Despite Formula One being, ostensibly, a mixed gender sport, the last woman to drive in a Grand Prix was nearly half a century ago, when Lella Lombardi came 12th at the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix.

This lack of female visibility has had a knock-on effect off the grid, too. In 2018, just 28% of all F1 employees were female. And you’ll find very few of those in the pit lane. In 2021, reigning champions Mercedes’ had a core race team of 65. Only four were women.

If F1 has long been seen as an old boys’ club, then it’s a reputation that is largely deserved. And so, for many years, it’s been rare that any young girl sees the sport as an attractive career option. But occasionally, one comes along, prepared for the battle that awaits.

Like Emilie Rath, who spent ten long years on a journey to make it into the F1 pit lane. Find out how she did it in Parc Fermé: The female mechanic who smashed F1’s glass ceiling.