From grassroots karting to the highest echelons of racing, female motorsport participation is growing, fuelled by initiatives like Girls on Track. But behind the glossy promotional photos and social media hashtags lies harder truths. Built on an image of power, strength and speed, motorsport has long echoed traditional traits of masculinity, leaving women to challenge stereotypes, chase sponsors, and prove they belong on the same starting grid.

Women have faced barriers at every corner and apex of their drive through motorsport. Many have been subjected to online harassment and threats, and commentary about their looks or personal lives that have sometimes overshadowed their skill. In Jillian Kochanek et al’s study More than ‘just a driver,’ many women recounted hearing comments such as “You brake like a girl…this sport just isn’t in your DNA”, “She’s good, but not cute”, and “I get told I have sponsors just because I am a young female driver”.

Imogen Radburn is a young Australian racer chasing the dream of joining Formula One (F1). She recently arrived in London to prepare for a driver selection program for the F1 Academy as a stepping stone to F1. Radburn says that attitudes are shifting in the paddock, but not always the way she hoped.

“Within the paddock, more people are willing to give you a go … but with all the media attention that girls are getting, it’s also giving a different shift,” she tells upstart. “It’s often thought, ‘oh well, they’re just here to be internet models or to be the next influencer’.”

Olivia Howe, author of Hitting the barriers – Women in Formula 1 and W series racing, says that the visibility of female drivers through social media has really helped inspire fans and show that women belong on the grid.

“With female drivers who have a large social media following, such as Bianca Bustamante, we are beginning to think ‘hmm, maybe women will make it to the top of motorsport after all’,” she tells upstart.

According to Kochanek, the importance of female role models cannot be underestimated. However, she believes visibility alone is not enough to contest such ingrained sexism. It requires allies—particularly male allies—and those in powerful stakeholder positions, who can push for interpersonal and structural reforms.

“When we focus solely on female role models, we risk having these women leaders do all the physical and emotional labour to level the playing field,” she tells upstart.

As a driver, Radburn has found that tokenisation acts as an opponent to her success. She has had to battle hard for sponsorships, often being judged on stereotypes about her gender rather than her performance. It took Radburn over five years of negotiating to land her main sponsor, Harvey Norman. But to have such a big name on board signals to others that she’s serious about racing and the future of women in motorsport.

“My biggest issue is getting people to trust me,” she says. “[People say] ‘you’re just here because you want to be in F1 Academy, you just want to be on Netflix’.”

In Kochanek’s study, many women pointed out a scarcity of sponsorships tailored for female athletes, reflecting a broader market bias.

“Are the sponsors still ‘women sponsors’?” Howe asks. “I think so.”

“It’s a double-edged sword: women need funding, but these brands are definitely capitalising on their drivers being ‘girly’ and ‘feminine’.”

Since the release of Drive to Survive, F1’s female fanbase has shown rapid growth. A 2025 Global F1 Fan Survey found that over 74 percent of new fans (who have been watching for less than a year) are female. Female fans now make up 42 percent of all fans, up from just 10 percent in 2017. Despite this increase in viewership, permanent female employees in F1 is 37 percent, highlighting a mismatch between who watches the sport and who competes.

The writing of a woman in a position of power in the 2025 F1 movie marked an important step for female representation in motorsport. However, the story sees the main character Sonny Hayes spend the night with his technical director, Kate McKenna, shifting attention from her professional role toward a romantic subplot. Radburn says that the industry has changed a lot over the past 20 years, however, she acknowledges that women’s credibility is still often undermined by personal dynamics.

“Honestly, I could say that I’ve been treated like that a few times, and I’m only 19,” she says. “You learn to have a tough skin.”

Kochanek says sexism is embedded at both interpersonal and structural levels, meaning that dismantling it requires a wide approach. Howe agrees that without real change, women will not have a true place in the sport. She argues that when sexism is rooted in a sports structure, the entire system must be reformed.

“It’s a great misconception that if there was a greater gender balance, the nature of the sport would change for the worse,” Howe says. “I think it would change for the better.”

“I would love to see a big-name sponsor fully support a female motor driver. Santander, Monster, Adidas. I would love them to get behind a female driver and say ‘You know what, we are going to get behind you no matter what. Let’s take you all the way’.”

Article: Alison Tucker is a second-year student Media and Communications student at LaTrobe University. You can follow her on X at @alisonltucker

Photo: 2019 Brands Hatch W series round 55 by mattbuck4950 found HERE and used under a Creative Commons licence. The image has not been modified.