Susie Wolff

Motorsport has always been my passion, and speaking about being a female in a man's world is part of my responsibility.

These race cars are dangerous and you don't put someone in one unless you are 100 per cent certain that they can do what they need to do and be safe in the car.

I never thought of myself as a role model, but I've had so many messages from girls, women, mothers saying I was an inspiration.

I hated reading - I was not a 'good kid' - but I was determined when I put my mind to something.

People have different ideas on how to increase female racing driver participation. My belief is that men and women should compete together.

If I was to turn around now and say that motorsport should be segregated, then my whole career would have been for nothing. Every result that I have achieved on my own would stand for nothing, if I couldn't compete against male drivers.

When you're eight, you're not thinking about the future. But karting was always the big passion, the big love.

Racing's in my blood. My mum met my dad when she went to buy her first motorbike in his shop.

Every racing driver in the world dreams of making it to F1, there's only 22 spots on the grid.

When I did my first media interviews after I was announced as a team principal, the first question was, what qualifies you for the job? The second question was, did your husband place you in the role? And the third was, how are you going to do your job as a mother? I was speechless to think that we were not making any progress.

When a sport comes down to physical power, then it definitely needs to be split between men and women, but motor racing is a little bit like horse riding where we fight with the same tools. I believe that motor racing is a sport where women can take on men.

My progression into F1 came to represent so much more than a racing driver simply trying to reach the pinnacle of the sport. It was also the hope that finally there may again be a female on the starting grid.

I was always an adrenaline junkie, always competitive, always a speed freak.

All the Formula 1 teams that Dare To Be Different has come into contact with - Ferrari, McLaren, Force India, Williams - they're all very proactive in supporting us. They allow us to contact their female staff members and they're very conscious of wanting to help increase their percentage of women in the industry.

In Formula E, because it has that structure of being quite cost-controlled and partly standardised, it means a small team or big manufacturer, if you get it right you have a chance for success which is great.

As soon as you start listening to the gossip surrounding you, you just get dragged down by it.

I'm a realistic person, but I'm also a person who believes a lot in goals.

We have two issues - not enough young girls starting in karting at a young age and no clear role model. Sometimes you just have to see it to believe it.

I was very lucky in that my parents supported my racing so much - they just said 'whatever you want to achieve, if you work hard enough you can achieve it.' They never, ever let me believe that, as a female, I couldn't compete in a man's world.

There's no prize for being the best woman.