Formula E won’t follow F1 in creating women-only racing series

• Longo wants women to be equally competitive “within the next ten to 15 years”
• Formula E has future plans of up to four races in China and six races in the US

Formula E will focus on developing opportunities for women within its existing framework, rather than creating a female-only racing series like Formula One has done, says chief championship officer Alberto Longo.

The all-electric championship has already put in significant work to reduce barriers to entry in the sport, but there is still considerable progress to be made.

“I firmly believe that if women are competitive, they should race against men, not have their own championship,” Longo told Reuters.

This is a different strategy to the one taken by Formula One, which established the all-female F1 Academy series as a proving ground for young talent. 

“If people told me that a female driver was going to join Formula One or Formula E, I’d say we’re not quite there yet, we are half a century behind,” continued Longo. “We are trying to make up those years so that they are equally competitive within the next ten to 15 years.

“What we lack in most cases is a period of training. They have had far fewer kilometres and hours of competition. If you start racing from the age of six or eight, when you reach 16 you’ll be at the same level.”

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Formula E has now held an all-female test session for two consecutive years, becoming the first International Automobile Federation (FIA) backed championship to do so. However, the scale of the challenge was evident during the full rookie test earlier this year.

Abbi Pulling finished as the highest-placed woman in 17th, even if the entire grid was separated by just over 1.5 seconds. Nevertheless, Formula E’s off-track initiatives are creating a promising foundation for future growth.

The FIA Girls on Track programme has been highly successful in boosting female participation, having supported over 4,500 young people aged 12 to 18 during its seven years. The corporate structure at Formula E is also notably diverse, with senior executives such as Julia Pallé, Claudia Denni, Tiziana di Gioia, Charlotte Sefton and Beth Paretta, to name just a few.

“Women make up 54 per cent of Formula E’s workforce, with every team featuring female staff, from engineers to mechanics,” said Longo. “We certainly make room and open doors to make this possible.”

Longo also told Reuters that China and the US are key expansion markets for Formula E in the future, with China in particular showing great promise.

“I’ve never seen such an appetite from a country to be part of our championship,” he said.

There are already two races slated for Shanghai in next year’s schedule, but it has been suggested that China could host up to four races next season with two slots remaining unfilled at present.

“The growth of the category there is spectacular,” added Longo. “It’s more than just strategy, it’s a voracious appetite for our products in Asia.

“We want to grow there and they want us to grow, so it’s a perfect marriage.”

In this context, it’s perhaps surprising that the US remains a key market for Formula E considering president Donald Trump’s vociferous opposition to electric vehicles, which Longo acknowledged makes things “a little more difficult”

However, he confirmed to Reuters that Formula E is aiming to hold two races on both coasts of the US, with plans to expand to six cities.