Written by Alejandra Guajardo Lozano, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri

Women have played an influential role throughout the history of motor racing. Many have taken to the wheels of motorsport machines, while numerous figures have worked tirelessly on the sidelines in various roles, shaping the racing world to the present day. Woman Spotlight Wednesday aims to take a look at the tales of these superwomen, who have surpassed various hurdles to reach where they are today.
Today's story dives into the story of a Formula One presenter, a recent figure who has shot into the spotlight in a short span of time.
Lissie Mackintosh has captivated social media and F1 spectators all around the world with her beauty, charisma, and ease with words. She has amassed almost half a million followers on TikTok over the last two years, and has been known as the “Queen of the Paddock '' and “F1’s it girl”.
In her videos, Mackintosh shows us the behind the scenes of her life as an F1 presenter, humanising the sport with fun videos, like “get ready with me” for various Grands-Prix and bringing a weekly roundup of F1 news to keep her viewers updated, also welcoming news fans and younger audiences into the sport.
"I feel sad some people are not made to feel welcome, because they don't necessarily know everything about the sport.
"Sport is entertainment and you should be allowed to enjoy the sport whether it's your first race or hundredth race. Sport does become more entertaining and enjoyable when you do know what's going on," she said to Sky Sports.
With over 14 million likes, she has also made videos featuring several drivers from the Formula 1 grid. Some big names include Nico Hulkenberg, Charles Leclerc, Daniel Ricciardo, and Lando Norris, and the list just goes on.
She has an amazing portfolio in her short career. Her recent collaborations include Shell x Ferrari, Sky Sports, Formula E, Puma x Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 campaign, Quadrant Speedco x Lissie drop, and interviewing Emma Raducanu for HSBC.
Her huge impact on the media has also attracted many inevitable bad comments from watchers, who don’t enjoy her content as most people do.
"The content creation side comes with thousands of people being able to say whatever they want to me. It was tough in the beginning, there were loads of comments like 'stay in the kitchen', 'know your place'," she told Sky Sports News.
"Ultimately, the kind of hateful comments says more about them than me. I use them to fuel me and there are so many girls now who look up to me, and I feel responsible to put all those hateful and nasty comments aside and just remind myself that there is something so much bigger here.”
Mackintosh is also the host of her own podcast, “Going Purple” in which she talks about F1 news, does interviews with motorsport personalities, and narrates her experiences as a presenter. All her content is fun and interactive for her followers, targeted especially towards young girls.
"We need more relatable role models in our sport. It's tough. If you sit down and watch a race, sometimes I think you can run the risk of only seeing 20 male drivers, ten team principals who are all men and two male commentators.
"But there are so many incredible women within F1, the sport would not run without women and the women within F1. I hope to be able to shine a light on all of those women because I am so inspired by them all." Mackintosh said to Sky Sports.
"We need more women who are relatable and being shown. That's the way to get younger girls interested in the sport. The roles aren't just male roles. We all need to be aware of the fact that representation in F1 isn't quite where it needs to be at the moment," she added.
Lissie Mackintosh has been a huge change maker for the representation of women in motorsport, inspiring many young girls who want to work in the sport. Lissie has shown her female viewers to never let anyone doubt their knowledge and try to tell them they don’t belong somewhere, especially in motorsport. The 23 year-old is a true role model who still has a lot ahead of her, luckily, she always takes her followers with her on her journey through the sport, aweing them with her extensive knowledge, and captivating personality.

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