Courtney Crone has been on wheels since she was just a few years old. Her father had been a competitive driver, but success in motorsports is highly correlated with money. When his funds ran low, he started maintaining vintage cars for a living. Eventually, he passed the bug to his only child, a daughter, which allowed him to poke at the traditional expectations for such passions\u2019 heirs.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe likes to joke,\u201d Crone recalls, \u201cand say I was this little boy and he put me on a motorcycle and it all took off from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now 24, Crone belongs to a class of young women drivers at the elite tier of a steep hierarchy. Beginning this year she will compete in F1 Academy, a female-only racing series founded by Formula 1 in 2023 with an eye toward preparing its drivers to aim higher still\u2014ideally, all the way up to F1 itself, long an all-male competition.<\/p>\n
Chambers prepares to get behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
PAULINE BALLET.<\/p>\n
Racing at these levels is intensely niche and intrinsically neurotic. Crone fits a recognizable pattern: bred nearly from birth and, by her own account, engaged in a lifelong mental tactical battle against herself. When we spoke she was at the Thermal Club near Palm Springs, California, a country club with a racetrack where she coaches. \u201cEvery driver\u2019s individual in what makes them tick,\u201d she says, including, in some instances, \u201cjust pure chaos, angry behind the wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n