Bathurst 1000 starter turned adult entertainer Renee Gracie is adamant that Australian motorsport needs to follow in the footsteps of F1 and its all-female academy series.
The F1 Academy is a Formula 4-based competition that takes part on the undercard of grand prix weekends.
The single-seater series is in just its second season and began with the goal of eventually springboarding at least one female driver to F1.
Revealed – Renee Gracie: Fireproof is available now only on Stan.
The academy isn’t the first of its kind but is the most high-profile with support from the 10 teams in F1.
Gracie, who made her return to motorsport in 2023 via sports car racing, said a similar series needs to exist in Australia.
Chloe Chambers of United States and Campos Racing leads Abbi Pulling of Great Britain and Rodin Motorsport and the rest of the field into turn one at the start during the F1 Academy race at the Spanish Grand Prix. Clive Rose/Formula 1 via Getty Images
In her recently released Stan Originals documentary Renee Gracie: Fireproof, the former Supercars driver detailed her struggles as a woman in motorsport and the sexism she suffered.
Asked what needed to change to increase female participation locally, Gracie told Wide World of Sports, “I think if you asked me that probably a couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have had an answer.
“But I think after seeing the F1 Academy and how amazing that’s been — I mean, if Australian motorsport isn’t copying what they’re doing, it’s obvious they just don’t care.”
Race winner Chloe Chambers of United States and Campos Racing (middle) with second placed Abbi Pulling (left) and third placed Hamda Al Qubaisi (right) celebrate in the paddock during the F1 Academy round in Spain. Pauline Ballet/Formula 1 via Getty Images
Up until recently, motorsport has remained gender-neutral.
The short-lived W Series changed that in circuit racing, although women’s only motorcycle racing has been prevalent for years at the elite level.
Gracie, who is competing in GT World Challenge Australia this year, said that while her sport has for the most part enjoyed having men and women compete as equals there is still the need for AFLW- and NRLW-style racing.
“I think it is a clear example that if you actually dedicate something for women, all of a sudden women feel like they’ve got their safe space, they’re comfortable, they’re happy – just like they have with AFLW and football and all the other sports in Australia at the moment,” she added.
“If they don’t do it, I think it’s quite clear that they don’t want women to succeed in motorsport in Australia. I think it’s quite obvious.
“If there’s nothing in the making and the plan is (not) to have something related to women only in motorsport at this stage in the near future, I think it’s a clear representation of how they feel about women in motorsport.”
Renee Gracie is contesting GT World Challenge Australia in 2024. Daniel Kalisz
Given its infancy, the F1 Academy has yet to prove its concept. However, some drivers have been competitive elsewhere.
Doriane Pin was a race winner in the Formula 4 UAE Championship and has expanded her program to sports car racing and the Formula Regional European Championship.
F1 Academy points leader Abbi Pulling has won a race in the F4 British Championship this year.
Winning at the elite level of motorsport is hard enough for men, let alone women. For Gracie, their participation in high-level motorsport is an achievement in itself.
Renee Gracie in her Audi R8 LMS GT3. Daniel Kalisz/Race Project
“I think it’s important, and I think we forget too, that you were talking about one or two women and compared to you know, all of these men who race in all of these categories,” said Gracie.
“So while there’s pressure for them to do well, I think the fact that there’s just a female in it doing the same as all the other men is an achievement in itself. I know people probably don’t think that, but when you think about how many women are doing it and how hard it was for them to get there, the fact that any woman is there and doing well and being competitive should be a win or should be seen as a win. I see it as a win, obviously being a female driver myself.
“Some people who are the harsh critics might go ‘Oh, she’s not winning, so she’s crap’ but that’s not it at all, because we’re hoping that in the future there won’t be one female in any category. There’ll be several, So that’s the plan eventually.
“It’s just more pressure because we’re talking about one singular female versus a field of 20 men. We’re toughly criticised, so I think any woman being in a field full of men who’s competitive is a success.”
Renee Gracie drives an Audi R8 LMS GT3 in GT World Challenge Australia. Danie Kalisz/Race Project
Whether an Australian-based F1 Academy-style series could survive Down Under is anyone’s guess.
Single-seater racing has struggled to get a foothold in Australia outside of the highly successful Formula Ford.
The first iteration of the Formula 4 Australian Championship was short-lived, lasting just five seasons between 2015 and 2019 with relatively small grids.
The series was revived this year with an 11-car grid.
Lewis Hamilton poses for a photo with the F1 Academy drivers in the paddock ahead of F1 Academy round at Circuit of The Americas in 2023. Formula 1 via Getty Images
In any case, Gracie is hopeful that attitudes towards women in motorsport will change.
“Ultimately, I think there are a few generational gaps where people are still in power,” she explained.
“Maybe in 10, 15 years time when CEOs and bosses and people are a younger generation, things might change. But for now, motorsport is such a male sport. It’s a man’s sport, it’s a rich man’s sport, which is even harder because they’re the tougher ones to crack when it comes to being a female and anything successful, they just think that women can’t do it.
“I think something like that is purely just to have the support of women and obviously not just the girls who race, anyone who sets up an academy for women there’ll be so many women in the programme itself and they’ll all be supportive.
“It just weeds out the people who have power and control in categories and in certain circumstances in motorsport, where they can make a decision, and speaking from experience, that decision can be like, ‘No, we don’t want a girl and we don’t want her, so we’re not gonna have her’. It weeds those people out.”