Susie Wolff

Suzanne Wolff ( Stoddart; born 6 December 1982) is a Scottish former professional racing driver and current managing director of F1 Academy.

Wolff started in karting, before graduating to Formula Renault and Formula Three, then moving to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) to compete for Mercedes-Benz.

Wolff began competing at karting at the early age of eight, and in 1996 she was named the British Woman Kart Racing Driver of the year.

In 1997, she competed in a number of different karting categories and succeeded in most.

She was first in the 24hr Middle East Kart Championship, champion in both the Scottish Junior Intercontinental "A" and the Scottish Open Junior Intercontinental "A" categories and was again named British Woman Kart Racing Driver of the year.

In 1998, she moved up to the British Junior Intercontinental "A" Championship and was placed 10th overall in her first season in the class.

In 2000, Wolff improved on her previous performances to take 10th in British Formula “A” and 15th in the Formula “A” World Championships, later winning an award which named her as the Top Female Kart Driver in the world.

In 2001, Wolff graduated from kart racing to single-seater racing, gaining her first experience in the Formula Renault Winter Series, in which she competed for the Motaworld Racing team.

The following year she made her debut in the full Formula Renault UK Championship for DFR Racing while again representing Motaworld in the Formula Renault Winter Series.

In the 2003 season, Wolff finished ninth overall in the Formula Renault UK Championship and secured her maiden podium finish, achieving recognition for her efforts as one of the finalists in the prestigious BRDC McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award.

Wolff was also selected as the BRDC Rising Star of the Year.

For her third season in the Formula Renault UK Championship in 2004, Wolff raced for Comtec Racing and finished fifth overall in the final standings, taking three podium finishes and points in 19 of the season’s 20 races.

Racing for Mücke Motorsport, she drove a 2004-spec Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe and achieved a best finish of ninth overall in the final round at the Hockenheimring to complete her debut season.

In 2005, Wolff broke her ankle while running, which along with financial issues prevented her from competing in Formula Three.

She met her future husband Toto Wolff, who at the time was a co-owner of HWA AG, while racing for Mercedes-Benz in DTM.

He proposed to her on a boat in Venice after eight months of dating.

In 2005, Wolff advanced to the British Formula 3 Championship to compete for Alan Docking Racing in the Championship Class.

Her season was disrupted by an ankle injury sustained during the winter.

Wolff also made a one-off appearance in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch in June.

In 2006, Wolff began to compete in the DTM.

They married in Capri in 2011.

She also competed in the Federation Cup European Intercontinental "A" Championship and placed 11th overall.

For the third consecutive season, she was named British Woman Kart Racing Driver of the year.

In 2012, she was signed by Williams in Formula One to work as a development driver.

The following year, she competed in the British Formula "A" Championship and was placed 13th, also achieving 34th overall in the Formula "A" World Championships to receive the accolade of British Woman Kart Racing Driver of the year for a fourth time.

At the 2014 British Grand Prix at Silverstone she became the first woman to take part in a Formula One race weekend in 22 years, by participating in practice.

On 4 November 2015, Wolff announced her retirement from motorsport, last competing at the Race of Champions held at the end of November.

In 2016, Wolff joined Channel 4 in the UK to be an analyst for their Formula One coverage.

In 2017, she gave birth to their son, Jack.

She currently lives in Monaco with her husband.

In 2018, she joined Venturi Racing in Formula E as Team Principal.

In 2021, she was promoted to the role of CEO.

In August 2022 following the Season 8 finale in South Korea, she announced her departure from Venturi and Formula E.

Her parents, John and Sally Stoddart, owned a motorcycle dealership in Oban and her father raced bikes competitively.

They met when her mother bought her first motorbike from her father's shop.

Wolff has an older brother David, 18 months her senior.

As toddlers, she and her brother were put on skis and bikes by her parents, with the open spaces around Oban being suited to biking and go-karting.

She realised the potential she had to be a racing driver when taken to watch her first Formula 3 race at 13.

She went on to study international business at Edinburgh university, but left after a year.

A week after leaving, she went to Silverstone to drive for Formula Renault.