Marta García (Denia, 2000) has just been proclaimed champion of the F1 Academy, the competition that aims to be a gateway for women towards the Formula 1. He did it with complete solvency, demonstrating an innate talent that at first caused him problems. In an interview with THE NEWSPAPER OF SPAIN, from the Prensa Ibérica group, the Valencian recalled: “Once we were on a circuit and a father approached and said to a child: ‘What a shit race you’ve had, it even won you the girl!’ “I was 12 years old.”
Finally a live F1 Academy race
Today, that girl that no one wanted to lose against out of shame is the pride of Spanish motorsport. It is after a magnificent season in the F1 Academy, Formula 1’s commitment to female motorsport, successor to some W Series in which Marta García also competed, but which ended early due to lack of financing.
It was enough for the champion one of the three rounds he had at his disposal in Austin to win the title. He did it under the watchful eyes of pilots like Lewis Hamilton“whom I admire for his values, for what he does off the court and for how he interacts with his community.” The winner of seven World Cups personally congratulated the Spanish woman after her victory.
Unlike what was happening with the W Series, being under the umbrella of Formula 1 meant that the outcome of the women’s formula coincided with the United States Grand Prix. And finally the F1 Academy was seen on television as a normal competition. At least Marta García’s coronation took place live, unlike what happened in previous racesimmersed in the audiovisual blackout, except for summaries.
“Inspiring women to fight for the unthinkable”
This has been one of the most criticized issues of a tournament that has a declared objective: “That a woman returns to Formula 1”, following in the footsteps of pioneers like Maria Teresa de Filippis. Marta García and her colleagues have done more for the dissemination of the F1 Academy than those responsible for it. The champion, from Prema Racing, has almost 200,000 followers on Instagram or more than 100,000 on TikTok. Through social networks he has been telling his evolution in the competition.
F1 Academy, one more step for women towards Formula 1?
It also does so with a very defining ‘claim’: “Inspiring women to fight for the unthinkable”. A conception that she had to fight against from ‘karting’, a discipline in which she won the FIA Academy Trophy championships and in the KFJ class of the Trofeo delle Industrie (2015). From there she made the leap to single-seaters, to Formula 4; She was recruited by the Renault Sport Academy and since 2019 she was part of the W Serieswhere he achieved one victory and four podiums.
Together with his team, Prema Racing, he has achieved the first world championship in this new category. “I’m so excited. I couldn’t stop crying while driving in the car. I am aware of all the work we have done during this season. I have no words,” acknowledged Marta García after the race that allowed her to win the F1 Academy trophy.
Against anxiety and looking for door-to-door sponsorships
“We have won seven races, we have done many pole positions… What better way to finish the championship than being first in Austin, with Formula 1. I have been very excited. I have worked for months and years”explained a racer who, just a few weeks before starting the F1 Academy, was immersed in a race against the clock to be able to compete.
At the beginning of March, the Spanish company launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds. She herself contacted the companies, through her university – she studies Marketing – the ESIC of Valencia. Her father is the other leg of a commercial project built from the local to the global, with support like that of Mercedes-Benz Valdisa, who see this association as an investment and not an expense. Marta García has returned their support in the form of victories and visibility.
Behind the triumph of the Spanish woman, who knocks on the doors of Formula 1, there is a long physical, economic and, of course, mental work. In 2021, he stopped competing due to anxiety. “Since then, I try to take things differently. I don’t put so much pressure on myself, I just enjoy it and stop thinking about everything. I have learned to cope with my emotions and work on mental health with Calandín Psychologists. “I am more prepared than ever,” reasoned a race that, in the remaining championship races, has set a single goal: enjoy, whatever comes and everything achieved.
2023-10-22 10:50:05
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