As F1 Academy continues to grow, fostering exceptional female talent like 2024 Championship winner Abbi Pulling, many have wondered if they can expect a greater female presence on the F2 and F3 grids. During a recent media event with select outlets, including Pit Debrief, F2 and F3 CEO Bruno Michel shared his thoughts on drivers from F1 Academy moving into F2 and F3.
Michel unable to say whether F1 Academy graduates will make it into F3 and F2
Women have traditionally been underrepresented in both F2 and F3. Since F3’s inception in 2019, only one female driver, Sophia Flörsch, has competed in the series, racing in the 2020, 2023, and 2024 championships. Similarly, F2 has seen just one female driver, Tatiana Calderón, who made history as the first and only woman to compete in the series in 2019. As of 2025, neither F2 nor F3 will feature a female driver.
With F1 Academy gaining popularity and receiving growing support from F1 teams and other sponsors, many have questioned whether the series will serve as a viable stepping stone for its drivers to progress to higher levels of single-seater racing.
While speaking with the media, including Pit Debrief, Michel admitted that it was difficult to say whether F3 and F2 would see F1 Academy graduates in the future.
“I would say it’s quite difficult to say,” Michel replied, when asked about F1 Academy drivers moving into F3, and eventually into F2, “I’m really waiting to see.”
Pulling not ready to compete “in a strong position” in F3
He cited Abbi Pulling’s case, explaining that while she had dominated the 2024 F1 Academy season and performed well while testing and F3 car, she did not seem ready to make the jump to F3. He emphasised the need to avoid rushing F1 Academy graduates into F3, explaining that it would not be fair to them if they could not be competitive.
“As you know, Abbi Pulling is going to be in GB3 this year. And I think Abbi has a very interesting potential. We tested her in an F3 car three years ago and we saw that she was interesting. The problem is that, for the moment, I don’t think she is really ready to compete in a strong position. Let’s put it that way.”
“Drivers from F1 Academy are not there to make the numbers,” Michel insisted, “They are there to compete and they are there to win, and I am absolutely sure that at some point, when they will be ready, they will be able to win.”
Michel and Wolff regularly discussing preparing F1 Academy graduates for F2 and F3
While Michel cannot promise that Pulling will be ready to step up to F3 after a single season in GB3, he is keeping an eye on her progress, as well as that of other talented female drivers. He explained that he and F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff remained in constant discussion over preparing F1 Academy drivers for a potential move into F3 and F2, but emphasised that he was reluctant to have female drivers come into the series too early, as poor performance could send the wrong message.
“It’s very difficult to say if Abbi will be ready next year after one season of GB3. We need to see how she progresses.”
“That’s something that we are discussing with myself and Susie quite regularly to see when we think they are ready. Because we don’t want, on the other hand, to have female drivers arriving in F3 and not doing a proper job. It would send a wrong message.”
“So we are really looking at it very, very carefully and we look at the results of F1 Academy this year as well. I’m following every race and we discuss it all the time.”
While Michel could not give an exact timeline for F1 Academy graduates appearing on the F3 and F2 grids, he does expect it to be soon.
“I cannot tell you if it will be next year or the year before. But for sure, it’s going to be soon. There’s no doubt about that.”
