For the past four years, Craig Pollock has been secretly laying the groundwork for a new Formula
One team unlike any other already on the paddock. Now he’s ready share his plans with the world.
Pollock knows how to build an F1 outfit from scratch having served as founder and CEO of British American Racing.
His latest project, Formula Equal, would be the first team in the sport that’s 50% men and 50% women, he says, with that equal split applying across the whole organization – from the cockpit to the engineers to the boardroom.
“Our ambition to deliver and build opportunities and pathways for women to get to the very top level inside motorsports,” Pollock tells CNN Sport’s Don Riddell in an exclusive interview.
“The concept and the idea was to try and build a Formula One team, 50% male, 50% female, which is extremely hard to do if you have an existing Formula One team; it’s a lot easier with a clean sheet of paper.”
If Pollock’s application for the team is successful, Formula Equal would potentially debut in 2026. It would be a notable development in a sport and industry often spotlighted for its lack of gender diversity.
A 2016 survey conducted by the FIA, motorsport’s global governing body, found that, in European motorsport, women accounted for 6.5% of drivers, 16% of institutional employees, and 19% of volunteers.
For Pollock, Formula Equal is not just about getting women drivers in F1 cars, but also having equal representation throughout the team.
“We know that we are going to have to go through our academy systems,” he says. “We know we’re going to have to build it up because there are not enough women at the moment who are trained up to the level of Formula One and they’ve got to earn a place in there at the same time.”
Pollock knows how to build an F1 outfit from scratch having served as founder and CEO of British American Racing.
His latest project, Formula Equal, would be the first team in the sport that’s 50% men and 50% women, he says, with that equal split applying across the whole organization – from the cockpit to the engineers to the boardroom.
“Our ambition to deliver and build opportunities and pathways for women to get to the very top level inside motorsports,” Pollock tells CNN Sport’s Don Riddell in an exclusive interview.
“The concept and the idea was to try and build a Formula One team, 50% male, 50% female, which is extremely hard to do if you have an existing Formula One team; it’s a lot easier with a clean sheet of paper.”
If Pollock’s application for the team is successful, Formula Equal would potentially debut in 2026. It would be a notable development in a sport and industry often spotlighted for its lack of gender diversity.
A 2016 survey conducted by the FIA, motorsport’s global governing body, found that, in European motorsport, women accounted for 6.5% of drivers, 16% of institutional employees, and 19% of volunteers.
For Pollock, Formula Equal is not just about getting women drivers in F1 cars, but also having equal representation throughout the team.
“We know that we are going to have to go through our academy systems,” he says. “We know we’re going to have to build it up because there are not enough women at the moment who are trained up to the level of Formula One and they’ve got to earn a place in there at the same time.”
