The Aston Martin Formula One team has officially announced that Jessica Hawkins, their driver ambassador, conducted a test for them last week, making her the first woman to drive a modern F1 car in nearly five years. Discover Aston Martin: Jessica Hawkins becomes first woman to test Formula 1 car since 2018.
On Thursday, Hawkins completed 26 laps at the Hungaroring circuit in Budapest in the team’s 2021 race car, the AMR21. Jessica Hawkins, a former British karting champion, has also achieved podium finishes in the W Series and has worked as a stunt driver on a James Bond film.
She is currently in preparations to support the team’s participation in F1’s all-female series, the F1 Academy, which will have all ten teams represented by a female driver and running a car in their livery in the upcoming season. Hawkins underwent test preparation on the Aston Martin simulator, and the team’s evolution programme director, Robert Sattler, commended her performance at the Hungaroring.
Catch the latest news on NFL: Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill announces retirement plans for 2025
Hawkins shared her enthusiasm, saying, “Getting the opportunity to drive the AMR21 has been a dream come true for me, and it’s something I’ve been ready for a long time. I’ll continue to strive for more and, in doing so, I hope to inspire other women to pursue their dreams, no matter what they may be.”
Tatiana Calderón: The Most Recent Female F1 Test Driver
Formula 1 has not seen a woman start a Grand Prix since Lella Lombardi’s participation in Austria in 1976. Maria Teresa de Filippis and Lella Lombardi are the only two women who have competed in F1 since the championship’s inception in 1950. The most recent woman to test an F1 car was Colombian driver Tatiana Calderón, who served as a test driver for Sauber and tested their car in Mexico in October 2018.
The all-female W Series concluded after three seasons in 2022 due to insufficient financial support. However, the F1 Academy, established and supported by Formula 1’s owners, has set the goal of creating a long-term pathway through feeder series to bring a female driver into F1. The inaugural season of the F1 Academy is currently underway.
Nonetheless, Susie Wolff, the Managing Director of the Academy, has cautioned that it might take up to a decade to introduce a female driver into Formula 1. In the upcoming year, the series is to become part of the F1 calendar as a support race.
