By Taylor Kirkwood

Susie Wolff, managing director of F1 Academy and former racing driver has released her autobiography ‘Driven’. Last Wednesday, she kicked off her book tour in Edinburgh at the McEwan Hall in The University of Edinburgh. Interviewed by Lee McKenzie, Susie and her brother David gave an insight into the book.

Born in Oban, Scotland, Susie was born into a racing family. Her mother and father both raced motorcycles so it was only right that Susie and her brother raced as well. At the age of six is when Susie first racing on motorcycles before switching to karts at eight.

Throughout her book she dives into the life a young racing driver and the struggles. She recalls how as she made her way through the ranks in karting and into single seater racing her family struggled to afford. At the event she talked about how driven she was to make the dream come possible despite financial difficulties.

Susie Wolff speaking at her book tour event in Edinburgh

Susie recalled that her dream to become a racing driver started at age 13, when her uncle took her to a Formula Three race. Growing up Susie missed a lot of school; however, she still applied to study international business at The University of Edinburgh. She ended up dropping out in her first year, the university offered to keep her spot, but she was determined to make it as a racing driver.

Motorsport is one of the few sports in the world were women and men are not segregated. Susie said throughout her journey she never really realised she was the only girl there until she got older. Being the only girl was never an issue for Susie as she was determined and loved a challenge.

David highlighted that one of the hardest moments throughout Susie’s career was when she broke her ankle in Formula Three. She said this was one of the few moments in her career where she felt doubtful about the outcome of her injury. David was one of the key people in her life who kept her motivated in her journey to becoming a racing driver.

She went on to discuss her time in DTM the German touring car championship which she raced in for six years. In her time in DTM she drove a pink car which she felt very cliche. However, she said this became her superpower as young girls would come to races just for her.

Susie Wolff racing in DTM by Dennis Grombkowski via Getty Images

After DTM, she was offered a once in a lifetime opportunity with 25 laps in a Williams Formula One car. She performed so well in the test she was given a new role at the team developed just for her. Susie would become the Williams development driver and driver an F1 car twice in official tests.

Susie became the first woman to participate in F1 in 22 years. She retired in 2015, becoming a Mercedes ambassador before later joining Venturi Racing in Formula E as team principal. She spent four years here before leaving for a bigger opportunity.

In 2023, Susie was appointed managing director of F1 Academy, a newly launched all female racing series. Susie said her goal has always been to help women in motorsport and inspire young girls. At her book tour event in Edinburgh her team scouted out a young girl for her programme Girls on Track.

As the event came to an end Susie answered questions from the audience without giving too much away about the book. Despite illness she read the first few pages of the book to give the audience a taste of it before finishing off the event.

Driven is a captivating book which tell the story of an empowering woman throughout her life. Capturing pure emotion, the book truly tells the story of who Susie Wolff really is.

'Driven' - A review of Susie Wolff's book tour event