F1's next female driver will need time: Pulling

The all-female F1 academy winner feels there is a long way to go to reach on top

LONDON:

Abbi Pulling still has a long road ahead to reach Formula One after winning the all-female F1 Academy title but it remains the target and she believes time is on her side.

Part of the Renault-owned Alpine F1 team's academy, the 21-year-old Briton will have a fully-funded seat with Rodin Motorsport in Britain's GB3 series next year.

The next rungs on the ladder would then be Formula Three and Formula Two.

The recent trend has seen drivers in their early 20s and late teens step up to Formula One -- now-quadruple world champion Max Verstappen being the youngest -- but Pulling is not deterred.

"I'm still aiming to get to Formula One and I think if we see a female there, we won't have a 17-year-old Max Verstappen-esque kind of entry," she told Reuters after ending her season by winning her title twice in one week.

"A 16-year-old girl wouldn't be strong enough to drive a Formula Two car. That's the harsh reality.

"(For) a more mature, more developed female build it will be more possible to drive that car and fight for an opportunity to get to Formula One. "When, not if, we see a woman in Formula One, it will be older -- mid-20s, I would say."

Formula One, whose cars have power steering unlike the current F2 ones, has not had a female racer since the late Italian Lella Lombardi in 1976.

All-female championships like the now-defunct W Series and F1 Academy have been criticised for segregating the sexes but Pulling says that misses the point -- money.

"They (boys) start testing at 14 all around the country and Europe -- then they do Italian, German and UAE F4, which alone is a million, and that's when they're 15 or 16," she said.

"They do that for two years... then they go into FRECA (Formula Regional Europe) or GB3 or sometimes both. Then they do 30-40 test days in that regard. If I could afford to do that, yeah, I'd do that and continue against the guys.

"Unfortunately, in my situation, I can't do that. That's where F1 Academy has been so important. "It shouldn't be needed, but it is needed. That's the sad reality. I hope it stays around for a very long time and keeps giving opportunities to girls that are in my position and can't get through without it."

Motorsport history is littered with those who failed to progress because their talent was not matched by money. Pulling nearly joined them.