Susie Wolff: From Oban Karting to Formula One Testing and F1 Academy

Susie Wolff was born in Oban, Scotland, on 6 December 1982. She raced in karting, single-seaters and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters before joining Williams as a development driver. Her later career moved into Formula E management and the leadership of F1 Academy, an all-female racing series.

Her story is partly about the routes open to women in motorsport, a theme that runs through her later roles. The sections below follow her career in order, from karting through single-seaters, touring cars, Formula One and her work off the track.

How did Wolff start in karting?

Wolff began karting at eight, and her family's motorcycle business in Oban gave her an early route into racing. She was named British Woman Kart Racing Driver of the Year in 1996, and she won the award again in each of the next three seasons. In 2000 she was named the top female kart driver in the world, a title that recognised a run of results across British and international events.

Born Suzanne Stoddart, she had an older brother, David, who was 15 months her senior. Her father, John, raced motorbikes competitively, and her parents ran a motorcycle dealership in Oban until 2025. As toddlers the two children were put on skis and bikes, and the open country around Oban suited biking and go-karting.

She first understood the possibility of a racing career at 13, when she watched her first Formula Three race. She then studied international business at the University of Edinburgh, but left after a year to turn professional.

In 1997 she competed in several kart categories and succeeded in most of them. She took a Middle East endurance kart title, and she was champion in two Scottish junior intercontinental categories. The following season she moved up to the British Junior Intercontinental A Championship and finished tenth overall in her first year in the class.

From karting in Oban to a Formula One test seat, and then the job of building a women's racing series.

How far did her single-seater career go?

Wolff moved into single-seaters in 2001 with the Formula Renault Winter Series, racing for Motaworld Racing. The winter series gave her a first taste of single-seater racing before a full UK season. In 2003 she finished ninth overall in the Formula Renault UK Championship and took her first podium, and in 2004 she was fifth overall with Comtec Racing. Her progress earned her a BRDC Rising Star of the Year award.

The year after her winter-series debut she made her full Formula Renault UK debut with DFR Racing, and she was one of the finalists for the BRDC McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award in 2003.

The 2004 season was her strongest in Formula Renault. She took three podium finishes and scored points in 19 of the season's 20 races.

In 2005 she advanced to the British Formula 3 Championship with Alan Docking Racing, competing in the Championship Class. An ankle injury sustained over the winter disrupted her season. She made a single appearance in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch in June.

What did she achieve in the DTM with Mercedes-Benz?

Wolff joined the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters in 2006 with Mucke Motorsport, driving a 2004-specification Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe. Her best finish in the debut season was ninth at the Hockenheimring. Her strongest DTM years came later, and by the time she left the series she had completed seven seasons.

She stayed with Mucke for 2007 and recorded her best result of that year at Mugello, where she finished tenth. She then moved to Persson Motorsport for 2008, when the team brought a 2007-specification car. Her best 2008 result came in June at the Norisring, where she also finished tenth.

In 2009 she matched that tenth-place result twice, at the Norisring and at Oschersleben.

Her best DTM season was 2010, her third with Persson Motorsport. She took seventh at Lausitz and matched that result at the Hockenheimring, finishing the season with four points and 13th in the drivers' championship. Her DTM record never reached a podium, since her best result was ninth in the debut season. She stayed for two more years and announced her departure ahead of the 2012 finale at Hockenheimring, to focus on testing with Williams.

How did she reach Formula One?

Williams made her a development driver on 11 April 2012. Her role was a testing one, and she combined it with the DTM seasons she still had left. The team later gave her a larger part in the programme.

In 2014 Williams announced that she would drive in two free practice sessions, at the British and German Grands Prix. At Silverstone she became the first woman to join a Formula One weekend since 1992. Giovanna Amati had made three failed qualifying attempts that year. An engine problem ended her session after one timed lap.

At the German Grand Prix, she put in a good session and finished 15th of 22 cars, with a time of 1:20.769. That was only two-tenths of a second slower than Felipe Massa, the team-mate who ended up 11th in the same session.

