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This week’s Jeddah E-Prix witnessed a remarkable presence of Saudi girls representing the next generation of motorsport leaders in the Kingdom. Over 120 girls were given the opportunity to explore behind the scenes during an action packed and thrilling race weekend.
Many young women from across Jeddah were invited to visit the race track and learn about its inner workings, in an inspiring experience that fueled their passion and ignited their ambitions to continue and advance in the world of motorsport.
Girls on Track Initiative and Women Empowerment
This initiative is part of the “Girls on Track” program by Formula E, supported by the Saudi Ministry of Sport’s goals to empower women across all sports fields. Women made up more than 48% of the race spectators, while female volunteers accounted for 60% of the total volunteer team during the Jeddah E-Prix weekend.
With Reema AlJuffali and Farrah AlYousef representing Saudi Arabia in the Formula 1 Academy, the Kingdom continues to strengthen its female presence in motorsport since hosting its first Formula E race in 2018.
The Jeddah E-Prix provides a real platform to inspire Saudi students to consider a career in this sector, especially with the growing number of university programs supporting motorsport.
Inspiring Stories from Young Women in Motorsport
A familiar face at race weekends in Jeddah, Elen said: “My dream one day is to be an automotive engineer or a car designer for events like these. The cars just give you pure adrenaline – the structure of the car is so carefully crafted and makes you say ‘wow’. Being here makes me think about coming back as a volunteer to be part of the race weekend again.”
Already enrolled in Williams Racing’s summer program, Layla dreams of returning to the Jeddah paddock as a mechanical engineer: “I love motorsport, so this is a really unique opportunity to be in the pitlane. I’d love to be a mechanical engineer and back in the paddock one day, hopefully with Williams in F1. I’ve even signed up for their summer program for sim racing and hopefully I can join their junior engineering program in the future.”
A Cupra Kiko fanatic, Haya aims to take a seat on the pit wall as a strategist for the team in the future: “I’ve met so many amazing women already involved in the sport. This experience showed me how I can be involved as previously I didn’t think this would be possible. I hope one day to be a strategist with Cupra Kiro, I find the strategic side of the sport to be so interesting and how they plan for a successful race.”
With Saudi women making up over 60% of the Jeddah E-Prix volunteer team, the event provided an inspiring platform for the next generation of motorsport enthusiasts to get up close, explore the world of racing, and witness their career dreams coming to life. For more news and detailed reports on various car models, visit Motory Car News section.
