Beitske Visser

Beitske after her Lausitz win, in 2012

Beitske Visser is a young Dutch driver with several race wins to her name. Among the current crop of female single-seater drivers, she is probably the most successful, despite her young age and relative inexperience. She began karting competitively at the age of seven, and by 2011, she was competing in the European championships.

Her move into senior motorsport was quick, and she made instant progress. Even her first major race, a round of the 2011 Dutch Supercar Challenge, gave her a win, in the Race 4 Slovakia Praga R4S. For the time being, she kept karting as her main focus, having proved her worth in a car.

In 2012, in search of competitive single-seater racing, she travelled over the border to Germany, to compete in ADAC Formula Masters, which has rounds at Zandvoort. She was driving for Team Lotus.  Her first races, at Oschersleben, gave her a promising ninth and fifth, as well as a DNF, which also caused her to miss the next meeting, as well as the first Zandvoort race. However, she was on the pace on the second day, finishing eighth in the first race, and winning the second one. Later in the season, at Lausitz, she won another race, this time from pole. One of these came from taking advantage of a reverse grid, but was a victory nevertheless, fought for and deserved. Apart from her two wins, her best result was fourth, also at Lausitz. Despite her race-winning speed, Beitske was not always consistent, and mostly finished in the lower half of the top ten. She was eighth overall, despite not doing a full season.

That year, she also travelled to Azerbaijan for some all-star street racing, in a Porsche GT3. She was thirteenth in the Baku City Challenge GT race, alongside Christian Bracke. They were competing against Jacques Villeneuve and Jos Verstappen, among others. Beitske also entered the Sprint race at Baku, in the same car.

Her exploits, and winning ways, in 2012 were enough to draw the attention of Red Bull’s talent scouts. She was signed up to the Red Bull Junior Team development programme for 2013. This meant practical support, and considerable sponsorship for her coming season.

Aided by Red Bull money and guidance, she embarked on a second season in Formula Master. To begin, she carried on where she left off, with eighth and ninth places at Oschersleben.  At Spa, she had another DNF, but it was not serious, and she was 16th and eighth in her next two races. At the Sachsenring, she started off a disappointing fourteenth, but moved up to seventh in the second race, and won the third. This was her only win of the season, but she managed another podium (a third) at the Slovakiaring, and a fourth at the Nürburgring. This added up to a slightly more consistent 2013, and she was tenth in the championship again.

Unfortunately, the Red Bull Junior Team managers were not sufficiently impressed with Beitske’s progress. It was announced in November that she was no longer part of the development squad.

This must have been a big setback for her, but she carried on with her motorsport activities, getting in as much practice and experience as she could, in both karts and cars. She put together a deal with the Spanish-based AVF team for the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in Europe. In order to train most effectively with her team, she moved to Barcelona. Her team-mate was the Swiss driver, Zoël Amberg. Formula Renault was a new experience for Beitske, and proved a steep learning curve. Her first race weekend, at Monza, started with a mystery car failure during the last qualifying session, then moved on to a puncture in the first race. She pushed hard in the second race, made up several places, but then made a mistake, and ended up in 17th place. The second weekend, at Motorland in Spain, did not include a DNF, but did feature problems in qualifying, a fightback, and then a mistakes. She was 18th and 16th.

During a break in FR3.5 proceedings, she accepted a drive in GP3 with Hilmer Motorsport, at her adopted home track of Catalunya. This was the first meeting of the season. Rain, associated tyre issues, problematic qualifying sessions and a poor start in the first race left her 15th and 18th, although as usual, she did make up some places during the races themselves.

Monaco was the next FR3.5 race. She was 17th overall, but lucky to finish, after damaging her car at the start. She managed to set some good lap times during the race itself, but could not convert them into places. However, at Spa, she finally managed her first points finish, a tenth place, after qualifying in 18th. In the second race, she also improved on her qualifying position, despite another little crash, and was fourteenth. In Moscow, she was thirteenth in both races, and was performing better in qualifying. At the Nürburgring, she just managed to finish the first race in 19th, following another puncture. More encouraging was the fact that she qualified in eleventh, with the same time as Zoël Amberg. She struggled to qualify for the second race, in the rain, and was running in twelfth when she crashed into a car going across the track.

In the last round of the season, she achieved her best result: a fifth place at Jerez. She was 21st in the championship. Beitske’s overtaking ability was often noted, a skill which is sometimes lamented in modern motorsport. She was among the leading rookie drivers in FR3.5.

In 2015, she had a second season in FR3.5, driving for AVF again. The early part had some disappointments, including a DNF in the first race at Motorland, and a penalty, for a technical infringement with the underside of her car, at Spa. This was particularly frustrating, as she had qualified in second place, and was dropped to the back of the grid. She bounced back with her first top ten of the year in Hungary, finishing ninth, and she was also tenth at the Red Bull Ring. For the rest of the season, she mostly kept it on track, but could not push into the points-paying positions consistently. She was 23rd overall.

In August, she did another two guest spots in GP3, for the Trident team. She raced at Spa, and finished one of her races, fifteenth place. 

