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Jessica Hawkins wants Formula 1 to be a sport that is accessible and welcoming to girls and women everywhere, and she believes a moment like the England women’s football team’s European title in 2022 is just around the corner.

In addition to her work as a stunt driver (her resume includes the James Bond film No Time to Die), Hawkins, a 29-year-old former W Series racer, is one of the sport’s female pioneers. She is an F1 driver ambassador for Aston Martin and leads the efforts of the all-female F1 Academy junior series, which aims to increase the number of women in what remains a male-dominated sport.

And as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, she is committed to greater diversity and inclusion throughout motorsport.

In September 2023, Hawkins, from Headley in Hampshire, England, became the first woman in nearly five years to test a modern Formula One car when she drove the AMR21 at Hungary’s Hungaroring race track.

The test drive was a milestone, but while Hawkins is proud, he believes even greater days are ahead.

“It got a lot of traction,” she says. “The younger generation could have seen it, and maybe they didn’t even know women were allowed to do it. I still get asked if men and women are allowed to race together. It baffles me that people don’t know that men and women are allowed to race together. But the more people see it, the more it will get out there.”

During the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July, Hawkins showed Arsenal defender and England football captain Leah Williamson around the Aston Martin garage.

In 1921, the Football Association banned women from playing football on professional pitches or in clubs affiliated to the Association. This ban remained in place for 50 years. While professional men’s football grew and flourished, women’s football could not keep up.

“The unsung heroes are the ones who worked so hard all those years ago to get women playing football,” says Hawkins, who played for Reading as a child. “I think that’s where we are now with motorsport. And in a few years, or however long it takes, it will explode just like women’s football.”

Hawkins is one of those who are campaigning for more women to be able to work and race in Formula 1. The ultimate goal is to have a female driver on the grid on a permanent basis, as so far only five women have officially competed in the sport. No woman has ever competed in a Grand Prix.

“I absolutely believe it can work,” says Hawkins, who drove in Formula 4 in 2015 but was unable to progress due to a lack of funding. “But to become a Formula 1 driver, you need to have so many things behind you.

“You have to have a lot of talent… you have to be motivated, you have to be fit, you have to be mentally strong – but you also need a lot of support and a budget. And if you don’t have all those ingredients, there’s a big chance you won’t make it. The chances are very, very slim.”

At the age of 8, Hawkins was playing golf with her father when she noticed a go-kart track in the distance at Sandown Park in Surrey. She has been fascinated by motorsport ever since.

“Any young driver would be lying if they said Formula 1 wasn’t their dream,” says Hawkins. “But at that young age you don’t understand what it entails, what has to happen and how much money it takes.”

“When I was winning a lot in my early days, I really believed I could make it to Formula 1. But it’s only when you grow up and realise all the obstacles that everything has to fall into place. And unfortunately that wasn’t the case for me.

Hawkins took part in a panel on women in motorsport at the British Grand Prix in July. (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

“But that doesn’t mean it won’t be the same for someone else, especially given the current developments in women’s motorsport. When I started, it wasn’t like that. We’ve taken big steps in the right direction.”

“Twenty years ago, when I started, I could only count the number of female drivers I knew on one hand. And now there are so many more. That’s because of the work everyone has done in recent years. The numbers are still not where they should be and I really believe we had women who are good enough to make it to Formula 1.

“We’ve had women who had enough budget to make it to Formula 1. We’ve had women who were fit enough. But what we’ve been missing is a woman who has all the pieces of the puzzle that you need to make it to F1. And we’re only going to find that by raising awareness and increasing the number of women who are interested in starting at a young age.”

How will it feel when a sixth woman achieves this breakthrough?

“Oh my God, she will deserve every success and fame she gets because nobody gets to Formula 1 without being incredibly talented and without so much hard work,” says Hawkins. “I will be extremely proud and probably emotional. It is very dear to my heart. It will be incredible.”

In addition to advocating for girls and women in sports, Hawkins is a leading voice when it comes to LGBTQ+ inclusivity.

“When I first came out, I was a little worried about perception and how it would be received, although the perception in my head was much worse than the reality. I never had any problems,” she says.

“I was worried at the time, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about. It shouldn’t even have been a cause for concern, but until we get to that point, I guess we’ll just have to carry on as before.

“Similar to (allies for) women in motorsport, there are a lot of LGBTQ+ allies. We have people like Sebastian Vettel, who has been a huge advocate for us. I think it’s more powerful when it comes from someone who isn’t part of the community. I hope one day we get to a point where we don’t have to shout about it, it’s just normal.”

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher publicly announced this month that he is in a same-sex relationship. Schumacher, the brother of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, is the most high-profile of the four former F1 drivers to have come out. They include Mike Beuttler (who drove in the championship between 1971 and 1973), Lella Lombardi (who drove in the 1970s and remains the only woman to score points in an F1 race) and Mario de Araujo Cabral (who competed in five Grands Prix).

Hawkins believes the work of groups like Racing Pride – a group founded in 2019 to advocate for LGBTQ+ issues in motorsport – has made the sport a more inclusive place.

“People should feel comfortable talking about it if they want to talk about it,” she says. “Or they shouldn’t feel pressured to talk about it if they don’t want to. It’s just becoming more normal and celebrated now, isn’t it? And I think that’s the result of the work that’s been done. But we’re conscious, particularly at Aston Martin, that Pride isn’t something that happens just one month a year – it’s something we support all year round.”

But what does Hawkins think about traveling to campaigns in countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, where LGBTQ+ people face discrimination or oppression?

“I see it very differently,” she says. “In Saudi Arabia, for example (where same-sex sexual acts are illegal), many years ago women were not even allowed to drive. But I drove a Formula 1 car in the streets of Riyadh and there were young girls literally crying with happiness that they could see this, because a few years ago they were not even allowed to drive. I see it more like this: If we can go to these countries and make a positive impression there, that’s a good thing.”

“When I drove in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, I didn’t realise the impact. I was doing doughnuts in the road in the Formula 1 car and when I got out and took off my helmet, people didn’t realise there was a girl behind the wheel.

“There were young girls who were actually crying. One of them will always stick in my mind; she came up to me afterwards and couldn’t stop crying. She was so happy. And I didn’t realize the impact that what we were doing – and this is not just me, but others – was having on these young girls. That was the point where I thought, ‘OK, this is crazy.’

“Things are changing in the world and we can’t expect things to change overnight. But we can leave small traces and raise awareness. So I actually see this as a positive thing.”

GO DEEPER

Racing driver, stunt driver, ambassador: Jessica Hawkins fights to fulfill her dreams

Top photo: Clive Mason – Formula 1 via Getty Images