Women in the F1 Academy

This thesis explores gender representation in the media coverage of the F1 Academy feature articles. Media representation plays an essential role in how the public views and what they define as norms in society, most often by reifying traditional gender roles, and for that reason, this research examines how the official website of the F1 Academy's feature articles represents female drivers and team members and what is revealed about their live in motorsport as women. The research question to be responded is "how do feature articles on the F1 Academy's official website portray female drivers and team members?". With reflexive thematic analysis by Braun & Clark (2006, 2020), this study analyzes articles from 20th of March 2024 to 20th of December 2024, that include interviews, driver profiles, behind the scenes, and career reflections which were all sourced from F1 Academy's official website. By iterative theme development and inductive coding, five themes are uncovered and developed: 1) Evolving pathways of women's participation in motorsports, 2) Family and male mentorship in the F1 Academy, 3) Identity, aesthetics and expression as a driver, 4) Strategy to change & collective belonging, and 5) Optimism, progress & the future. The findings show that despite F1 Academy's media coverage showing alterations in visibility and legitimacy of women in the sport, gendered framing persists. Female drivers and team members are frequently depicted through narratives of relational support, particularly highlighting the influence of male family members; through aesthetic and stylistic choices, matters that do not directly correlate to racing; and through emotional storytelling that foregrounds personal struggles and triumphs. Secondly, symbolic victories and media exposure are often valued more than actual visible structural change, making genuine inclusion of women in a male-dominated sport difficult to achieve. The thesis speaks to the endemic tension between visibility and equity, exemplifying how increasing numbers in media does not always eliminate prevalent stereotypes. In so doing, critically analyzing the presentation of female subjects in the official media of the F1 Academy, the study provides relevant insights into how gendered stories are negotiated within contemporary motorsports media, offering a foundation for future research and reflection on how (motor)sporting institutions would create more meaningful forms of inclusion through media representation without resorting to stereotypes.