Women Spotlight Wednesday – Susie Wolff
- Zoha Wyne
- 10 hours ago
- 5 min read
Written by Zoha Wyne, 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 motor 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 shines the spotlight on a pioneer, a leader in motorsport history — Susie Wolff. A figure central to females and their representation in motorsport today.
For most of history, sport has always been a man’s game, not by talent, but by tradition. Women, on the other hand, have always turned up, fought harder, and urged for change, sometimes literally.
From stadiums to circuits, the narrative is shifting. We're no longer asking if women belong in elite sport, but we're seeing them redefine what elite even means. That is especially evident in motorsport, one of the last and most adamantly male-dominated pillars of international sport.
Nevertheless, there are certain women who not only smash down boundaries, but also drive through them. Suzanne, aka Susie Wolff MBE (née Stoddart), is one of these women.
A Racer. A Leader. A Trailblazer.
From go-karts to Formula 1 test runs, from Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) to the boardroom of Formula E and finally F1 Academy.
Wolff hasn’t just opened doors, she’s held them open. Her career is a blueprint for how women can lead, compete, and win at the highest levels of racing. And she’s only getting started.
Karting, Formula Renault & F3 success
Born in Oban, Scotland, in 1982, Susie Stoddart first fell in love with racing through karting.
By age eight, she was winning local titles, and in 1997 she claimed the 24-hour Middle East Kart Championship and multiple Scottish karting crowns.
Her karting success earned a move to single-seaters in 2002, with Susie scoring podiums in Formula Renault UK and graduating to British Formula 3 in 2005.
Despite an ankle injury cutting that year short, Susie Wolff had already proven why she belonged in the fast lane.
DTM & a first F1 breakthrough
In 2006, Wolff joined Mercedes’ DTM programme. One of Europe’s most competitive touring car championships. Over seven seasons, she earned a reputation as a consistent and strategic racer.
Then came her biggest break, in 2012, when she signed with the Williams F1 team as a development driver. Only two years later, she made history, becoming the first woman in 22 years to take part in an F1 Grand Prix weekend, driving in practice sessions at Silverstone and Hockenheim.
Dare to be Different & Girls on Track
After retiring from driving, Wolff shifted gears to advocacy. In 2016, she co-founded Dare to Be Different, a movement to increase female representation in motorsport. “My fundamental aim is to drive female talent,” she said at the launch.
The program delivered school visits, karting days, and digital workshops, reaching thousands of girls across the UK and Europe.
In 2020, D2BD merged with the FIA’s Girls on Track initiative to form a single global platform. Girls aged 8–18 could now access hands-on STEM and motorsport experiences like never before.
Venturi & Formula E leadership
Wolff’s impact wasn’t limited to just grassroots, in fact in 2018, she was appointed Team Principal of Venturi Formula E.
Her leadership resulted in immediate improvements, with the team achieving its best result during her tenure and finished as Vice World Champions in 2021, earning her title to CEO. Wolff led the team with a focus on culture and inclusion.
“When I joined Venturi, my goal was to build a team that stood for more than just performance,” she said in 2022. “A racing family that celebrated diversity and championed inclusivity.”
Susie Wolff's central role in driving F1 Academy and beyond
In 2023, Formula 1 launched the all-female F1 Academy, and Susie Wolff emerged as the natural choice for Managing Director. The series aimed to support young women on their journey to elite racing, offering a professional platform and year-round development through competitive race seats, training, and visibility on the global F1 stage.
Under her leadership, F1 Academy has rapidly grown in ambition and reach. Wolff brokered partnerships with all ten F1 teams, each committing to back a driver in the 2024 season — a landmark step in building pathways from grassroots to Grand Prix.
She has also overseen the integration of the F1 Academy into race weekends at top-tier Grands Prix, placing young female drivers on the biggest platforms in motorsport.
“I want to make sure I inspire the next generation,” she said in a 2024 interview with FIA Formula E. “And that I use my platform to keep doors open for the women coming behind me.”
She added, "Having a seat at the table is important. But using that seat to change the game for those who come next? That’s legacy."
It’s a legacy that continues to evolve, and fast.
Facing the Noise: The FIA Investigation
But even legacy comes with resistance. In December 2023, Susie Wolff faced an unexpected challenge when the FIA launched an investigation into Susie and her husband, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff.
The probe stemmed from a report in Business F1 magazine, alleging that Toto had access to confidential information via Susie in her role as Managing Director of F1 Academy. The claims suggested other team principals had voiced concerns, although none were named.
Both Susie and Toto denied the allegations. Susie called the claims "intimidatory and misogynistic," and publicly condemned the insinuations as unfounded and damaging. Rather than quietly let it pass, she took action.
Wolff filed a criminal complaint in the French courts, targeting the FIA’s conduct and its public statements surrounding the investigation. Her motivation? To hold the organisation accountable and push back against what she described as inappropriate behaviour.
“I feel a sense of responsibility,” she said, “not only to protect my own integrity but to stand up against the way this was handled.”
Her move earned praise across the paddock. All ten teams on the F1 grid publicly distanced themselves from the FIA’s allegations, issuing a joint statement to clarify that none of them had filed any complaint or raised concerns about Susie Wolff’s role. Lewis Hamilton too spoke out, criticising the FIA for its lack of transparency and praising Susie for standing up for herself.
The FIA, for its part, stated that its compliance and ethics committees act independently and operate under strict confidentiality and declined to comment on the specifics of Wolff’s complaint.
The incident served as a reminder that even at the highest levels, women in motorsport still face double standards and that Susie Wolff is still willing to fight to change them.
Motorsport doesn’t change on its own. It takes courage, clarity, and someone willing to challenge the system even from within it.
Susie Wolff has done just that. She has raced. She has taken the lead. She has constructed pipelines and fought against injustice.
Through it all her message remains the same: the future of motorsport is more than just speed. It is fairer. And it will be geared towards women.
Susie Wolff, a trailblazer in modern-day motorsport, is certainly not done yet. She is still a long way from finishing, continuing to effect impactful moves in the world of motorsport.
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