Susie Wolff on Being Driven in a World Not Built for You

Susie Wolff on Being Driven in a World Not Built for You

From Takin' Care of Lady Business® by Jennifer Justice

April 22, 2026 · 37 min

About this episode

Susie Wolff discusses her experiences in the male-dominated motorsport industry and the importance of building the right relationships for success.

Most women aren't lacking persistence. They're missing the map — who to ask, who to trust, and who actually has the power to move things. Motorsport doesn't hand you that map. You build it, race by race, setback by setback, until you figure out which rooms matter and which people in those rooms are worth your ask. Takin' Care of Lady Business Episode 149 In this episode, Susie Wolff — Managing Director of F1 Academy and former professional driver — talks about what two decades in one of the world's most male-dominated industries actually taught her. Not just how to push through. How to find the right people to push with. This is not a story about one big moment. It's about the long game: staying yourself across years of rooms that didn't expect you, knowing when to ask and — more importantly — who, and why committing fully means letting go of the safety net entirely. In this episode, you'll learn: Why persistence without the right relationships only gets you so far How to identify the people worth asking — and stop wasting your ask on the wrong ones Why holding your identity over a 20-year career is harder, and more powerful, than any single negotiation Highlights: (00:00) Meet…

People in this episode

Host: Jennifer Justice

Guest: Susie Wolff

Topics covered

  • motorsport
  • gender bias
  • persistence
  • networking
  • career development
  • identity

Keywords

  • motorsport
  • gender bias
  • persistence
  • networking
  • F1 Academy
  • career
  • identity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: F1 Academy, Formula One

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