Why is F1 still failing women? Claire Williams calls out the lack of female team principals in the sport

In a sport historically dominated by men, Claire Williams has emerged as one of the few women to have reached the top. As the former deputy team principal of the Williams Formula 1 team from 2013 to 2020, Williams not only carried the legacy of her family's name but also became a rare female figure in F1 leadership—one of only two women to have ever managed a team in the sport’s history. The other is Monisha Kaltenborn, who previously served as the team principal at Sauber.

Formula 1’s female leadership drought sparks criticism from Claire Williams

During a candid conversation on the F1: Beyond The Grid podcast, Claire shared her deep concerns about the ongoing gender imbalance at the leadership level in motorsport. “It’s not a case of there not being women out there that can run a Formula 1 team—and jeez, if I can run a Formula 1 team, anyone can, quite honestly. I don’t get it,” she said. That unfiltered remark underscores a persistent issue in motorsport: the visible lack of women at the helm.

Williams, who remains active in inspiring the next generation, continues to engage with young audiences. “When I am asked that question—and I am—I still go out and talk to students, and they ask me that: why? I have no answer, because I absolutely believe that there are women out there who are perfectly capable,” she said.


Despite the efforts being made, especially to promote women drivers, Williams believes the narrative needs to expand. “I would love to see another female team principal,” she emphasized. “You do turn on the telly and still see a sport that is very male-dominated, because the TPs, the drivers—they’re all men.”

The lack of female visibility in top roles continues to be a challenge, but Williams does acknowledge the positive strides made in recent years. She pointed to initiatives like the F1 Academy , now spearheaded by Susie Wolff in collaboration with Formula 1, as a crucial step toward fostering future talent. However, she was clear-eyed about the pace of progress.

“There’s been a huge amount of work that’s been done over the past 10-15 years in this space, and you are only going to get or see the repercussions, the reward of that hard work in a generation,” she said. Her observations, drawn from personal experience as a mother, highlight how societal expectations shape interests early. While young boys may still dominate karting circuits on weekends, teenage girls are increasingly falling in love with F1.

And that growing passion, she believes, might one day shift the landscape—not just on the grid but behind the scenes. “You might see them stepping up into the more administrative business-type roles and therefore taking the TP roles later on.”

For Williams, the dream isn’t just representation—it’s transformation.

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