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Motorsport has long been a boys’ club, but that’s shifting — fast. Just ask Jessica Hawkins, a British professional racing driver, stunt driver, and all-around force to be reckoned with. The 30-year-old found her way into racing through pure curiosity at age seven. “I saw a car track in the distance when I was playing golf one day with my dad and I begged him to let me have a go,” the British Open karting champion exclusively tells Popsugar. “I don’t think either of us ever saw that it would be a career path. I just loved doing it with my dad, and we were very successful in the early days. I look back and I just think it’s so lucky that I saw that car track. I don’t know what I’d be doing without it.”
Today, Hawkins is a development driver and ambassador for the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, and in 2023, she became the first woman in nearly five years to test a modern F1 car. “Any young driver dreams of being a Formula One driver . . . so even just having the trust and belief from the team to put me in the car was a huge milestone,” she says. But it wasn’t just a career-defining moment — it was also a powerful message to future generations: “If I look at how many young females are starting karting now — so many more than when I first started — I think I could name on one hand, or almost certainly two hands, the amount of women I knew within motorsport,” she says. “Now, I couldn’t name them all. There are so many.”
“If I look at how many young females are starting karting now — so many more than when I first started — I think I could name on one hand, or almost certainly two hands, the amount of women I knew within motorsport. Now, I couldn’t name them all. There are so many.”
She credits that to a broader shift in the industry to support and spotlight women in motorsport. “I think that goes to show the effort that’s been put in behind the scenes. I do somewhat feel some responsibility to help pave that way and help break down the barriers so the younger generation has a slightly easier route.”
Beyond the track, Hawkins has also made a name for herself in film. She’s worked as a stunt driver on major blockbusters, including the James Bond franchise (casual!), which she describes as “a career path I never even knew existed.” And just like the high-stakes action she pulls off on set, she thrives on intensity behind the wheel. Her favorite circuits? “Street circuits,” she says. “I like that added extra bit of danger, and I always seem to excel at them.” For those still learning the motorsport ropes like me, that means a course built into everyday city streets — tight corners, limited run-off, and hardly any room for error. In other words, it’s not for the faint of heart, which makes it even more impressive that Hawkins not only embraces it, but excels at it.
Ahead, Hawkins shares the products she can’t live without — from the double-cleansing regimen she relies on nightly (with the brand partnership to back up her obsession) to the sneakers she laces up for morning workouts, and the luxury watch investment that’s steep in price but an undeniable value holder. Click through to find out exactly how she uses them all, then read up on fellow F1 Academy driver Chloe Chong’s beauty staples for even more inspiration.