She joined up with Teo Martin Motorsport in 2016, and raced in Formula V8 3.5. It was a solid, if unspectacular season, and she was thirteenth overall. She was a top-ten regular, with a best finish of seventh, which she earned three times, at Jerez, Spa and the Hungaroring.

Although she had quite a limited racing season in 2017, it was a good one, with another win. She had a go at sportscar racing, after the V8 3.5 series was canned. Driving a Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT4, she won a European GT4 race at Catalunya. She was 15th in the second race.

She raced again in the GT4 European Series in 2018, driving for the RN Vision STS team along with a rotating crew of team-mates in an M4. Towards the end of the season, she won two races, at the Hungaroring and the Nurburgring, on her way to championship sixth. This year, she was announced as part of the BMW junior driver academy.

As well as the European GT4 series, she made some guest appearances in French GT4s, driving a different team, and in the Nurburgring 24 Hours. 

She continued as a BMW Junior in 2019, making appearances in the VLN and the International GT Open in an M6. She raced in the Pro category for the second half of the year, picking up one second place at the Red Bull Ring and a fourth at Silverstone. Her single race in the Pro-Am class led to a win at the Red Bull Ring, sharing a car with Richard Gonda.

Beitske was also selected for the all-female W Series and quickly became one of its leading drivers. She was second overall, with one win at Zolder.

W Series was cancelled in 2020 due to coronavirus, but Beitske was kept busy. Her biggest achievement was her first appearance at Le Mans, driving for the all-female Richard Mille team in an LMP2 prototype. Partnering Sophia Florsch and Tatiana Calderon, she was thirteenth overall and ninth in the LMP2 class. This was one of five races she did with the team, coming in as a late replacement for the injured Katherine Legge. Her best result was a sixth in class at Paul Ricard. 

Before coronavirus lockdowns hit, she also got some sportscar action in at the Daytona 24 Hours, entering the Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport support race. She drove for Fast Track Racing with Steven McAleer and Robbie Dalgliesh, finishing 22nd in a BMW M4 GT4.

She used a similar car at the Dubai 24 Hours, this time as part of a four-driver 3Y team. They were eleventh in the GT4 class. 

She divided her time between W Series and the Richard Mille team again in 2021. W Series was a less fruitful hunting ground for her, with a best finish of fifth achieved twice at Circuit of the Americas. She was involved in the frightening pile-up in qualifying for the Spa and missed the race itself, although she was not seriously injured. Her final championship position was eighth.

The Richard Mille team ran in the WEC, in the Endurance Trophy class for LMP2 cars with their Oreca prototype. Although the three-woman team crashed out of Le Mans itself, Beitske, Sophia Floersch and Tatiana Calderon held their own in the strongly-contested championship, finishing fourteenth overall. Their best finish was sixth, which they managed at Portimao and Bahrain.

W Series was her only racing in 2022. She was second in the shortened championship after winning the final round at Singapore. This followed third spots at Miami and the Hungaroring.

W Series was cancelled at the start of 2023, but she had other plans. She was part of the GTi Tyres Girls Only team for the Nurburgring 24 Hours, with Fabienne Wohlwend, Celia Martin and Pippa Mann. Driving a BMW M4, they were the first SP8T car home and 81st overall. 

Sportscars were her chief focus in 2023; she raced a Duqueine prototype for two rounds of the German Prototype Cup, earning a best finish of eleventh. In the same BHK-run car, she also made a guest appearance in the Ultimate Cup at Paul Ricard, alongside Francisco Draccone. They finished in 17th place.

She rejoined the Girls Only team in 2024, racing a BMW M4 with Carrie Schreiner, Pippa Mann, Fabienne Wohlwend and Patricija Stalidzane. They entered the NLS and scored class podiums in seven out of eight races. A four-woman team also tackled the 24 Hour race, finishing 47th overall. 

Another run with Girls Only in 2025 included runs in the NLS with two different BMWs. Sharing one with Patricija Stalidzane and Fabienne Wohlwend, she won her class in the Nurburgring 24H qualification race. She also took part in a one-make series for the Toyota GR86. She scored one second and one third place and was eleventh in the championship. 

Away from racing, she seems to have considerable gymnastic ability, as evidenced by pictures on her Twitter feed, which show her in difficult balance positions. Despite her ex-pat status, she is proud of her origins, and her car is Dutch orange whenever possible.

(Image from http://www.kartcom.com/it/pressrel/cpr/one-more-victory-for-visser)

Rahel Frey

Rahel in the DTM, in 2012

Rahel is a single-seater driver from Switzerland, who has recently branched out into top-line sportscar racing. Born in 1986, she began karting in 1998, aged twelve. Between then and 2004, she competed in both national and international events. In 2004, she moved on to cars.

Her first experience of full-size racing came in the Swiss Formula Renault 2000 championship. She was on the pace straight away, finishing fourth overall at the end of the season, defeating her future team-mate Cyndie Allemann, and future Formula One driver Romain Grosjean.

She was third in Swiss Formula Renault 2.0 in 2005, with two wins. In addition to this, she scored a further six podium positions, meaning that she was only out of the top three for one race. Four starts in the German Formula Renault series with Equipe Bernoise gave her an additional pole position, but no more wins.

