could reach the pedals of a car at the age of five and that her 'first love' was motorsports. And as she appears this week in new Netflix series, F1: The Academy, 18-year-old Lia, who is from Utah, certainly seems to be following in her father's footsteps. Ken Block was known globally for his ferocious driving packed with exhilarating stunts that were watched by tens of millions on his YouTube channels, as well as his prolific professional rallying career. But in November 2023, the action sports star, 55, met with tragedy when his snowmobile overturned and landed on top of him in Utah, and he died at the scene. Then aged just 16, Lia was left heartbroken, writing in an emotional tribute that she'd lost her 'whole world' - her 'best friend', as well as her father. Having grown up travelling around the world as she watched him in race paddocks, Lia was forced to continue her motorsports journey without her beloved mentor. Despite facing such a devastating loss, she's gone from strength to strength, having been crowned the youngest American Rally Association Champion in 2023 at just 17 and has now traded in the world of off-road racing for the challenge of open wheel with Williams. Appearing in the first episode of the new F1 Academy, the racing prodigy reflected on her special relationship with her father now that she's following in his footsteps - though admitted she wishes she could just be a 'race-car driver' without all the pressures of social media. 'My dad was a race-car driver as well in Rallycross,' Lia explained and admitted she now understands why he found it so 'tiring'. She said: 'Motorsports is definitely my first love. When I was like, five or six, I was like, "hey Dad, look, I can touch the pedals". 'Watching my dad being in race paddocks, it was a big part of my life. I think it just made me know, "oh yes, this is actually what I want to do." Lia was 15 when she did her first rally, winning each one and eventually won the championship - becoming the first woman to ever do so. 'Yeah, I'm a girl, and I can still beat you,' she told viewers, demonstrating her father's fierce spirit. In the series, Lia joins Susie Wolff, a former professional driver and now managing director of F1 Academy, helping young women to enter the world of motorsport which, the series admits, is ' dominated by men '. Lia began karting for fun at five years old and sat behind the wheel of an off-road car by age ten. After traveling around the world with her father, Ken - the founder of the Hoonigan racing team and one of motorsport's most popular figures - she began showing interest in pursuing racing herself by the age of eleven. She said her father was her 'whole world' and her 'best friend' 'My dad always opened the doors for me, but never forced me to do anything,' she told in an interview last year. 'So I went off and tried every other sport I could, but eventually made it back to [motorsport] when I was about 10 or 11. 'So I think that made me want it even more because I had tried all these different things, but coming back to motorsport was truly like I knew what I wanted to do.' Once she decided to participate full-time, she went full throttle. At 11, she began competing in off-road series' and began rallying at 15. By age 16, she had won the American Rally Association Championship with two races in hand in a modified rear-wheel drive Subaru BRZ. In addition to her rallying pursuits, she also raced in nitrocross as well as in the electric rallying series Extreme E. Other pursuits included winning her class in the Baja 1000 alongside her mother Lucy and racing her father's pink Porsche 911 dubbed the 'Hoonapigasus' up the Pikes Peak hill climb - before switching to open car for the F1 Academy. However, her father wasn't there to watch her transition from the world of rallying to open-wheelers after his tragic passing in a snowmobile accident in January of 2023. In November 2023, Williams approached her with an offer to join their driver academy - which she accepted. She joined ART Grand Prix for the 2024 season. Lia has continued to post photos of her father in his memory to Instagran She is equally as glamorous off the track as she is on racing day 'He was truly my whole world and the only person I ever looked up too,' Lia wrote in an emotional Instagram post the day after his passing. 'No matter what I did he was always there to support me. 'I can't believe how fast he was taken from all of us. No words can describe of how much of an amazing human my dad was, he lived so many lives, accomplished more in 55 years than most people could in 10 lifetimes, and lived his life to the absolute fullest every single day.' She added: 'I didn't just lose my father, I lost my best friend.' Just hours before the horrific accident in Utah, a proud Ken Block had boasted about his daughter Lia's achievements to his own Instagram followers. The motoring legend posted a picture of Lia next to a 1985 Audi Quattro that she had purchased and restored herself. The action star regularly boasted of his pride in his children to his eight million Instagram followers, particularly oldest daughter Lia and her motoring endeavours. Lia also previously competed on her father's Hoonigan Racing team. In his final Instagram post, Block said: 'The 4th and final episode of my 16-year-old daughter Lia buying, tearing down, rebuilding and now driving her '85 Audi Ur Quattro will be live at 8am PST tomorrow on my YouTube channel. She is pictured in the new Netflix series, which is available