Who is Susie Wolff? Everything you need to know about the Scottish F1 Academy director

From growing up in Oban and racing go-karts, Susie Wolff has had an interesting career in motorsports.

Originally from Oban, Susie Wolff has firmly established herself worldwide.

Now the managing director of the all-female F1 Academy series, the Scotswoman’s career in motorsports began with her behind the wheel.

Here’s everything you need to know about Susie Wolff, from her career to where she’s from.

Where is Susie Wolff from?

Susie Wolff is Scottish, and was born in Oban.

Her parents, John and Sally Stoddart, owned a motorcycle shop in the town, while her father raced them competitively.

Alongside her brother David Stoddart, she grew up surrounded by skis and bikes. She once recalled getting her first motorbike at just two years old, and has stated that “racing is in my blood”.

In one interview, she shared: “Having so much space was a big advantage. A lot of very good drivers come from Finland because of the huge, open spaces. Oban is similar.”

Who is Susie Wolff’s husband?

Susie Wolff’s husband is Christian Wolff, or Toto as he is known, the team principal and CEO of the Mercedes F1 team.

Toto grew up in Austria, though his mother was Polish and his father was Romanian, and he has two children from a previous marriage. He speaks six languages; English, French, Italian, Spanish and Polish as well as his native German, which Wolff also speaks.

Susie Wolff and her husband Toto Wolff.

The couple met in 2009, and one year later Toto proposed on a boat in Venice. They married on the Italian island of Capri on October 15, 2011.

Susie and Toto share one child together, Jack Wolff, who was born in 2017 and their main home is in Monaco, though they also have a residence in Oxford. Wolff has shared images of their son, continuing the family legacy with his own carts and bikes, but insists they don’t have a lavish lifestyle.

In a Telegraph interview, she shared how her son spends his school holidays with her parents in Scotland. She said: “My son spends every school holiday back in Scotland because I want him to have that balance. You know, this is a bubble. It’s not quite reality. So he goes camping with my parents.”

How old is Susie Wolff?

Wolff was born on December 6, 1982 and is 41 years old. She is eleven years younger than her husband, Toto.

Her career in brief

By the time she was eight years old, Wolff had begun competing with go-karts and after attending her first Formula 3 race decided to pursue motorsports as a career.

While racing was her goal she studied international business at Edinburgh University at the insistence of her parents, though left after a year when Silverstone beckoned and she began racing with Formula Renault. Driving with the group from 2002 to 2004, Wolff was on the brink of making the step up to Formula 3 in 2005 when she broke her ankle. Due to the finances needed to secure her place in the league, around half a million pounds, she lost her place.

Susie Wolff in the drivers seat.

In 2006, her career picked up once again. She had been nominated for Britain’s Young Driver of the Year Award twice and Mercedes-Benz offered her a contract for one year, which stretched into seven.

She competed in the German touring car series, DTM, for Mücke Motorsport and Persson Motorsport until 2012, when she began testing duties for the Williams F1 team.

Did Susie Wolff race in F1?

Yes, Susie Wolff raced in F1.

From 2012 she served as a development driver for Williams and in 2014 she made history as the first female driver to take part in a Formula 1 race weekend in 22 years.

Susie Wolff while she was a development driver for Williams.

Unfortunately, mechanical issues with the car led to Wolff retiring early from the race, though she later made up for it.

In 2015, she was promoted within Williams as a test driver, though she retired later that year after taking part in the Race of Champions alongside her teammate and fellow Scot David Coulthard.

She told the BBC at the time: "I always said that as soon as I couldn't get any further I would stop and that time has come."

However, that didn’t stop her involvement with motorsports.

In 2016 she joined Mercedes as an ambassador and – alongside Rob Jones the former chief of the Motor Sports Association – she launched Dare to be Different, a nonprofit which aims to increase the participation of women in racing.

Susie Wolff of Scotland waves to the crowd during the Race of Champions.

She told the Press and Journal: “The fact is that racing in Formula 1 is incredibly tough, no matter your gender, and I believe the reason there are so few women is simply a numbers game. If you have 1,000 young boys racing against 20 girls, with just 22 seats on the starting grid, it’s easy to see which group has the higher chance of success.”

Her work with the organisation saw Wolff awarded an MBE for her “services to women in sport” and in 2018 she became team principal for ROKiT Venturi Racing in Formula E – the championship for electric cars.

It was her first formal management and ownership role and while team principal, Wolff helped steer the team toward one of their most successful campaigns. She remained at the helm until 2021 when she was promoted to the role of CEO.

After the team’s most successful season to date – including a Vice-World Championship title – in 2022 she announced her departure from the team.

Susie Wolff F1 Academy

Less than a year after leaving Formula E, Wolff was appointed as the Managing Director of the F1 Academy. The all-female driver category was founded with the aim of preparing and developing young female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition.

While announcing the move, Wolff said: “I believe the F1 Academy can represent something beyond racing. It can inspire women around the world to follow their dreams and realise that with talent, passion and determination, there is no limit to what they can achieve.”

Susie Wolff, Managing Director of F1 Academy, and the F1 Academy team.

The series features five teams, each of which enters three cars for a 15-strong grid. The drivers – plucked from go-karting or other junior categories – are behind the wheel of identical cars, each of which is subsidised with a budget of around £129,000. While drivers will be required to cover the same amount, it is a fraction of the cost required in comparable series.

Now in its second season, under Wolff’s leadership all 10 F1 teams are providing livery and support to drivers outside of their grid. In addition, brands have thrown their support behind the F1 academy, with Charlotte Tilbury, Tommy Hilfiger and Puma having joined as official partners.

What were the allegations against Susie Wolff which led to FIA complaint?

On March 20, 2024 it was confirmed that Susie Wolff had filed a criminal complaint against Formula One’s governing body, the FIA.

Toward the end of 2023, the FIA announced that they would be launching a conflict of interest investigation against Wolff and her husband Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal. It was based on an unsubstantiated allegation that confidential information was being passed between a team member and a member of Formula One Management (FOM), which runs the F1 Academy, the FIA dropped the investigation within 48 hours.

In a show of support, all 10 F1 teams had released near identical statements confirming that they made no complaints about information being passed and expressing their support for the F1 Academy.

Toto Wolff and Susie Wolff walking together during the 2022 F1 season.

At the time, Wolff shared that she was “deeply insulted but unsurprised” by the allegations.

She said: “It is disheartening that my integrity is being called into question in such a manner, especially when it seems to be rooted in intimidatory and misogynistic behaviour, and focused on my marital status rather than my abilities.”

Following the conclusion of the probe in December, Wolff expressed her dissatisfaction with the investigation’s lack of transparency and accountability.

This led to Wolff “personally” filing a criminal complaint in the French courts against the FIA regarding the statements made about her on March 4.

On X, the site formerly known as Twitter, she said: “I feel more than ever it is important to stand up, call out improper behaviour and make sure people are held to account.

“Whilst some may think silence absolves them from responsibility - it does not.”