Formula 1 News: McLaren Racing welcomes FIA Girls

McLaren Racing Engage, the team’s flagship DE&I program, is adding FIA Girls on Track UK in its roster of strategic partners in order to foster a more diverse and inclusive culture in motorsport.

Girls on Track UK is an initiative to inspire girls and women into exploring pathways into motorsport through a program of events and mentorship across a networking community of fellow women.

Girls on Track UK is an initiative led by Motorsport UK, the governing body of motorsport within the United Kingdom. Motorsport UK’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion strategy, launched in 2023, mirrors McLaren’s philosophy to open the sport to underrepresented groups. FIA Girls on Track UK aims to inspire girls and women into exploring pathways into motorsport through a program of events and mentorship across a networking community of fellow women.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is a key pillar of McLaren’s Sustainability Strategy and the team wants to be the most diverse and inclusive team in sport. We have set for a target of 40% of our people to come from underrepresented groups by 2030 and have already made significant progress in this space to date, with 36% of new starters from underrepresented backgrounds in 2023 alone.

McLaren Racing Engage was launched in 2021 to tackle the STEM skills shortage, address systemic inequalities and find new ways to open pathways into motorsport careers. Since then, together with our Engage partners, the team has taken a number of steps towards promoting STEM and F1. These include:

• A mentorship program with female engineers from McLaren Racing for members of the Women’s Engineering Society, as well as supporting the organization’s Student Conference.
• Scholarships for nineteen individuals as part of the Smallpiece Trusts’ Arkwright Scholarship program. The sponsorship included 12 weeks of work experience across McLaren F1 Team Technical and Race departments and the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team.
• Our STEM Ambassadors attended 30 STEM Days with the Smallpiece Trust delivering the challenge to over 1,000 students around Woking. Five additional days have been scheduled near to the NEOM McLaren Electric Racing Team in Bicester for 2023/2024.
• Supporting 377 participants of Path to the Pits from the US, Mexico, and the UK.
• Together with Creative Access, we have delivered four internship opportunities across our Commercial and Creative teams. In addition, 86 individuals received support through the McLaren Racing x Creative Access Career Development Bursary in 2022 and 2023.

The Career Development Bursary with Creative Access will continue for a third year in 2024, helping to break barriers to entry for those looking to progress in the creative industry.

Kate O’Hara-Hatchley, Head of Diversity, Early Careers & Development, McLaren Racing, said:

“We’re extremely proud of our McLaren Racing Engage program, the first of its kind in F1 when we launched it, which unites the expertise and networks of these organizations to significantly improve diversity, equity, and inclusion across our industry. We’re passionate about inspiring and supporting future generations of talent from underrepresented backgrounds. A key focus for us is to inspire and enable more women to join the motorsport industry and Girls on Track was therefore an obvious choice for us given the incredible work they already do in this space. Driving an inclusive and diverse team is an ongoing process, but something we are committed to for the long-term together with brilliant partners such as Creative Access, Path to the Pits, Smallpiece Trust, Women’s Engineering Society, and now Girls on Track UK.”

Jessica Runicles, Head of Sustainability, Motorsport UK, said: 

“Motorsport UK’s EDI strategy, launched in 2023, guides our work to create a more diverse and inclusive sport. As part of our Legacy and Impact Pillar, FIA Girls on Track UK supports our overarching aims. One of Girls on Track’s main objectives is to expose community members to the wide range of opportunities for employment and participation in the motorsport industry. We are thrilled to partner with McLaren, one of the most exciting – and now diverse – organizations in the business. Through engaging showcase events, networking opportunities and internships with the wider McLaren group, we hope this collaboration will enable even more women to enter motorsport, really shifting the needle in terms of representation.”

Our reach across five racing series, and our global partnerships network, means we can share learnings and use our platforms to advocate for positive change in the industry. The McLaren Racing Engage alliance of partners are helping us to raise the bar for best practice in our team, the sport, and beyond.

Learn more about McLaren Racing Engage here.