Abbi Pulling is emerging as a trailblazer in motorsport, with aspirations to follow in Susie Wolff’s footsteps and become the first female Formula One driver in over a decade
Pulling inherited her love of racing from her father, Andy, who competed in motorcycle circuit endurance events. From the age of three, she was a familiar face in the paddock, learning the rhythms of race weekends at his side.
At just eight years old, Pulling chose to pursue four wheels over two, beginning her karting career. Her first competitive race came in 2013, and by 2017 she had already made her mark, winning the Super 1 National Junior TKM Championship.
She repeated the achievement in 2018, becoming the first female driver to win a British Championship in a TKM category. The Super 1 Championship has long been a proving ground for future F1 talent, with past drivers including Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and David Coulthard – underlining the scale of Pulling’s achievement.
Her success in karting led to three rounds in the Ginetta Junior Championship in 2018 with Total Control Racing. A year later she progressed to the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, achieving back-to-back sixth place finishes at Donington Park.
These performances paved the way for her transition to single seaters in the 2020 British F4 Championship, where she immediately impressed with four podium finishes and sixth overall in her debut season.
Pulling hoped to graduate into the W Series, but Covid disrupted the selection process and left her on the reserve list. Despite limited opportunities, she still managed to race in four of the eight rounds in 2021 – qualifying on pole and securing a podium at the season finale in Austin which lifted her to seventh in the standings and secured her a full-time seat for 2022.
The following year she also earned a place in the Alpine Academy as recognition of her raw talent and growing profile. She finished the 2022 W Series season fourth overall, but the championship folded at the end of the year, leaving her career once again at a crossroads.
Opportunity came in the form of Susie Wolff’s newly launched F1 Academy, a series designed to fast-track female drivers into the higher tiers of motorsport. Pulling joined Rodin Carlin for the inaugural 2023 season, finishing fifth overall with seven podiums.
Returning in 2024 under intense pressure to deliver results, she produced a dominant campaign: nine wins, 10 pole positions, six fastest laps and 14 podiums from 14 races. Unsurprisingly, she clinched the championship title and, with it, a fully funded seat in GB3 for 2025.
Alongside her F1 Academy commitments, Pulling also raced in F4, making history as the first woman to win an F4 race with victory at Brands Hatch. She went on to finish seventh in the championship – proof that her talent translated beyond all-female series.
Pulling’s debut season in GB3 has been equally groundbreaking. She qualified fourth and finished fifth in her very first race, before claiming a landmark third place at Brands Hatch – the first ever podium for a female driver in the series. With just two races left in the 2025 season, she currently sits 12th in the standings, having scored points in all but three races.
From karting prodigy to F1 Academy champion, Abbi Pulling continues to make history at every step of her journey. With her talent, determination, and trailblazing results, she is proving that a woman’s place on the Formula One grid is not just possible – but inevitable.
Abbi Pulling. Photo: British F4
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