2006 saw her make a double - pronged attack on the Italian Formula Renault championship, and the more competitive Formula Renault Eurocup. Success did not come as easily as it had in the Swiss series, and she was only joint 21st in the Eurocup, with eight points. She did slightly better in Italy, finishing eighteenth, with 24 points. Her Jenzer team-mate Dani Clos won the championship. 

She made a sideways move into International Formula Master in 2007. Her best Formula Master finish was fifth, at Brno, and she entered the top ten six times. However, a series of retirements, and less impressive results, meant that she was seventeenth overall. In 2007, she was also part of the Swiss A1 GP team, but acted as a reserve driver, and only drove the car in test sessions in Malaysia.

In 2008, she joined the German F3 Cup and was fourteenth overall. She finished in the top ten six times, with a best finish of sixth, at Oschersleben. Driving the same car, but for Jo Zeller Racing, in 2009, she fared much better. She won one race, at the Nürburgring, and achieved further podium finishes at Hockenheim, Oschersleben and the second Nürburgring race. For the whole season, she was only out of the top ten once, and she was seventh overall.

In 2010, she raced at Le Mans for the Matech team, driving a Ford GT with Cyndie Allemann and Natacha Gachnang. They did not finish after their car caught fire, losing them too much time. Prior to this, she had also raced for Matech in one Le Mans Series race, and two rounds of the FIA GT1 World Championship, as a replacement for the injured Natacha Gachnang, who broke her leg early in the season. In the GT1 series, she was a disappointing 18th and 22nd at Brno, previously a track at which she had performed well. In the Le Mans Series, Rahel, Cyndie and teenage Swiss male racer Yann Zimmer were a more competitive third, at Spa.

As well as this, she took guest spots in the German VW Scirocco R Cup. These gave her a twentieth and sixth place at the Nürburgring, plus one fastest lap. Later in the year, she also drove in the ADAC Chevrolet Cruze Cup enduro at the Sachsenring, finishing eighth as the guest of the Maurer team. Her co-driver was Dietmar Stanka.

In 2011, she changed direction again, and began competing in the DTM, despite little experience in touring cars. She was driving a 2008-spec Audi A4 for Team Phoenix. Although she did not score any points, her finishing record was good, and her best finish was twelfth. 

Her promise must have shown, as she was offered a deal by Abt Sportsline in 2012, racing a current-spec Audi A5. Her season started slowly, with a 16th place at Hockenheim, and she remained out of the top ten for much of the season. A pair of DNFs at Zandvoort and Oschersleben should have deterred her further, but an altered training regime started to pay off after that: a seventh place at Valencia, giving her her first DTM points. The season's finale at Hockenheim, never her favourite track, led to another 16th place. She was 19th overall in the championship. 

She was retained by Abt Sportsline Audi for the 2013 season, but decided herself that she did not want to run in that year's DTM. She remained with Audi, concentrating on sportscars, and split her season between the ADAC GT Masters, the Blancpain Endurance Series and the R8 LMS Cup, based in China. It was the Chinese races that gave her her best result: a win at Shanghai. She was fourth in that championship. 

The ADAC GT Masters, in which she also drove an R8, was more of a mixed bag. Rahel's best finish was sixth, at Spa and the Slovakiaring, but she was not as consistent as she might have liked, and was only 19th in the final standings. Her season was also marred by a serious accident at Hockenheim, from which she thankfully escaped unharmed. In the Blancpain Endurance Series, she drove with Marcel Fässler in the GT3 Pro class, and managed to finish two of her races, in fourteenth and fifteenth, at Paul Ricard and Monza respectively.

Another highlight of her season was finishing the rain-ravaged Nürburgring 24 Hours, in the R8. With Dom Bastien, Alex Yoong and Marco Werner, she was fourteenth in class. 

2014 was more of the same, hopping between championships in an Audi R8. Most of her European action was in the ADAC GT Masters, although she was not quite on the pace, only breaching the top ten twice, with two ninth places at Oschersleben. In a competitive season with large grids, she was only 39th in the championship. 

Mid-season, she made several visits to the Nürburgring. The 24-hour race came first, and she was twelfth in the SP9 class, 22nd overall. Her team-mates for Audi Race Experience were Dominique Bastien, Christiaan Frankenhout and Christian Bollrath. Later, in August, she made another appearance for the team in the VLN, and was fourth in class. In September, she joined fellow Swiss driver, Didier Cuche, and German Nico Muller for the Blancpain Endurance round at the 'Ring, but did not finish.

Much of her season, especially the latter part, was spent in the Asia-Pacific region. Her first race of the year was the Bathurst 12 Hours, driving a Phoenix Racing R8. Rahel, with René Rast and Laurens Vanthoor, was fifth in class A, in a race of high attrition. She then returned to the LMS Cup in Asia, and had another good season, with the Castrol team. She was third overall, with three second places and two thirds, although she did not repeat her 2013 win.

She raced the Audi again in 2015, again splitting her time between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Rahel and her team-mate, Philip Geipel, contested the ADAC GT Masters, and she was much more on the pace this year. Near the end of the season, she scored her first win, at Hockenheim, and she and Philip managed two thirds, at the Nürburgring and Zandvoort. She was tenth in the championship. Driving solo for the Castrol team, she raced in the Chinese LMS Cup in Asia, and was fifth in the championship, after a win in Korea, and five further podiums, from ten races. She also found time for a guest spot in the Audi TT Cup, and was fourth and fifth at the Red Bull Ring.

