ABBI PULLING is the 21-year-old racing sensation who could one day become the first woman to drive in F1 since 1976.
What you see is what you get with the Lincolnshire-born driver, who is keeping it real in what she calls F1’s “billionaire boy’s club”.
RexPulling was crowned the 2024 F1 Academy champion[/caption]
Instagram @abbipullingPulling has caught the attention of big brands like makeup company Charlotte Tilbury[/caption]
GettyPulling is now rubbing shoulders with celebrities like Zinedine Zidane[/caption]
GettyPulling won nine race victories out of 14 and a championship-winning margin of 121 points[/caption]
Instagram @abbipullingAbbi Pulling was born in the village of Gosberton in Lincolnshire[/caption]
Pulling grew up watching her dad competing in motorcycle endurance events around the UK, but to his relief she opted for four wheels instead of two.
She has always been a huge fan of MOTOGP icon Valentino Rossi who is one of the greatest riders in history and a nine-time world champion.
Like Rossi, who has competed in rallies and started racing go-karts, Pulling has never been interested in the glitz and glamour of motorsport.
She told SunSport: “I’ve watched him throughout my whole life since I was a baby with my dad and I just think his mantra of enjoying the sport is really important.
“You drive your best when you’re having fun. He plays up to the fans and has done it all from dirt bikes, MOTOGP, a go kart, rallies – he has an appreciation for motorsport.
“I’ve taken that and if I could I’d just love to try it all!”
Italy’s Lella Lombardi was the last woman to compete in an F1 race, in 1976.
Pulling is following in her footsteps, as the first woman to win a race in British F4 at Brands Hatch last May.
BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS
She is also reigning champ of F1 Academy, an all-female Formula 4 level single-seater racing championship, funded by the F1 Group.
Her prize is now a fully funded 2025 seat in the British-based GB3 Championship, a step below Formula 3.
Pulling says the Academy saved her career, having prematurely ended her 2021 British F4 campaign as she couldn’t afford to continue.
When asked about when she thinks F1 will see a woman on the grid, she said: “I don’t think it’s something you can put a number on, I don’t think we should.
“We should let it happen and whoever gets there if it’s not me, make sure it isn’t for a box-ticking exercise it’s because they deserve it.
“Allow a woman to have the space to keep performing. The media will take over so she needs the right people around her so that doesn’t get in the way.
“I’d like to think it will be me but I’ve still got ways to go.
“I’m focused on this year and have done a good enough job to get racing in 2026. I’ve got to take it year by year.”
Pulling has credited Haas driver Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton for their being allies of the F1 Academy.
Women F1 drivers
Only five female drivers have ever competed in a F1 Grand Prix.
The first was Italian Maria Teresa de Filippis, who drove in five races and finished in tenth place in the 1958 Belgian Grand Prix.
Lella Lombardi, pictured, is the only woman who scored points in Formula 1, competing in F1 from 1974 to 1976.
Lombardi participated in 17 races and started 12. Her best result came in the 1975 Spanish GP, where she finished sixth.
In 1976, British driver Divina Galica tried but failed to qualify for the British GP.
South African Desiré Wilson also tried and failed to qualify for the British GP four years later.
The last woman to have driven in F1 was Giovanna Amati wo was signed to Brahbham in 1992.
She failed to qualify for three races and was replaced by Damon Hill.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton was often seen showing support on the Academy grid last season, albeit mostly for Pulling’s competitor Doriane Pin, with both of them at Mercedes at the time.
Pulling recalls a bizarre first encounter with Hamilton at the Texas Grand Prix in October 2023.
She said: “The first time I met Lewis really plays in my head, I’m like why did I do that?
“It was after COTA and he congratulated me and I finished second.
“It was the first time he came to F1 academy and I was adamant someone else had jumped their start.
“I basically said to him ‘mate she definitely jumped the start’. I shook his hand and everything but didn’t really acknowledge that I was meeting him.
“I was like ‘we need to put in an appeal for this jump start.’ It’s actually embarrassing, I wish I made a better first impression.
“But he knows all the emotions, he is someone I have a lot of respect for.”
Abbi Pulling with SunSport’s Isabelle Barker
Instagram @abbipullingPulling follows a strict strength and conditioning programme[/caption]
Instagram @abbipullingPulling pictured with her F1 Academy trophy[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
