About the initiative

Race Like A Girl™

Race Like A Girl is an initiative created with an ambitious dream: to see the first American woman compete in Formula 1 by 2036. Achieving that dream requires more than opportunity. American women must develop the competitive performance needed to advance through the international formula racing ranks. That means focusing on measurable improvement, making informed decisions about when to advance, and ensuring that each driver is prepared for the challenges of the next level.

To make meaningful progress toward this dream, we have three immediate goals:

  1. Driver Development: Develop the skills, knowledge, and abilities of American women competing in formula racing, both individually and collectively, to maximize their competitive potential.
  2. Visibility: Generate public interest in American women in formula racing to increase their visibility and attract the attention of potential sponsors and Formula 1 development programs.
  3. Opportunity: Leverage relationships throughout the motorsport industry to create additional opportunities for driver development and advancement within the broader formula racing world.

Skills & Abilities

The heart of our initiative is helping American women in formula racing become more competitive. Our work is grounded in research comparing American women with international women drivers and with all male drivers competing in the same races, and so far the comparison is challenging. Across the 2026 season, only one American woman was faster on average than the fastest international woman in her races, and the field drops off quickly from there, with average gaps of roughly half a second to five seconds per lap.

Against male drivers the gap is larger. Only one American woman was faster than the average of the male drivers’ fastest laps, and on average every American woman was slower than the fastest male. Even our four fastest drivers were 1 to 2.5 seconds per lap behind the fastest male drivers. Closing this gap is essential for meaningful progress up the formula ladder.*

Of course, drivers are not averages. Each driver has different strengths, weaknesses, experience, and development needs. We work with individual drivers through a Knowledge and Performance Gap Analysis designed to identify the specific improvements necessary for that driver to progress. Through our American Formula™ Driver Development Program, we then provide targeted sponsorships and guidance to help address those needs.

Depending on the driver’s evaluation, sponsorships may include:

  • Sim racing equipment, upgrades, and access to suitable simulation environments
  • Professional sim racing or on-track driver coaching
  • Physical fitness, endurance, reaction-time, and performance training
  • Technical knowledge and racecraft education
  • Additional testing and other targeted development opportunities

Our success is measured not by the amount of sponsorship we provide, but by demonstrable improvements in driver performance. We evaluate progress through lap times, race pace, consistency, racecraft, technical knowledge, and competitive results.

Our objective is not simply to help drivers move to higher levels of racing. It is to help them develop the skills and competitive performance necessary to succeed when they get there. Throughout this process, we aim to provide drivers and their families with direct, realistic assessments of their progress and readiness to advance.

We also emphasize the substantial commitment required for a professional racing career. Drivers must be willing to invest significant time and effort into physical conditioning, simulation training, technical study, coaching, and continuous improvement. We encourage each driver to honestly evaluate whether she is prepared to make the necessary commitment.

Questions we hear

Race Like A Girl FAQs

01 What does Race Like A Girl cost drivers/families?

Nothing. There is no cost for drivers to be included in the Race Like A Girl initiative. Our objective is to raise the visibility of all American women competing in formula racing and help create greater opportunities for them. In addition, we offer each driver our Knowledge and Performance Gap Analysis to help individual drivers identify the areas in which they should focus their development.

Drivers who demonstrate the commitment necessary to improve may be invited to participate in our American Formula™ Driver Development Program.

02 What does the American Formula Driver Development Program cost drivers and families?

There is no cost for drivers accepted into our driver development program. Instead, the program provides targeted financial sponsorship to help address the development needs identified during our evaluation.

Sponsorship activities and funding levels are determined individually based on each driver's needs, commitment, development potential, and available program resources.

03 Who pays for these programs?

Race Like A Girl has been funded through personal and corporate sponsors who share our dream of seeing American women progress to F3, F2 and finally F1. As the initiative grows, we hope to bring together additional individuals, organizations, and corporations who share that vision.

04 What does Race Like A Girl get out of this?

Our desire is to change the world for the better. We love formula racing, but it has historically been male-dominated and Eurocentric. We would like to overcome the barriers that have kept American women from reaching the highest levels. We are not a commercial driver management agency or a sponsorship brokerage firm. Even our online merchandise store is intended primarily to generate excitement and visibility for American women drivers, rather than profit. When merchandise features a particular driver or her race car, all net proceeds from those products are directed toward that driver's development.

05 Do you help women become formula racers?

No. Our focus begins after a woman has already committed to competing in formula racing. There are already several organizations such as Women in Motorsports North America (WIMNA), the Della Penna Foundation, F1 Academy and even Formula 1 itself that are working to encourage greater female participation in motorsport.

06 Do you replace the driver’s team or coach?

Absolutely not. Race Like A Girl is not a racing team, and our program is not intended to replace or compete with a driver’s existing coaches, trainers, racing team, sponsors or support system. We believe every aspiring professional driver should have access to qualified driver coaching and individualized physical fitness and performance training. When those resources are unavailable, we may help drivers obtain them. However, we do not require drivers to use particular coaches or trainers. We seek to complement and reinforce the work of the driver's existing team and coaches. Our commitment is to the development of the individual driver.

07 Do you pay for racing seats, teams, series entry fees, etc.?

No. To qualify for our development program, a driver must already have sufficient funding to continue to compete in a recognized Formula series such as JFC, F4, GB4, GB3, or another appropriate championship. While our American Formula Driver Development program may organize test days for one or more drivers if we determine that is the greatest need, our sponsorships are intended to provide additional development resources, not replace the funding required for participation in a racing championship.

08 Why “Race Like A Girl”?

We recognize that women racing drivers want, and deserve, to be recognized simply as racers. Our name is not intended to suggest that women have a different standard of racing performance. Instead, it is aimed at the public to generate interest from those who would like to see women succeed in a historically male-dominated sport. We have already seen considerable enthusiasm for the name and look forward to building on that interest.

09 Why just focus on American women and not American men?

American women remain dramatically underrepresented at the highest levels of international formula racing. No American woman has ever started a Formula 1 World Championship Grand Prix. In fact, the last woman of any nationality to do so was Italy's Lella Lombardi on August 15, 1976—more than 50 years ago. As of 2026, there are no women of any nationality competing in either the FIA Formula 3 or FIA Formula 2 Championship. That is an extraordinary absence of female representation in the championships that lead directly toward Formula 1. We believe this challenge can be overcome through more deliberate driver development, realistic performance assessment, appropriate training, and expanded opportunities.

The arrival of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team in 2026 has also created an exciting opportunity to generate greater American interest in the sport. We hope Cadillac, along with other Formula 1 teams and industry partners, will share our vision of developing an American woman capable of competing at the highest level. Our dream is not simply to see an American woman reach Formula 1. It is to see an American woman arrive prepared to succeed.

For more information

Visit RaceLikeAGirl.com or email us at info@racelikeagirl.com.

Email us Meet the drivers

* Results are from Race Like A Girl’s 2026 analysis of single-seater races through October 18, 2026, covering 14 American women across 11 series in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Japan. In each race, we took each driver’s fastest lap and compared it with both the fastest lap and the average of the fastest laps set by the international women, and separately by the men, in the same car class. Each driver’s races were averaged, and each driver counts equally in group results. Races with a reversed starting grid were excluded. Timing comes from official classifications where available; a few U.S. races rely on unofficial timing. These figures reflect best single-lap pace under actual race conditions, not full race pace. They are not adjusted for experience, team or equipment. Some 2026 races are not yet included, so the results are provisional.

Race Like A Girl and American Formula are trademarks of Robis, Inc. Formula 1, F1 Academy, Cadillac F1 and other marks mentioned are the property of their respective trademark holders.