New branding, sponsors, TV coverage: F1 Academy roars into life in Jeddah
The new F1 Academy season is set to get underway in Saudi Arabia and the changes ahead of 2024 have added a new air of excitement in the paddock.
F1 Academy drivers during testing in Jeddah. (Alex Pantling/Formula 1/Getty Images)
Five teams and fifteen regular drivers will contest the seven-round season, with the first race to take place on International Women’s Day as the female-only series starts its first year as a fully-developed racing program.
It’s not the first female only category, launching on the heels of the W-Series, but the hope is that the support of Formula One, from the sport’s management down to teams and individuals in the paddock, will make the difference in promoting female motorsport and promoting a driver to the ranks of F1.
“Growing up I never really had a huge female role model,” says Abbi Pulling, who will drive the Alpine-branded Rodin Motorsport car in her second year in the series.
“I think that’s a really important thing that we have more females in the spotlight and doing amazing things and achieving great things and getting the younger females interested, saying “I can actually do that.””
Abbi Pulling in the F1 Fan Zone on Wednesday in Jeddah. (Pauline Ballet/Formula 1/Getty Images)
The interest is already growing, with the crowd two-, at times three-deep as the F1 Academy drivers appear on stage at the F1 Fan Zone in Jeddah.
It’s not just girls and young women, but fans, including children of all ages, who can already pick out their favourite drivers and are queueing for selfies.
It has certainly helped that Formula 1, who operates the category, required the 10 Formula 1 teams to buy into the concept of the series, with ten of the fifteen regular entries to carry their liveries.
By any early indication it has paid off, with team personnel like Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and McLaren driver Lando Norris visiting the paddock on Wednesday.
The paddock is on the edge of the fan zone and interested fans stream by on the way to the main grandstands.
It has been a smart move from F1 and event organisers, as its probably the closest that most fans will be able to get inside a team garage in any category over the weekend.
Nerea Marti with the Tommy Hilfiger entry run by Campos Racing. (F1Academy/X)
“It definitely feels bigger, bigger and better,” says Pulling.
“We had a few events last year on the DTM, there were lots of spectators and things like that, but this is next level.”
“We’ve all got our faces and our names [on our awnings], similar to what the F1 guys have on top of their garages.”
“It felt professional last year, but it’s just another step and I’m very much looking forward to being on the F1 package.”
The inaugural season presented stumbling blocks for Formula 1, unable to find track time at grands prix or finalise broadcast arrangements in time for the season, leading to a series that could only be watched in post-produced highlights.
The first real exposure on the F1 circuit, where the series could actually reap the benefits of being run by the main category, came at the United States Grand Prix in Austin for the season finale.
Finally on the support bill for Formula 1 and with live coverage of each session, it began to hint at what the category could look like into 2024.
The remaining five cars, and a wildcard entry for a local driver at each round, have been offered to sponsors, with makeup brand Charlotte Tilbury and apparel brands Puma and Tommy Hilfiger joining the paddock with striking designs, and the news on Thursday that Pepe Jeans has also joined Red Bull as a title sponsor of their entries.
Super licence points will also be on offer at the end of the season, another vital element required in the progression to F1.
“I’m just glad it’s able to continue and the opportunities are there,” says Pulling.
“We’re all getting the kind of recognition we will deserve, as well as the opportunity to be competing at the front of such a great audience and such an enthusiastic audience as well.”
And for wildcard entry Reema Juffali, the 32-year-old who became the first Saudi woman to race in an international event held in the Kingdom, it’s also an important milestone.
“It is an honour and a privilege to be representing my country, especially in my hometown,” Juffali told F1 Academy.
“As the saying goes: ‘if you can’t see it, you won’t believe it’.”
“So, hopefully Saudi fans can see that there is a Saudi racing driver out there and it will get them to thinking that ‘this is something I can do!’.”
“It is for this reason I have decided to take this challenge on. This is just the beginning!”
Now, seven years after women were allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, the final country in the world to allow women to do so, the top level of motorsport puts its full force behind a series that will begin its tour around the world on the streets of Jeddah.
