Just hours after taking their first practice laps around the circuit at the Miami International Autodrome, F1 Academy drivers Chloe Chambers, Courtney Crone, Doriane Pin, and Lia Block shifted gears to celebrate women in motorsport with an intimate dinner at The Ritz-Carlton South Beach on Friday.
As the sun set over the Magic City, Vanity Fair Editor in Chief Radhika Jones and Ritz-Carlton Global Brand Leader Jamie Kerr hosted Miami Grand Prix leaders and members of the F1 Academy community for cocktails and dinner on the patio of Zaytinya, the hotel’s mezze-style restaurant, where the Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese-inspired menu is under the direction of Michelin-starred chef and activist José Andrés.
“The weekend has been amazing so far and we still have two days left,” Crone told Vanity Fair. “Miami is obviously just such a cool place to have this sort of event for us to be able to come to and race at. Not only is the track really good and the racing’s exciting, but the atmosphere that surrounds the weekend is quite exciting. Even to be able to be here and do this Vanity Fair dinner and everything, it’s what makes this event unique.”
In 2023, Formula 1 launched F1 Academy, a female-only racing championship created to prepare drivers to reach higher levels of competition, like advancing all the way to F1 itself, which has long been an all-male field. Women drivers must be between the ages of 16 and 25 when entering their first race event of the season.
“Just knowing that you’re one of the 18 girls on the grid is a huge accomplishment itself. The F1 Academy has done an absolutely fantastic job choosing which 18 girls do get to race, and I know there’s a long list of girls that would love to be in the series. So just to be one of them is amazing,” Crone said.
And just as Formula 1: Drive to Survive helped turn F1 drivers into household names, F1: The Academy, a new seven-part docuseries produced by Reese Witherspoon’s media company, Hello Sunshine, may do the same. The series follows the women of F1 Academy as they compete against each other throughout the 2024 F1 Academy season.
On Thursday, F1: The Academy premiered at the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater, where Block saw it for the first time. “I was so nervous to watch it but I’m so proud of Hello Sunshine and the whole crew because it’s really amazing, to be honest. The production, they filmed so many hours of footage last year and to see it put together on the big screen, it was amazing. I’m so excited for everyone to see it. It’s so cool,” Block said.
Between the thrill of the Miami Grand Prix, the buzz following the series premiere, and a new feature about F1 Academy in the pages of Vanity Fair, the excitement was palpable, but the evening also offered a moment of calm during a jam-packed weekend. During cocktail hour, Crone shared a laugh with fellow driver Pin and F1 Academy Competition Manager Delphine Biscaye as the trio reminisced about traveling to Jeddah and Shanghai for races.
Guests including Miami Grand Prix CMO Pri Shumate, Chief Growth Officer of Mission 44 Jamie Elfenbein, Sky Sports presenter Jessica Medland, commentator Toni Cowan-Brown, F1 Academy Head of Communications Katie McGuinness, former driver Ken Dobson, and coach Alex Prémat, were served a menu of mezze fare, including sea scallops atop dill yogurt, honeydew, radish and sesame rose spice; shish taouk, cauliflower tiganites served with herb tahini, pine nuts, capers and hawayej spice.
As racing legend and co-founder of Women in Motorsports North America Lyn St. James and Crone posed for a photo together at the end of the night, it was clear that The Ritz-Carlton was the perfect venue for this important moment in women’s sports. The luxury hotel company, which is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio, has its own relationship with F1, becoming the first Official Hotel Partner of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team in March 2019.
“Formula 1 has long been a symbol of precision, performance, and progress—values that align naturally with The Ritz-Carlton,” Kerr told Vanity Fair. “Our partnership with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team allows us to engage with the sport in meaningful ways, including this collaboration with Vanity Fair to spotlight the Women of F1 Academy. Leaders like Susie and Toto Wolff exemplify the forward-thinking spirit driving the sport’s evolution—and we’re proud to support platforms that celebrate the people shaping its future.”
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