2016 saw her continuing her double-pronged assault on the Chinese LMS Cup and the ADAC GT Masters. Her GT Masters season was rather inconsistent, but she took another win, at Zandvoort, after a second place early in the season, at the Sachsenring. She was ninth in the championship. In China, in the same car, but for the Castrol team, she won two races, at Shanghai and Penbay, and finished on the podium on another five occasions. She was fourth overall.

She raced the R8 again in 2017, this time staying mostly in Europe. The GT Masters series was her main focus, but it was rather disappointing for her. She and team-mate Philip Geipel had a best finish of sixth, at Zandvoort. Rahel did much better at the Nürburgring, where she and her team-mates won the SPX class during a guest appearance in the VLN. They were third in the same class in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, finishing 31st overall.

At the end of the season, Rahel was invited to take part in the Audi TT Cup Race of Legends, the last-ever TT Cup race. She secured a fastest lap but did not finish.

The R8 was her main car again in 2018. She raced in GT Masters with Philip Geipel, but was not really on the pace this year. Her mid-season sojourn in the Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup was better and gave her three seconds and a third. Her Asian activities were limited to a guest appearance at Chang, where she did not finish.

The bigger endurance events were kinder to her. For the Nürburgring 24 Hours, she joined an all-female KTM team with Naomi Schiff, Lena Strycek and Laura Kraihamer. The quartet was second in the Cup X class and 39th overall. As part of another all-woman team, Rahel was second in class in the Gulf 12 Hours, sixth overall. The car was a Ferrari 488 run by Kessel Racing and her team-mates were Michelle Gatting and Manuela Gostner.

The three-woman Ferrari team continued in 2019, racing as the "Iron Dames" and managed by Deborah Mayer. They contested the European Le Mans Series and were accepted as an entry for Le Mans itself. The Iron Dames started the season well with second in the GTE class at Paul Ricard, which they repeated later in the year at Silverstone. They were fourth in the GTE championship.

Le Mans itself resulted in a finish, the first for an all-female team since 1977. They were 39th overall, ahead of their male Kessel team-mates in the sister "Iron Lynx" car.

At the end of the year, the Iron Dames reconvened for another attempt at the Gulf 12 Hours. Michelle Gatting was challenging for third in the second half of the race when she was involved in a collision with a backmarker and had to retire.

Away from the Iron Dames, Rahel continued to race for the Audi sportscar team. She competed in most of the Audi Sport Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup in Europe and would have been in with a strong chance of winning had she completed the whole season: she won six of her eight races and was second in the other two.

In the Nurburgring 24 Hours, Rahel and her three Audi team-mates were 19th overall and won the SP8 class for Giti Tyre Motorsport.

In Asia, she did some rounds of the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia for Audi, picking up class third places at Fuji and Shanghai.

At the end of the year, Rahel was one of the five female pro drivers invited to join teams for India's X1 Racing League, a city team-based single-seater series. Each team had to consist of one male and one female international pro driver, plus pro and am Indian drivers. Rahel picked up second and third places in the two-driver relay events for DG Races Ahmedabad.  

Staying in the East, she started 2020 with the rain-shortened Dubai 24 Hours. She drove an Audi R9 LMS for Heide Motorsport and was eighth in the GT4 class, 41st overall. Two weeks later, she was due to join the all-female GEAR Racing team for the Daytona 24 Hours in their Lamborighini Huracan, but GEAR lost its main sponsor and the team was disbanded. The three drivers took over a Grasser Motorsport Huracan for the race but did not finsh.

She returned as an Iron Dame in 2020, in the same Ferrari 488. Alongside Michelle and Manuela, she contested the European Le Mans Series in the GTE class. They were fifth in their class with three third places, two at Paul Ricard and one at Monza, plus a fastest lap from the series finale at Algarve. The Dames' second Le Mans outing was relatively successful and they were ninth in the GTE Am class. 

This made up for some disappointment in the Audi R8, previously a car that worked well for her. She had an indifferent ADAC GT Masters season with Aust Motorsport, failing to get into the top twenty all year. A Racing Engineers R8 failed to get to the finish of the Nurburgring 24 Hours, although it ran better in the two rounds of the VLN that Rahel entered, giving her a best finish of second in class.

The Iron Dames contested the World Endurance Championship in 2021, with Rahel as the team leader again. She was part of the squads for the WEC and ELMS campaigns, usually accompanied by Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy. The Dames were 18th in the WEC LMGTE category with a 100% finishing record and Rahel was tenth in the Am standings. They finished thirteenth in class at Le Mans, despite an off in qualifying. The three-woman team was 36th overall.

Their best result was a class eleventh in the second round at Portimao.

Driving as a duo, Rahel and Michelle contested the ELMS together in the Ferrari. Despite two non-finishes at the Red Bull Ring and Paul Ricard, they were ninth in the LMGTE championship, with two third places at Spa and Portimao. Mid-season, the team also guested in the Italian GT championship in the Iron Dames car, finishing thirteenth in class.

