History-making Yorkshire racing driver Abbie Eaton reveals the female that she believes will break into Formula 1

Even though a handful of racers have been on the fringes of breaking through, Giovanna Amati remains the last woman to take to the grid in 1992. That iconic moment will, eventually, become consigned to the history books, a place where Eaton already belongs.

She became the first female to win a Porsche Carrera Cup race in September 2024 and is now hoping a woman can also make headlines in the world of F1 sooner rather than later.

“I reckon it could be Luna Fluxa (Cross),” she told the Fuelling Around podcast when asked to tip who she thinks will follow in Amati’s footsteps.

“She’s a Mercedes junior, incredibly competitive in karting, has a lot of wedge behind her - which is what we need. She’s got the right people around her and she’s fast but she’s got a lot of wonga behind her. The thing that I really just hope happens is the right person gets that opportunity. In the past people have been given more PR opportunities and I think it does more harm than good. We want the right girl who is quick enough, talented enough and feisty enough to make it happen and I hope that’s her.

“It’s helpful in terms of marketing and stuff if we tick all those silly boxes from back in the day; if they’re attractive, if they speak well - all that kind of stuff. Whether they’re male or female, you want them to be a really good brand so they can appeal to lots of sponsors and so on. It’s not going to be in the next couple of years but I think, certainly, in the next five I hope that there are at least more opportunities being given.

"My ex-partner Jessica Hawkins had a go in the Aston Martin F1 car a couple of years ago now. She was competitive in the test as well and it wasn’t as though it was a huge jump from the experience she had been given before. It is doable but as we all know Formula 1 is stupid expensive and I think for people to really give that opportunity to a female driver, she has to be something special and she needs a lot of wonga behind her as well.”

Fluxa Cross, 14, became the first female winner of an FIA international championship since Susy Raganelli in 1966 when she won the world karting title late last year. While it’s becoming more expensive than ever to compete, Eaton is at least relieved to see more women getting behind the wheel than she did back in her early racing days.

“If you look now, 20-odd years on, there are a lot more females in karting and it carries through so you’re seeing a lot more females in F4 and so on,” she added during the episode which saw her talk about her career and a host of other topics.

“Now that there’s the W Series and F1 Academy, females have a little bit more excitement about motorsport. I was lucky I had a family connection to it so there was no escaping it. It’s getting harder and harder and harder. To do a European season in karting for a 12-year-old, I could race in the Porsche Carrera Cup for a season. It’s absolutely bonkers, we’re talking £200,000 to £300,000. The problem is I don’t think it’s ever going to change now, it’s only going to get worse.

“Back in the day, motorsport has always had to succeed as a business but I still think there was quite a big element that it was still a sport. But now it’s purely a business, and an entertainment business, and the sport is just getting less and less which is a real shame. It’s a runaway train now."