Hong Kong-born Katrina Ee, 14, aims to be Asia’s first female Formula 1 driver

Just like her racing idol Lewis Hamilton, Katrina Ee was not born into a motorsport family.

But having won a host of Asian junior karting titles in 2022 and 2023, including the Rotax Max Challenge Asia Trophy and IAME Series Asia, the 14-year-old’s talent is evident.

Katrina, from Hong Kong and Malaysia, achieved another milestone in 2024 when she was the only Asian picked for former British Formula 1 driver David Coulthard’s inaugural female driver development programme — More Than Equal.

“My end goal is obviously to become the first Asian female F1 driver one day,” said Katrina, who was among six drivers selected in May from over 1,000 applicants.

“That’s a big dream for me and also why More Than Equal is doing this. Right now, I’m focusing on UK and European races and getting myself mentally prepared for Formula 4 one day.”

What is More Than Equal?

The brainchild of Coulthard and Czech entrepreneur Karel Komárek, More Than Equal is a data-led programme which supports young female drivers with high potential.

The duo’s ultimate objective is to shift motorsport from a completely male-dominated sport to a far more mixed gender sport.

While the programme is neither a race series nor a racing team providing tangible opportunities, drivers are supported in other ways.

Across 18 months, Katrina will undergo a series of training camps about once every two months, which covers development areas like physiology testing, nutrition, simulator racing and even personal brand development.

Interwoven within the camps are fun experiences such as going to a Red Bull show run, Formula 1 or Formula E race.

All costs, including insurance, accommodation, activity and equipment, are covered for except flight tickets.

More Than Equal’s head of driver development Tom Stanton told Sports Gazette: “The idea is they create anchor points within the year and to help support the driver’s development towards their end goal, which is Formula 4, 3, 2 and 1.

“We’re trying to find the different facets of becoming a high quality, high performing, world leading driver, and put those building blocks in place.”

Birth of a Formula 1 dream

At the age of seven, Katrina’s parents urged her to hop into the driver’s seat at Malaysia’s Shah Alam Karting Circuit. The speed and adrenaline kept her hooked.

What started as a family-bonding session gradually became a serious endeavour after she clinched her first regional race win at 10.

As Katrina qualified for more prestigious races, she soon realised she stood out from the rest. Even at junior karting level, motorsport is a male-dominated field.

Often the only female driver on the grid, she has faced numerous unpleasant encounters.

Katrina said: “A lot of the boys have pushed me off the track and it made me more motivated to work harder and show I’m not someone you can beat easily.

“I’m not going to let all these people put my confidence down … I just tell myself I have to do it, no matter how hard it is.

“It’s mostly about how you present yourself on track and just showing that girls can drive as well as males and be as aggressive on track.”

Shaking up a male-centric industry

According to More Than Equal, only five per cent of motorsport drivers across all categories are female. Since 1992, there has not been a female Formula 1 driver on the grid.

In fact, only five women — Maria Teresa de Filippis, Lella Lombardi, Divina Galica, Desiré Wilson and Giovanna Amati — have made it to the pinnacle of motorsport.

Katrina is well aware of the work required to get there. In November, during a training camp in Austria, Katrina had the opportunity to hop into a Formula 4 car simulator for the first time.

She said: “You can’t just go into a Formula 1 car and expect yourself to be fast. You have to do a lot of different gym training outside of the track, like lots of different neck training to be ready for G-force, and obviously the speed is a lot more compared to go karts.

“More Than Equal provided me with a gym trainer to help me to develop my body and everything to be ready for F4 so it takes a lot of things to get there.”

Stanton believes Katrina has what it takes to buck the trend.

He said: “What we’ve seen over the last six months is the development of quite a remarkable young lady, a driver and a person.

“She is someone who is incredibly hard working, very determined and also very keen to understand how to improve.

“I think all we’re going to see is good things come. There’s tons of potential there with Katrina, and she is very much grabbing hold of all the opportunities that she is offered.”

One in a million?

When asked if it was possible to see a female Formula 1 driver within the next decade, Stanton remained confident.

“It’s hard to be a motor racing driver and the reality is very few people get to the top,” he added.

“At More Than Equal, we often say we’re not trying to make it easier for female drivers. We’re trying to make it equally as difficult because it is hard.

“But I have no doubt in my mind that if the rest of the motorsport ecosystem was to work together, we could see a female driver going to the pinnacle of the sport and even winning it.”

For Katrina, she draws inspiration from seven-time Formula 1 champion Hamilton’s underdog story.

“I came into this doing it all on my own and he’s the first F1 driver I saw when I started karting,” she said.

“I’ve watched his Netflix series where he was talking about how he grew up and he was quite poor when he first started.

“But that doesn’t mean that you can’t make it … it’s more about how hard you work through things and show yourself.

“I want to show everyone that Asian girls can make it too.”