As Iron Dames team leader, she was busy again in 2022. She did the full WEC season, driving again in the LMGTE class. At Le Mans itself, she was twelfth in class, seventh in the Am class, after a troubled race, but the Dames performed better in the second half of the season. They were second in the Am class at Monza and Fuji and third at Bahrain, seventh, seventh and eighth in LMGTE respectively.

She only did the first half of the Dames' ELMS programme, handing over to Doriane Pin after the Monza race, where they finished fourth. This was their second fourth of the year, after achieveing the same result at Paul Ricard.

Rahel was part of the team for its Fanatec GT World Challenge run, finishing with a championship second. They won one round at Spa after coming second at Paul Ricard.

The Iron Dames announced a switch to a Lamborghini Huracan for the IMSA season in 2023, plus a Porsche 911 for Europe. Rahel continued to be part of the driver line-up. The GTD Lamborghini came out for the Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta IMSA rounds, with a best class finish of eleventh at Sebring. The core team of Rahel and Michelle was assisted by either Sarah Bovy or Doriane Pin. They were 35th in GTD as a team.

The WEC was a better arena for Rahel and the Dames. After a shaky start in the Porsche at Sebring, they were third at Portimao and won the last-ever LMGTE Pro race at Bahrain. This was enough for second in the class championship. 

The Lamborghini was also called into service for the GT World Challenge Europe. A retirement from the Spa 24 Hours dented their confidence and championship hopes and their best finish was 28th at Monza. They were unplaced in the main championship and 24th in the Bronze Cup. 

Rahel continued with the Iron Dames for 2024. She only planned to race in the European Le Mans Series, but Doriane Pin's commitments in F1 Academy meant that she had to leave the team, opening up another space for Rahel. 

The ELMS was the only series where the Dames raced a Porsche, and it proved a good car. They won the LMGT3 class at Imola and were second at Portimao. Their final championship position was fourth. For the rest of the year, Rahel and the team raced a Lamborghini Huracan. They were twelfth in the WEC LMGT3 championship after a few disappointing races; Le Mans itself was their best finish of the year. Rahel, Sarah and Michelle were 32nd overall and fourth in class.

Over in the States, she did a part-season in IMSA, including runs in the Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours. This was her best Daytona to date: assisted by Doriane, the Dames were 25th overall and sixth in class. Contact with another car put them out of the race at Sebring. 

The Dames' 2025 IMSA season was another short one, only taking in the Daytona and Sebring races. Rahel, alongside Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy, was eighth in class at Daytona (with Karen Gaillard as fourth driver) and eleventh at Sebring. The team's departure from the championship was meant to be temporary, but they did not return. 

Rahel's WEC championship season was not affected by problems brewing at the Iron Dames' parent company. She, Michelle and Celia Martin were the core trio for their Manthey Porsche-based attempt on the LMGT3 class. It was a challenging year, and their best result, and only top five, was a class fourth at Sao Paolo. Michelle changed places with Sarah for Le Mans itself and the team was tenth in class, 48th overall. Rahel herself had a big spin early in the morning after some contact with Clemens Schmid's Lexus, suffering some trouble shortly afterwards but recovering.

The Iron Dames WEC programme was cancelled at the end of 2025. Although the team itself will carry on in motorsport, Rahel's future plans are not clear. 

(Image copyright Audi)

Female Single-Seater Drivers Around the World: Scandinavia and the Baltic countries

Christina Nielsen

For Finnish single-seater drivers, click here. Alba Larsen has her own post.

Nathalie Abrahamsson - Swedish single-seater racer. She competed in the Swedish and North Europe Zone Formula Ford championships from 2005 to 2007, and the Finnish championship in 2006 and 2007. Her best overall finish was fifth, in the 2007 Swedish series. She secured one fastest lap. As early as 2005, she was finishing in the top ten in Sweden, but she did not manage to break into the podium positions. She does not appear to have raced since the end of the 2007 season, and now works as a motorsport journalist.

Ayla Ågren – Swedish/Norwegian driver who races in the USA. She won the US F1600 championship in 2014, after taking three wins and five podium positions. This was her second season in F1600, having finished fourth in the series in 2013. 2013 was only her second season as a senior racer, having graduated from karting in Scandinavia at the end of 2011. Like many single-seater racers in the States, she began in the Skip Barber championships. In recent years, she has not done quite so much active racing, but has been involved with the Mazda Road to Indy training programme, in the hope of getting onto the oval racing ladder. To this end, she took part in the Cooper Tires USF2000 series, for a part-season. She was 17th overall, with a best finish of seventh at Indianapolis. It was her third season in the championship. In 2019, she attempted to qualify for the W Series but was unsuccessful at the first selection. Despite expressing some misgivings about the event, she tested again at the end of the year and was accepted for 2020. The 2020 season was deferred until 2021, but she took her seat and finished 17th overall. This was not helped by missing the Spa race due to a crash, but her best finish was only ninth at Circuit of the Americas and she may not be invited back in 2021. At the start of the season, she also drove at Duqueine prototype in the Le Mans Cup, finishing 19th in her class at Paul Ricard. She continued as a reserve driver in W Series in 2022, making one appearance for the Puma team at Singapore, substituting for the injured Tereza Babickova. She was 16th. 

