Out of a total of 781 drivers, only two women have successfully competed in the F1 championship. Fashion business & innovation student Laetitia Biewesch is on a mission to break down stereotypes, empower female F1 drivers and increase their visibility, and create opportunities for sponsorships and partnerships.
Historically speaking, motorsport has been a male-dominated industry. The 22 drivers participating in the 2026 Formula One World Championship, for instance, are all men. Only two women have successfully entered – and started – in a Grand Prix: Maria Teresa de Filippis (1958, 1959) and Lella Lombardi (1974-1976). And as Laetitia Biewesch points out, they make up only 0.26% of the 781 drivers who have competed in the F1 championship since its establishment in 1950.
But motorsport, says Biewesch, is one of the few sports where men and women can compete against each other on a level playing field. Women constitute 41% of the global F1 fan base, she adds, with 16-24-year-olds making up the fastest growing demographic group. Women and girls are evidently interested in motorsport: so what’s keeping them out of the driver’s seat?
Lack of resources and visibility
“The challenges are systemic,” argues Biewesch, a fashion business & innovation student at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy. Biewesch, who has been a motorsport fan since a young age, is exploring how fashion can be used as a tool to empower and support young female drivers. Women drivers often lack financial resources and sponsorship opportunities – and thus, visibility.
Biewesch’s thesis focuses on addressing this gap. As part of her studies, Biewesch has developed a marketing strategy framework for her marketing agency Empower Her Drive. “It will create narrative-driven fashion and motorsport campaigns featuring young, passionate, and determined female racing drivers,” she explains. “The goal is to give them greater visibility, empower them, and help them create opportunities for funding, sponsorships, and partnerships.”
“Through my research, I’ve learned that brands often invest more into male drivers, because they perceive greater long-term potential with them,” adds Biewesch. The lack of representation for female drivers creates something of a catch-22. Because there are fewer campaigns featuring women, there’s less data about impact and commercial results – metrics that the marketing teams of sponsors and other companies use when justifying the budget of a new campaign. No campaigns mean no metrics, which, in turn, mean no campaigns. It’s a vicious cycle.
Increasing visibility, therefore, is crucial to promoting the inclusion of women in motorsport. “Through my framework, I will try to position female drivers as brand-ready, professional athletes who are really determined and driven to attain top-tier motorsports level,” says Biewesch.
Defying stereotypes
Many automotive advertisements, such as those from the 1970s, as Biewesch illustrates in her research, undermine women’s autonomy, portray them as submissive, or imply that they are bad drivers, thus reinforcing sexist assumptions. A Mini advertisement from 1971, for example, highlights the car’s automatic transmission – and the fact that it’s impossible to stall – as a selling point. The ad is accompanied by the words “For simple driving” and the photo of a young, wide-eyed, nervous-looking woman with chunky rings and long, painted nails. In other examples, the woman in the advertisement is presented simply as a decorative element.
These sexist attitudes go beyond the space of media and advertising, Biewesch points out, noting that de Filippis and Lombardi – the only two women to compete in the F1 championship – faced discriminatory behaviours and sexist comments on the track.
To counter these tendencies, Biewesch advocates for “fem-vertising,” a form of advertising that challenges traditional female stereotypes and embraces female empowerment. “Social changes come from four pillars: empathy, significance, emotion, and inclusivity. It’s really about authentically understanding women’s needs and portraying them as leaders, appealing to both their heart and mind and reflecting their identity and aspirations.”
“For example, for the campaign I will be shooting in the next months, I will portray the driver as a professional, hard-working athlete,” says Biewesch. “I’m not going to objectify her or sexualise her. It serves to show how hard they are working off-track as well. It’s really important to let them be in their domain, with their passion and professionality, and to give them their racing identity in a fashion sense.”
So how much agency do drivers have when they’re featured in a marketing campaign?
When considering this question, Biewesch notes that it’s key to remember that advertising campaigns can serve as a source of income, referring to an interview with driver Chloe Grant. Driver Katrina Ee agreed with this point, but also said that she would reject a sexualised or objectified portrayal.
That being said, femininity and motorsport can coexist. “Both of them said they like expressing their feminine side, be it by the way they dress or wear makeup,” adds Biewesch. Collaborations between F1 Academy, a female-only, Formula 4-level racing championship, and makeup brand Charlotte Tilbury or Hello Kitty also help to challenge stereotypes about who belongs in motorsport.
Lower entry barriers and offer opportunities
Beyond empowering female drivers by portraying them as professional, high-performing athletes in advertising campaigns and providing them with the opportunity to build personal brands, initiatives like F1 Academy give women the chance to enter the world of motorsport.
But more action is needed, argues Biewesch. Motorsport is an expensive activity, and barriers need to be lowered to allow more women and girls to get their foot in the door. Scholarships, she notes, can help with this, while initiatives like the ACL’s free karting session for women on the occasion of International Women’s Day offer women a taste of the sport.
