Hi, everyone!

It’s been a while since I last wrote, so I thought I’d do a bit of a catch-up post. As I mentioned in the Coral Taylor piece, I’ve spent the summer working as a member of the Females in Motorsport team. It has been such an insightful opportunity and I’ve learned so much under the team’s guidance.

Like many others, I developed my passion for motorsport during lockdown. I have dreamt about my first race weekend for over four years now.

With Females in Motorsport, I was fortunate enough to attend the Portuguese round of the World Superbike Championship (World SBK) in August. At the event, I was accredited as a member of the media and got to interview riders of the Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship (WorldWCR).

It meant a lot to me that I was able to bring my father with me too. I’ve written about this before, but he has loved racing since he was a child and was the reason I started watching the sport. He’s been such a huge part of this journey, so it was lovely to have him there.

Now into the race day recap!

At the track, I covered the WorldWCR championship for Females in Motorsport as part of my internship. The series is in its inaugural season and the entry list featured a grid of 24 female riders of 18 different nationalities.

In speaking to French rider Ornella Ongaro, she detailed the struggles for sponsorship that have affected her career. Many of the riders also spoke of other sports dominating the sponsorship scene in their native countries and how essential the spotlight of racing in a WorldSBK feeder series has been. Most of the women on the grid worked different day jobs, juggling their usual employment and their motor racing career. I was able to speak to almost half of the grid and each woman had such an inspirational story and background.

The paddock itself was entirely welcoming and I felt so honoured to be representing Females in Motorsport in the media center. I spent most of the day in the WorldWCR area and the riders and their teams were so friendly and inviting.

Sunday’s race was electric, with a last-corner overtake for the win. The atmosphere of being at a Formula 1 track and hearing the sounds of the bikes for the first time made me a bit emotional. The intensity and passion of being surrounded by fans of the sport was incredible to be a part of.

After the race, I was able to see the podium celebrations. I even had the opportunity to sit down with winner Ana Carrasco (click here for the FinM article!). She was extremely generous with her time and clearly had a fondness for the circuit, where she first won in 2018. I met championship leader Maria Herrera around the paddock too!

Getting to speak to women I’ve looked up to for years was surreal and such a phenomenal experience.

In terms of F1, it’s been great to see McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari competitive enough to secure race victories. Having closer battling between the top 4 teams has been great to watch.

When I first started watching the sport, Monza 2019 was one of the first races that got me hooked. It felt very full circle to see Charles win again five years later.

The addition of rookies Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman and Jack Doohan to the 2025 grid strengthens the sport’s commitment to developing young talent as well as providing some added excitement to the upcoming season.

With the conclusion of the Formula 3 Championship in Monza, Formula 2 driver announcements should be interesting over the next few months too! Champion Leo Fornaroli has already been signed by Invicta Racing, the same team that signed last year’s victor – Gabriel Bortoleto.

I’m looking forward to tuning into Singapore!