Susie Wolff, the current managing director of F1 Academy, started her career in motorsport in the driver’s seat. Wolff started karting as a child and eventually moved to single-seaters. After choosing to step away, she started her own non-profit and worked with the FIA to get more women into motorsport. From there, she joined the management of a Formula E team until she scored her current role with the women’s division of the Formula series.
The early karting career of Susie Wolff
Susie Wolff was born Susie Stoddart in Oban, Scotland, in 1982. She began racing in karts at the age of eight. In 1997, she won the 24-Hour Middle East Kart Championship. She also scored championship wins in the Scottish Junior Intercontinental ‘A’ and Scottish Open Junior Intercontinental ‘A’ categories. At the age of 18, she was named the best female kart driver in the world at a championship event in Portugal. Speaking about the moment, Stoddart shared that she wanted to be the best driver in the world, not just of her gender.
“The moment of realisation came in the world championships in Portugal when I was 18. I finished 15th overall, which was a pretty solid result, but I got called up to the podium ceremony and was awarded a trophy for top female in the world. I remember being acutely embarrassed because I thought, ‘I’m not here to be top female. I’m here to be the best driver’. “
“That was the first time it hit me that people were picking me out because of my gender.”
Susie Wolff moves to single-seaters and touring cars
In 2002, Wolff made her single-seater debut at the Formula Renault UK championship. Over her three seasons, she scored 18th, 9th, and 5th place finishes in the standings. She secured a total of four podium finishes during the three years. Wolff then moved to Formula 3, driving for Alan Docking Racing in 2005. She only competed in two races before an ankle injury brought an end to her season.
In 2006, the racing driver joined the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) championship. She would stay with the German Touring series for a total of seven seasons. During that time, she would score multiple Top 10 finishes.
Susie Wolff’s time in Formula 1
In 2012, while she was racing in DTM, Susie Wolff joined the Williams team as a development driver. The following year, her position with the F1 team became a full-time responsibility. In 2014, she became the first woman behind the wheel of an F1 car since 1992. Wolff participated in the FP1 sessions at that year’s British and German Grand Prixes. In 2015, she would do two more practice runs as well as take part in testing sessions, until she stepped away from the sport entirely.
Speaking about her retirement, Wolff admitted that it was difficult for her mentally.
“The aftermath of retirement was very difficult,” she explained. “I fell into a bit of a black hole because my whole identity had gone. I was Susie the racing driver and suddenly when people asked me what I did I didn’t know what to reply. Those were difficult months. I was someone working towards a goal my whole life and had such a sense of purpose in my life and with that all gone I was a ship without any sails.”
Dare to be Different initiative & Formula E role
A year after leaving the driver’s seat behind, Susie Wolff co-founded the non-profit, Dare to be Different. Her intention behind the venture was to help future generations get involved in motorsport. In 2019, Wolff and her non-profit partnered with the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission to create a program that would educate girls between the ages of eight and 18. This grew into the FIA Girls on Track programme, which tries to give women exposure to the world of motor racing and promote future participation.
In 2018, Susie Wolff joined the Venturi Racing Formula E team as their team principal. Under her purview, the team scored three wins and eight podiums, as well as a P7 finish in the standings in the 2020 season. In November 2021, she became the team’s CEO. The following year, they scored five wins and 10 podiums, eventually finishing second in the standings. It was the team’s most successful season at the time.
In August of 2022, she left the Monaco racing team. On March 1st, 2023, Susie Wolff was appointed the managing director of F1 Academy.
How long has Susie Wolff known Lewis Hamilton?
During her early karting days, Susie Wolff shared the track with future seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The two competed with each other during their time in the world of karting, and then in Formula Renault. Wolff opened up about knowing the Briton for many years before he joined her husband’s team in F1. She even shared a hilarious anecdote involving a champagne bottle on a podium.
“We’ve known each from the age of eight,” says Wolff. “We competed against each other in go-karting then into Formula Renault. There was a race when we both finished on the podium. He was first, I was third. He was about 19, I was 21. I couldn’t open my champagne bottle and he came over and did it for me. He’d had a lot more practice than I had.” [Quotes via BBC]
Susie married Toto Wolff in 2011. Two years later, Toto would join the Mercedes F1 team, at the same time Lewis Hamilton did. Together, Hamilton and the Mercedes team would become one of the most successful driver-team pairings in the history of F1. They achieved six drivers’ championships and eight constructors’ championship titles.
