Alexia Danielsson was just 14 years old when she first drove a Formula One car — a modified 2007 Williams owned by a family friend.
Now 17, the Swedish racer is competing in the Central European F4 series, where she is taking on young drivers including 15-year-old Ella Hakkinen, daughter of retired two-time F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen.
Danielsson, currently 26th among 49 drivers in the standings, has ambitions of eventually reaching the Formula One grid.
“I don’t think anything is impossible, you just have to really go for it,” Danielsson.
A Long Wait for Women in Formula One
Danielsson is among a growing group of female drivers hoping to break into the highest level of motorsport.
However, the road to Formula One remains extremely difficult. No woman has raced in an F1 world championship event for 50 years, with Lella Lombardi being the last to compete in a championship race in 1976.
Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali said in 2024 that he did not expect a woman to race in F1 within the following five years, highlighting the scale of the challenge.
More Than Equal Aims to Develop Female Talent
Danielsson is part of More Than Equal, a global initiative founded in 2022 by former F1 driver David Coulthard and Czech businessman Karel Komarek.
The programme was established with an ambitious goal: to identify, develop and support the first female Formula One world champion.
The organisation focuses on driver development rather than operating as a traditional racing team.
Its support includes:
- Driver development and coaching
- Identifying promising young talent
- Data analysis and performance tracking
- Research into female driver ergonomics
- Connections with teams and other racing organisations
Danielsson Has Been Racing Since Childhood
Danielsson began karting at just six years old before making the transition to cars at 13.
Her father, Alx Danielsson, is also a racing driver and won the 2006 World Series by Renault.
Like several young drivers aiming for professional motorsport careers, Danielsson has committed to racing from an early age and understands the sacrifices required to progress through the ranks.
F1 Academy Raises the Profile of Women in Racing
The F1 Academy, an all-female single-seater championship backed by Formula One, has also created a major platform for emerging female drivers.
The series replaced the former W Series and races at selected Formula One weekends, giving young women greater exposure to teams, fans and potential sponsors.
Recent successes include:
- Abbi Pulling won the F1 Academy title in 2024 and has also achieved success in British F4 and GB3.
- Doriane Pin, the previous champion, has progressed to testing a Mercedes Formula One car.
- More female drivers are increasingly competing at the front of junior racing categories.
More Female Drivers Are Making Their Mark
Tom Stanton, CEO of More Than Equal, said the number of female drivers entering motorsport is growing and their performances are increasingly attracting attention.
He noted that stronger results at the front of the field could help change perceptions and demonstrate that women can compete at the highest levels of racing.
However, increased visibility can also create pressure, with young drivers facing greater expectations as their performances improve.
FutureLap Uses Data to Find Rising Stars
More Than Equal has also developed FutureLap, a platform designed to analyse data from karting and junior single-seater championships.
The technology helps identify emerging talent — both male and female — that could otherwise go unnoticed.
The organisation has also partnered with the University of Portsmouth on research into female ergonomics in Formula Four.
One challenge is simply identifying potential talent. Racing results often do not indicate a driver’s gender, making it difficult to track female participation across different championships.
A Growing Talent Pool
More Than Equal’s first driver selection programme attracted around 1,000 applicants, with six drivers ultimately selected.
Its second intake attracted approximately 1,500 applicants, with eight drivers chosen.
The organisation believes this growing pool demonstrates that female talent already exists in motorsport, but needs greater support, visibility and opportunities to progress.
The Goal Goes Beyond a Female F1 Champion
While the ultimate ambition remains to see a woman win the Formula One World Championship, More Than Equal believes several milestones along the way could be equally significant.
These include:
- A woman securing a permanent F1 seat
- A female driver starting an F1 Grand Prix
- Women consistently competing at the front of junior categories
- Greater representation across motorsport
- Establishing Formula One as a genuinely mixed sport
Building a Path to Formula One
The journey from karting to Formula One requires significant financial, technical and professional support.
More Than Equal believes success will require cooperation between development programmes, racing teams, sponsors and other support networks.
For drivers such as Danielsson, the dream remains firmly alive. Her journey represents a wider effort to create a clearer pathway for talented young women who hope to make history in Formula One.