For most of her life, 29-year-old Naomi Schiff has been immersed in the world of motorsport. A former racing driver, she’s competed in multiple disciplines, and most recently drove in the 2019 W Series. After stepping away from racing, she joined the Sky Sports F1 team in 2022, and has been making a name for herself as a presenter and analyst.
Here, she discusses how the sport is evolving, her ‘identity crisis’ when she stepped away from the steering wheel – and the celebrity she most wants to meet in the pit lane…
Do you think F1 is attracting a new, and more diverse, audience?
‘Formula One has grown so much in popularity in the last four years or so, particularly since Drive to Survive was such a big hit on Netflix. There's a whole different set of eyeballs on the sport. I've been racing since I was 11 years old but for the first time in my career, I can have a conversation about motorsport with most of my friends. Viewership numbers for 16-34 year olds have really skyrocketed and amongst women as well.
'The glitz and the glam has always been part of Formula One in terms of the locations, the guests etcetera. But I think now, from a fashion perspective, the drivers are really starting to show their personalities through their wardrobe. Traditionally a lot of drivers had to rock up to the track in their team kit, which is fine, but it means you kind of don't separate the individuals from their team. It’s been nice to see people express themselves through their wardrobe. It's like a fashion catwalk every time they walk into the paddock.’
F1 attracts a lot of celebrities at each race – who would you most like to meet?
'I’ve been watching Formula One since I was very young. And obviously, Lewis [Hamilton] has been my role model since I was a child. I feel grateful to be in an environment where I'm working alongside people who I've respected for so long and watched on television for as long. I went to the Miami grand prix and had a lovely conversation with A$AP Rocky, and Sceptre. I think Serena Williams is on the top of the list of people I’d like to meet, I haven't had the chance to bump into her in the paddock yet. But obviously, she's a big supporter of Lewis as well. So I think that's not going to be impossible…'
Why do you think the British grand prix at Silverstone is such a highlight of the F1 season?
‘Silverstone is the home of British motorsport. So for anyone who loves Formula One it has so much meaning. Also, six out of the 10 teams on the grid have a UK base within a 90-minute drive from the track. It's a big race for everyone. For the Sky Sport F1 team, the viewers that you've been talking to down the barrel of the camera are there, so that makes it exciting for us.
‘We also have four British drivers on the grid. We’ll see so many fans coming out to support those four drivers; it definitely adds to the atmosphere when you have local drivers. It’s a fantastic circuit in terms of driving - it's one of my favourites – and produces some great racing, there's always loads of overtaking.'
How did you find making the transition from racing to being on the ‘other side’ of the track, as a Sky Sports analyst?
'When I stopped racing, I was like: who am I going to be if I'm not a racing driver? That was a big concern for me. Thankfully, I got the job that I have now. Being an analyst allows me to show my capabilities as a recent driver, I get to hold on to that a little bit. But it's definitely challenging. As a racing driver, you always want to have a steering wheel in your hands.
‘Racing is an extremely expensive sport, and the amount of opportunities that are out there are limited. So I'm grateful to be in a position where I'm now doing something that I love in the sport that I love, that also pays my bills. The best bit about covering a live race is the adrenaline rush; it's the buildup - when it's 20 minutes to lights out, there's a lot of hustle and bustle around, you can sense the tension in the air.’
Do you think women's motorsport is starting to get some of the attention and investment that it deserves? Can you see that growing in the future?
‘I would say that the ball is rolling. People are putting words into action. The [all-female] W Series was groundbreaking, highlighting the opportunities that there are for women in the sport – not just drivers, but mechanics, too. But it has gone into administration, so maybe the industry is still not investing enough into the women's sport. Change is still happening - slowly and surely. For example, we have the F1 Academy [a new all-female single-seater racing championship]. Then Mercedes has a couple of young female drivers on the junior team. Teams at the top of motorsport are starting to shine that light on female talent and investing their time and their resources. It's not going to happen overnight. It's going to be a generational change.’
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