Opportunities for women in motorsport have increased a lot in recent years, thanks to more attention on the issue. Some racing series, such as Extreme E, even require a woman as one part of the teammate’s duo.

Series like F1 Academy, and previously W Series, have given young women drivers greater visibility. By focusing on female talent, the series aims to inspire the next generation of women in motorsport.

Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go before women achieve the same status as men in Formula 1, with the last female competitor being Giovanna Amati, who raced in three Grands Prix for Brabham in 1992.

Sir Jackie Stewart, a three-time world champion from years 1969, 1971 and 1973, has called for more women to race in F1, saying the championship needs a wider variety of drivers.

"We need to have women in Formula 1 in my mind. We should have women in Formula 1," Stewart said on RacingNews365 podcast.

"There is no reason why a woman can't be in Formula 1. Not at all. Nothing to do with physique or anything else, but they don't go to karting as much as boys do.”

Stewart highlighted the importance to start at a young age, nothing that the best possible way is karting, which according to him “has become so popular and so available, still very expensive”.

"But if we had more women, girls doing what the names [Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton] that you just mentioned earlier, coming into McLaren, it was all through karting.

"And Lewis Hamilton, his dad, had four jobs to keep [bringing in] the money necessary for him to go around the world and become the multiple world champion that he has [become], all because of karting."

Stewart also pointed out that increased participation of women in motorsport won’t happen unless they have more opportunities to join the industry. He believes that if more women enter the field, there’s nothing stopping them from reaching F1 and succeeding.

"We're now seeing the potential of women coming in, but it'll never be strong unless the women come in more fully," he said.

"The boys are desperate to drive a car. Now... they [women] are becoming more desperate to be at karting.

"It is expensive, but there's no reason at all why one of them couldn't be a regular Formula 1 driver. And who knows, why not a world champion."

The last woman to score points in F1 is Lella Lombardi, who earned half a point by finishing sixth in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. Competing in the 1970s, she participated in 12 Grands Prix and until today remains the only female driver to finish in the top six.