Williams kept her on for 2015 in an expanded test role, with two Friday practice runs and two test outings, a larger part than she had before. She drove in pre-season testing that year. At the British Grand Prix she was 13th out of 20 cars in practice, with a time of 1:37.242.

On 4 November 2015 she announced on the BBC that she would retire from Formula One. She said she felt she had gone as far as she could, but she intended to help other women in motorsport. She competed in one final event, the Race of Champions at the end of that month.

In 2016 she joined Mercedes as one of their ambassadors and was among the first to test the Mercedes-AMG One.

What was her role at Venturi in Formula E?

Venturi Racing signed her as team principal in 2018, and she also took a stake in the team. Venturi entered a powertrain partnership with Mercedes-EQ for the 2019-20 season. Under her management the Monaco-based outfit had its most successful campaign to date in 2020-21.

That season Venturi scored 146 points, and Edoardo Mortara finished second in the drivers' championship. He was only seven points behind the champion, Nyck de Vries.

In November 2021 she was promoted to chief executive, and Jerome d'Ambrosio became team principal for 2021-22. In August 2022 she announced that she would leave Venturi and Formula E, because the team planned to rebrand as Maserati MSG Racing from the 2022-23 season.

What is her role at F1 Academy?

Wolff was appointed managing director of F1 Academy on 1 March 2023, the same year the all-female series was launched. It is a racing series for women only, and it was new when she took the role. She holds that post today, and the series is now the main focus of her professional work in motorsport.

In December 2023 the FIA opened an investigation after an anonymous claim that she had leaked confidential Formula One information to her husband. The investigation was shelved after 48 hours. Most of the Formula One teams denied filing complaints about the Wolffs, but she criticised the FIA's conduct and the damage the matter had done to her reputation.

She filed a defamation suit against the FIA in March 2024.

What role did the Race of Champions play in her career?

Wolff competed at the Race of Champions in 2014 and 2015, first partnering David Coulthard for Team United Kingdom and then for Team Scotland. ROC co-founder Michele Mouton, the most successful female rally driver in the world, welcomed the news. Her 2013 signing had been expected to make her the first woman to race in the event, but the Bangkok edition was cancelled in December 2013 because of the political situation in the city.

In 2014, in Barbados, the pair reached the Nations' Cup final, where Team Nordic beat them. Wolff's own match went against Tom Kristensen, in an Audi R8 LMS Ultra, and she was knocked out in the group stage of the Drivers' Cup.

Coulthard, a former Formula One driver, was her partner at both events. At the 2015 event in London's Olympic Stadium, Wolff and Coulthard represented Team Scotland again. In the Nations' Cup they failed to progress past Team England 2, and Wolff lost to Alex Buncombe in the Mercedes-AMG GT S. She was then eliminated in round one of the Drivers' Cup by Coulthard, which closed her professional career in motorsport.

How did Dare to be Different begin?

After retiring Wolff co-founded Dare to be Different with Motor Sports Association chief executive Rob Jones. The non-profit organisation was launched at Autosport International in Birmingham on 14 January 2016, with the aim of increasing women's participation in motorsport.

The programme holds events across the United Kingdom and invites schoolgirls aged eight to 14 to take part in motor racing activities. Its ambassadors have included Claire Williams, a former Williams deputy team principal, Sky Sports presenter Rachel Brookes and racing driver Tatiana Calderon.

In February 2019 the organisation joined forces with the FIA Girls on Track initiative to reach a wider audience. The first joint event was held at the 2019 Mexico City ePrix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

What personal life and honours has she had?

Wolff met her husband, Toto Wolff, while racing in the DTM. He was then a co-owner of HWA AG, and he proposed on a boat in Venice after eight months of dating. The couple married in Capri in 2011, and their son Jack was born in 2017. They now live in Monaco.

Her honours include an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Edinburgh, awarded on 8 October 2013 for her work as an ambassador for women in sport. She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to women in sport, and in April 2026 she received the Icon Award from the Vital Voices foundation.

She also wrote a book about her career, Driven, published in 2025.

Career summary by series