Milla Sjöstrand started racing at age seven and currently drives in Formula 4, with being on the track described as her great passion. According to Sjöstrand, about 90% of her time goes into everything around racing, such as entrepreneurship, business, and networking to secure the sponsorship required to drive. ' According to F1 expert Mervi Kallio, the cost can reach up to 20 million dollars for someone to go from karting to Formula 1.
Since 2023, the women's league F1 Academy exists, where female drivers aged 16 to 25 have the opportunity to compete for two seasons. According to Milla Sjöstrand, additional support is needed for female drivers after their time in F1 Academy to reach Formula 1. She emphasized, 'It requires more, I would say, if you're going to make it all the way to Formula 1.
It's a lot of entrepreneurship, business, and networking to put together the sponsorship required to be able to drive.
' No female driver competes in Formula 1 this year.
What's unfortunate is that it doesn't matter if you're the world's best driver, if you can't afford to pay for your driving all the way up to F2.