More than Equal wins Autosport’s Pioneering and Innovation Award

Heading a diverse shortlist of nominees, the female motorsport programme More than Equal took home the Award for Pioneering and Innovation at the 38th Autosport Awards, held at London’s Roundhouse.

Founded by ex-Formula 1 driver David Coulthard and Czech lottery billionaire Karel Komarek, More than Equal is the first and only dedicated research programme on women in motorsport, with the world’s largest database of female performance in motorsport. A not-for-profit organisation, its stated goal is to identify and develop top female talent in order to produce the first female F1 world champion.

Once a talented prospect is identified, the programme funds and delivers a bespoke driver development programme to bring them to the top.

“Thank you so much, we started with a mission four years ago about how to find and develop the first female Formula 1 world champion," said More than Equal CEO Tom Stanton, who was presented the award by Toni Cowan-Brown.

"We didn’t know at the time that more people had been in space than had been F1 world champions. We are striving to do more and push forward again. The future is going to change and it is going to look different."

Other shortlisted candidates in this category were A2RL, the Abu Dhabi funded autonomous racing league that accelerates the application and understanding of AI, Formula E’s Pit Boost, a mid-race rapid recharging boost, and Le Mans Ultimate, for its use of simulation tools in gaming.

The judging panel included Channel 4 F1 commentator Alex Jacques, Financial Times writer Sam Agini and sponsorship expert Matthew Marsh. One member of the judging panel, Kate Beavan, former F1 Director of Hospitality and Experiences, recused herself from the vote in this category as she is an advisor to the board of More than Equal.

Other awards decided by the expert judging panel include the Promoter of the Year Award and Brand Partnership of the Year.

Categories decided by fan voting include Driver of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Moment of the Year presented by Bahrain International Circuit, Competition Car of the Year, Rally Driver of the Year and British Competition Driver of the Year. Two new awards for 2025 are Team of the Year and Creator of the Year.

To find out who our other award winners are, go to motorsport.com/awards