Alexia Danielsson - Swedish driver who began her senior career in 2022, aged fourteen. She raced in Formula Aquila 1000 Sweden, finishing seventh overall. The following year, she was seventh again, but did score her first podium position in the championship. This was a third place at Mitsverigebanan. Her 2024 Aquila season was very similar, although her third place came at Kinnekulle this time. She combined Aquila with the Nordic 4 (Danish F4) championship in 2024, finishing tenth overall. Her best race was at Padborg, where she was fifth. She won a Porsche Apprentice drive for the first round of the Scandinavian Porsche Sprint Challenge and fulfilled her promise with a win and a second place. For most of the season, she competed in Nordic 4 again. Despite missing some rounds, she was ninth overall, with a best finish of fourth at the Djurlandsring.

Mille Villads Hoe - Danish driver who races in the Danish F4 championship. She competes in the F5 class, which uses a Mygale Formula Ford chassis. 2021 is her third year in the series, which was originally called “F4 Light”. She scored five F5 podium finishes in 2019, and was ninth in the F4 championship. She was thirteenth in F4 during the shortened 2020 season, with a sixth place in F5. Her best finish was fourth at Djursland. She was eighth in Danish F4 in 2021 and fourth in the F5 class, with several class podiums. She won five F5 races in 2022, all at Padborg. She began 2023 in the F4 class, finishing fifth at Padborg during the first meeting, but moved into F5 for the rest of the season. She scored a few more top tens and was ninth in the championship. Still in F5, she was eleventh in 2024, normally a top-ten finisher with two seventh places as her seasons' best. Another F5 season in 2025 led to twelfth overall, with her highest finish being eighth.

Julia Holgersson - raced in Formula Renault in Sweden in 2015. She was sixth in the Northern European Zone championship, which was comprised of Swedish drivers almost exclusively. In the same year she tackled most of the Swedish championship. Her best finish was a fifth place at Ahvenisto in Finland. This was one of nine top-ten finishes that she recorded and she was eleventh in the championship. After that, she seems to have returned to karting; 2015 was her only season in cars.

Eva-Marie Holst - Danish driver who switched from karts to cars in 2001, after only taking up karting seriously at 19. She raced in the Danish Formula Ford 2000 series in 2001. In 2002, she was thirteenth in the championship. The following year, she raced in Formula Ford Zetec, in both Denmark and Sweden. She did slightly better in the Swedish championship, finishing eleventh. She was twelfth in Denmark. 2004 seems to have been her last year of major competition, and she was twelfth in the Danish Formula Ford Zetec championship.

Laura Lylloff - races in Danish F4. 2021 was her first season, driving for JEL Racing. Her first race was at Padborg and she was quite off the pace, finishing eleventh. She did not start the other two Padborg races, but returned to the same track for the next meeting, finishing the two races that she entered in tenth and twelfth. Mid-season, she found some pace, and her bet finish was a class fourth at Jyllandsringen. She was 16th in the championship. 2021 seems to be her first season in motorsport and she does not appear to have been active in karting beforehand.

Ina Neumann - Danish single-seater racer of the 1990s. She competed for Denmark in the Formula Vauxhall Nations Cup in 1991 and 1992. Her best result was fifth at Estoril in 1992, alongside Henrik Larsen. They were fifth overall. Ina’s previous team-mate was Thomas Mullin. They were fourteenth.

Nanci Ristla - Estonian driver who became the first Baltic female racer to win a single-seater race in 2013, when she won two Formula Scandic races at Pärnu, in August. She also came second in two races at the same track, a month later. In 2012, she competed in Formula Baltic, and had two further runner-up finishes, both again at Pärnu. In 2011, she did some races in the Finnish Formula Ford Cup, but was not yet on the pace. Before that, she competed in karting in the Baltic region. She has now returned to karting as a senior. 

Vibe Smed - Danish single-seater driver who has competed in the UK since 2007. After a successful karting career, she started racing in Formula Ford in 2006. In 2007, she was sixth in the Danish championship. As well as the Danish series, she took in four Swedish Formula Ford races, in order to pick up points for the NEZ regional championship. By then, she was also a "student" at the Silverstone Racing Academy and finishing well in their races. In 2008, she competed in UK Formula Palmer Audi. Her best finish, a fourteenth place, came at Brands Hatch. She struggled somewhat throughout the year and was 20th overall. In 2009, she raced a Porsche 996 Cup in Britcar. In 2010, she stayed in British sportscars, racing a Ginetta G50 in British GTs. She was third in the G4 class, alongside Nathan Freke, after a long run of third places and one second. After funding problems, she returned to karting in Denmark in 2011.

Line Sønderskov Abildgaard - races in Formula 5 in Denmark. Formula 5 is a Formula Ford series that runs as a class in Danish Formula 4. She first raced in Danish Formula Ford in 2016, and was 11th in the championship. She did her first season of Formula 5 in 2017, earning one podium finish: a third place at Djursland. Her final position was sixth. She became a regular podium finisher in 2018, starting the season with a second place at Padborg. She was fourth in Formula 4 Light in 2019, with one second and five third places. She was twelfth in the main Renault F4 championship. Still racing a Ray Formula Ford in Formula 5, she was fifth in the 2020 championship, and tenth in the Danish F4 series of which Formula 5 forms a part. In 2021, with Mille Hoe as a team-mate, she was fifth in F5, with three third places. She was tenth in the overall championship. She only did a part-season of four races in 2022 and a longer part-season in 2023, although she had to withdraw from a few mid-season. Her final position in the 2023 championship was 18th and she had a best finish of tenth. She did another part-season in 2024, picking up two twelfth places at Djursland, then a guest appearance at Jyllandsring in 2025.