to stream now 'Will her newly-refinished vintage Audi finally do a donut?? Or will this old car break in the attempt? Tune in to find out!' In one of his most recent Instagram posts, Block had also shared his holiday trip surrounded by family in a snowy Canadian ski lodge. The former rallying pro had posted a family photo with his wife Lucy, and three children, including Lia as he wished his followers a 'merry Christmas from the Blocks'. Lia is still clearly close to her her mother Lucy, who appears alongside her in the Netflix show and regularly posts photographs with her younger siblings, Kira and Mika. Giving Lucy a shoutout for her birthday last month, Lia wrote: 'Happy birthday to my amazing mom. I love you so much and thank you for all that you do for me. I would never be in my position without your guidance and support.' Her mother replied: 'I can't wait to see you continue to crush your goals! You are a force! I love you. ❤️ thank you.' Outside of racing, Lia enjoys cycling and playing golf and working out. She's also kept up her snowmobiling hobby, despite her father's accident. Despite her newfound fame - Lia now boasts more than one million followers on Instagram - she remains humble, and is even shy of the camera. Lia Block of United States and ART Grand Prix (57) drives on track during F1 Academy Testing at Circuit Zandvoort on April 17, 2024 Speaking in the Netflix show, Lia admitted she hadn't even heard of Good Morning American until a 'few weeks ago' and had to ask her mother what it was. 'I never really wanted to be in front of the camera,' she said. 'If social media wasn't a thing, I would much rather just be a race-car driver.' In her interview with last year, she described the transition from rallying to open-wheelers as 'starting from the ground up again' and says that she only had accumulated 20 days behind the wheel before the first F1 Academy race in Jeddah. 'I felt like I knew nothing. Obviously, doing a bit of karting when I was younger, I wasn't completely oblivious, but it was still a very steep learning curve. 'And also coming from competing at the top of rally in the US and winning the Championship, I was used to winning. I wasn't used to being at the bottom. 'So it was quite different going to open-wheel racing and having to learn everything and everything be so new.' Lia said she's honored to be among the first generations of drivers to take part in the all-women's series and says that her fellow competitors are 'very experienced, and they've raced against men all their life and they know how to hold their own.' She does admit that she was surprised by the difference in experience on track, but says, 'it makes me more excited to keep learning because I want to surpass them.
The Drive
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
Lia Block Is Racing Nigel Mansell's Title-Winning F1 Car Up the Goodwood Hillclimb
The latest car news, reviews, and features. Lia Block will get a chance to experience a machine like no other later this summer. The Formula 1 Academy star is set to pilot Nigel Mansell's Williams FW14B at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, which is celebrating the 75th anniversary of F1. Specifically, she will be driving the same car that the famous Brit won the F1 championship with in 1992. Block, the daughter of late racing driver and YouTube legend Ken Block, posted several photos of the FW14B's seat fitting process to her Instagram account Wednesday evening. 'I think I was [in] shock while doing this. My first seat fit in the FW14B, Nigel Mansell's championship-winning car. I'm so honored to be driving this car at @fosgoodwood 2025,' read the caption. Despite being just 18 years old, Block has had the opportunity to race (and recreationally drive) lots of rarefied cars, including the famous 1,400H-horsepower Mustang 'Hoonicorn,' and several rally cars where, just like her dad, she sharpened her car control skills. In 2023, she competed in the now-defunct Extreme E off-road championship, and a year later, she tested Keke Rosberg's Williams FW08 F1 car. Since then, Block has been racing in the F1 Academy series as a Williams Racing Academy driver. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lia Block (@liakblock) That said, the FW14B will prove to be a completely different animal, given its wicked power-to-weight ratio and, of course, aero. Even with a previous brief taste of the FW08, she will surely find it a handful. And while the Duke of Richmond's driveway isn't exactly the ideal (or most exciting) place to drive a vintage F1 car, this will certainly be a special experience for Block and everyone watching. 'I started going to Goodwood when I was really young with my dad who used to do the hillclimb a lot,' said Block in a press release. 'Last year was a very big moment for me being able to drive an F1 car up the hill. It was a dream come true, and Goodwood is so special to me because so many people from different areas of motorsport come together to celebrate the sport. This year is going to be an iconic experience for me in an iconic car—I can't wait!' The second-generation racer will share driving duties with team boss James Vowles and fellow racing star Jamie Chadwick. Got a tip? Email us at tips@ Jerry Perez is the Deputy Editor at The Drive, overseeing the site's daily and long-term content initiatives in addition to writing his own features and reviews. He's been covering the automotive industry professionally since 2015 and joined The Drive in January 2018.
