Written by Poppy Evans, 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 tables of these superwomen, who have surpassed various hurdles to reach where they are today.
This week's story shines the light on F1 Academy and Formula E presenter Derin Adetosoye.
24-year old Derin Adetosoye is an up-and-coming motorsport presenter, most familiarly known for presenting F1 Academy and Formula E as well as a content creator.
Following Adetosoye’s graduation from London’s College of Fashion, where she earned a degree in communications and public relations, was the opportunity to join the Formula E team.
This sprouted from a 2020 open talent call for a young, diverse and refreshing presenter who would join the likes of Nicki Shields, Vernon Kay, Dario Franchitti, Jack Nicholls and Saunders Carmichael-Brown, in which Adetosoye submitted a 60 second video, only to find herself shortlisted and eventually as the worthy winner out of 800 applicants.
This is where Derin Adetosoye became the first black female presenter for an international motorsport rights holder.
Derin Adetosoye first fell in love with motorsport, having watched her first Formula One race with her father and brother around the age of seven. As Adetosoye described in an interview with OverTake, “I tried watching other sports and I never felt like I could connect with it, but with racing I just found it incredibly impressive, exciting and thrilling.”
With a continuous love for media ever since getting her first laptop at nine years old, Adetosoye has been creating content on her YouTube channel for over eight years, bringing an audience of over sixty-five-thousand across all her platforms to the world of motorsport.
Having started to share her passion for all things fashion, entertainment and education, Adetosoye began incorporating more and more motorsport content to her page, as well as being the face of Formula E’s digital presenting and content series.
The inaugural season of F1 Academy last year was one of Adetosoye’s first ever television shows, enabling her to encompass her goal of increasing diversity and inclusion within motorsport, on top of covering the hype of the new racing division, including interviewing the next generation of female drivers.
As mentioned earlier, Adetosoye is the first black female presenter for an international motorsport rights holder. This is a step forward for black representation, and it shows how change is coming yet as described by Adetosoye as ‘bittersweet’ having not seen a presenter of her race sooner?
“It has not been an easy journey,” as Adetosoye said in an interview with Females In Motorsport, “I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself, I would dim myself down.”
However, after looking back, Adetosoye has turned this around and became truly herself, as she continues to be a role-model for so many people. All while helping to bridge the gap to inclusion and showing the opportunities that are available to everyone, regardless of race, sex or background - motorsport is a space for everyone.
Taking inspiration from Naomi Schiff and Lissie Mackintosh, Adetosoye has used her love for fashion to show that you can show up to a race track authentically yourself through what you wear - ‘It does make a difference.
“It is so important to show up authentically, it comes through style, how you present yourself and all the things that make you unique. The way you dress at a race weekend can influence your confidence but when you are authentically yourself, you feel as if you can achieve whatever you put your mind to — It is not a superficial thing, it is ultimately about showing up as authentically you!”
In 2023, as the youngest ever host, Adetosoye hosted the FIA prize giving ceremony in Baku where she also got to interview Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Stoffel Vandoorne. "I felt I really showed up as myself.”
Most recently Adetosoye had the honour of hosting Aston Martin’s celebration of International Women's Day, where the theme was inclusion in sport. A number of women were invited, such as team partners, members and girls from local schools to be included in a panel talk with some of the industry's most inspiring women.
At the start of the 2024 year, Adetosoye also had the incredible opportunity of hosting the car launch of Red Bull’s RB20, and had previously presented at the six nations live for England rugby to an audience of over eighty-thousand at Twickenham stadium.
Derin Adetosoye is an awakening addition to the world of motorsport presenting where she engages the sport to a younger, wider audience, is a role-model for so many individuals as well as promoting inclusion within motorsport.
The future is inevitably bright for Adetosoye as she continues to make her mark in this exhilarating, ever evolving yet still male dominated industry and I for one certainly can not wait to see what is next for our trailblazer - Derin Adetosoye.
‘I would say that probably one of the biggest skills that I have learnt over the last year and a half in the role is knowing the importance of who you are and what you bring to the table and the value you have as an individual. We all have our own unique qualities that make us who we are.’