Karlīne Štāla - Latvian driver competing in northern Europe. She won the Belgian Formula Renault 1600 championship on her second attempt in 2007, winning twice. Previously, she raced in Legends in Finland, as well as the Toyota Yaris Cup in Estonia. In 2008, she contested half of the German Formula 3 Championship for the Racing Experience team and a further six races with SRT. This was combined with some outings in the Finnish Formula 3 series. She did better in Finland than in Germany, achieving a fifth and a tenth place. Her best finish in Germany was thirteenth at Hockenheim. She was planning a return to German Formula 3 in 2009, but this does not look to have happened. In 2011, she made a small comeback, entering two races of the Benelux Radical Cup, at Zandvoort. She was ninth in one race and did not finish the other. In 2012, she raced in some rounds of the Benelux Radical Cup, sharing a car with Henk Thuis for the longer races. 2013 was similar, with two races in the Mitjet 2L Supersport Championship for touring cars, based in France. She was second and 19th at Nogaro.

Monica Stråth - raced mostly single-seaters in Sweden, mainly in the 1990s. She seems to have jumped straight from karting in 1988 to Formula 3 in 1989, in the Swedish championship, where she finished 16th. In 1990, she entered Swedish F3 again, but was unplaced, as well as travelling to the UK for one British F3 race, at Donington, where she was second in class B. She returned to Swedish F3 in 1991, a stronger driver, and broke into the top ten, finishing ninth, but after that, she seems to take a break from competition. In 1994, she made a low-key return, driving a Corsa in the Lady Opel Cup and finishing tenth. In 1995, she returned to Formula 3, the Nordic series this time, and was seventh. After another year out, she was seventh again in the 1997 Nordic championship. After that, she returned to karting as a senior, and ended up in Superkarts.

Emma Svensson - Swedish driver who raced in STCC Formula Nordic in 2016. This followed a ten-year karting career. Emma scored one podium position in the Formula Renault-based STCC Nordic series, a third at Skovde, as well as two more top-five finishes. She was seventh in the championship, one above Amalie Wichmand. Amalie managed to finish above Emma in the NEZ Formula Renault championship, however: she was seventh to Emma’s eighth.

Amalie Wichmand - Danish driver who races single-seaters and sportscars in Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia. She first raced as a senior in 2016, in NEZ Formula Renault. She was seventh overall. This was combined with a season in STCC Formula Nordic, another Formula Renault-based championship. She had a best finish of fourth at Alastaro and was eighth in the championship. Among her sponsors was Ilse Jacobsen, a fashion designer. After a year out, she raced in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge in Sweden, with a best result of ninth at Falkenberg and Karlskoga. In 2019, she came back to the GT5 Challenge was was fourth overall, with one second and two third places. The following year, she did the Knutstorp rounds of the GT5 Challenge, finishing one of her two races in fourth place. Her long-term career aim is to race in Formula E.  

(Image from http://www.gt3me.com)

Female Single-Seater Drivers Around the World: Germany & Switzerland

Ina Fabry in 2002

Austrian drivers can now be found here. Andrina Gugger now has her own profile, as do Angelique Germann, Carrie Schreiner, Marylin Niederhauser, Michelle Halder, Delia Stegemann, Lena Buhler, Tina Hausmann and Sophia Floersch.

Franziska Aich - one of the youngest-ever female racing drivers, having started in Formel König in 2001, at the age of 16. That year, she was not overly competitive and missed some rounds. Her best finishes were four 21st places, at Salzburg, the Nürburgring and Oschersleben. She made one start in the Formel König Interserie Challenge at Lausitz, but did not finish. In 2002, she returned to Formel König, but did not make much more of an impact. She was 26th. After 2002, she does not seem to have raced.

Marlene Dietrich - not the late film legend, but a German driver. She began racing in saloons, finishing 26th in the 2005 Volkswagen Polo Trophy. She was 21st the following year, before switching to single-seaters, in the form of Formula BMW ADAC. Driving for Team Zinner, she was 21st at the end of the year. Driving for a different team, she entered the Northern European Formula Renault series in 2008. Her best finish was thirteenth, at Alastaro, and she was a modest 21st overall. After a long break from motorsport, she returned in 2011, contesting the Austrian Formula Renault series. She does not appear to have driven in all rounds, and had a best result of fifth. This was achieved in the last round, at Hockenheim.

Ina Fabry - 2002 Austrian Formula Masters champion. This was followed up by two part-seasons in German F3, with the Wöss team, with a best finish of ninth, at the Nürburgring, in 2003. Her 2004 attempt consisted of just two races, again at the Nürburgring. Ina has raced single-seaters in Germany since 1999, spending three years in German Formula BMW and briefly trying her hand at Formula Renault. Her best BMW result came in 2001, when she was 17th in the championship. Prior to her car racing exploits, she was a karter from the age of eight and won several races. Budget problems have kept her from active participation since 2004, although she hopes to return and still works in motorsport. She is a member of the FIA's Women in Motorsport Commission. 

Kiara Henni - German driver who began racing cars in 2025, starting in the F4 Central European Zone (CEZ) championship. She drives for her family's Henni Performance team. She was 18th in her first race at the Red Bull Ring, having avoided a pile-up, before coming 18th again and 17th in her other races that weekend. After missing the first race of the second round, she was 15th and twelfth also at the Red Bull Ring. Twelfth remained her highest finish, achieved also at Salzburg in the next meeting. She was 26th in the championship. Previously, she was active in karting.

Lena Heun - former karter from Germany, who has done some single-seater racing in Europe. She made her car debut in 2007, driving in six rounds of the LO Formula Lista Junior championship, nominally a Swiss championship, but running around Europe. Her actual results are proving hard to find, although she may have had some class podiums, and she was 22nd overall. For a long time, she returned to karting, and had considerable success. In 2012, she made her first steps in to Formula Renault, coming second in an Interseries race in a Formula Renault car at Lausitz. She made guest appearances in the two Spa races of the North Europe championship, finishing one race in 26th. In 2013, she was meant to race in the North Europe championship, as part of an all-female team, but this did not happen. She has since returned to karting. 

Reena Jani - Swiss driver who did two seasons of Formula Lista Junior in 2006 and 2007. She was sixteenth in the 2006 championship and tenth the following year. Later, in 2014, she drove a Mini Cooper for Equipe Bernoise in the Swiss Mini Challenge. She is the sister of Porsche driver Neel Jani and works as a car designer.

Anja Krause - raced in Germany in 2000 and 2001. She was fifth in the DTC Light series in 2000, driving a Ford Escort RS2000 and finishing in the top five on several occasions. She finished in the top three, three times. In 2001, she switched to single-seaters. She struggled somewhat with Formel König and was 20th overall at the end of the year. After that, she does not appear to have raced at all.

Julia Kuhn – competed in the Formula 3 Euroseries in 2005 and 2006. Her best result was a 17th in 2006; for most of the part-season she was off the pace. Her 2005 season had panned out similarly. Before that, she raced Formula Volkswagens in Germany for one season, and took part in karting. After F3, she moved on to long-distance racing at the Nürburgring, scoring one class win and a third place in a BMW M3. In 2008, she was part of the Porsche Super Sports Cup Endurance series. Her regular co-driver was Carsten Tilke. Unfortunately, a heavy crash at Hockenheim put paid to her season in May. Julia was said to be disappointed, as she had got the 997 set up well and was hoping for good results.

Isabella Lauer – successful German karter who has done some Formula BMW racing. In 2011, she entered the Formula BMW Talent Cup Shootout, and this led to some more racing in the Formula BMW Talent Cup in 2012, at Oschersleben. She was not among the front-runners. Despite testing in Formula Renault and Formula ADAC Masters, she has not been active as a driver since then.

Katja-Isabel Müller - raced single-seaters in Germany in the 1990s. She reached as far as the Formula Opel Euroseries in 1997, after several seasons in Formula König, Formula Opel and Formula BMW. Her best overall result was eighth in the 1994 BMW ADAC Formel Junior Meisterschaft. 1996 was another good season; she was ninth in the German Formula Opel Challenge. She did some saloon racing in 1995 as well, driving a Citroen AX in German Touring Cars. Her season took in the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and Spa. 

Mathilda Paatz - began racing single-seaters in 2024, aged 15. She was part of the ADAC Junior team and contested the French F4 championship. She was 20th overall, with a best finish of twelfth at Magny-Cours. Early in 2025, she took part in the Formula Winter Series in Spain, in preparation for a second F4 season in the CEZ championship, driving for her own Mathilda Racing team. The Winter championship led to a 31st place, with fourteenth places at Portugal and Catalunya as its highlights. Her first races in the CEZ series were better, and she earned a second place during the second meeting at the Red Bull Ring. She was a regular top five finisher and was eighth in the championship. Later in the season, she contested some of the E4 Championship and also the Italian F4 series, both for AS Motorsport. She was not as successful during these part-seasons, although she did manage a 15th and a 16th place at Monza in the E4 series. In between, she had been chosen as a wildcard entry for the Montreal F1 Academy races and finished eleventh once. She was signed by Prema Racing as the Aston Martin-supported driver for the 2026 F1 Academy season.

Jacqueline (Jackie) Weiss – German driver who mostly competes in karting in Europe, but did do two seasons of single-seater racing in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, she raced in Formula Gloria in Italy, and the Formula Cup of Mallorca. Both were run using similar cars. She did not do full seasons, but managed a class fifth in the Mallorca series, thanks to two podium finishes. In 2008, she raced in the Formula BMW Talent Cup, after almost securing a deal for 2007, and having a sponsor drop out. This was another part-season. After 2008, she appears to have struggled to gain enough sponsorship to compete.

(Image from http://www.wenz.sitesun1.de/html/bilder/frameset_bild.htm)