Young female drivers take aim at F1's male monopoly

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STORY: These teenage female drivers are taking on Formula One.

No woman has raced in the motorsport for nearly half a century.

But these 13 and 14 year olds all share one dream: to become the first female F1 world champion.

“The number one aim is Formula One, of course.”

This is Ivonn Simeonova.

She’s part of a female racing development program called More Than Equal...

:: Saalfelden, Austria

... an initiative co-founded by former racer David Coulthard.

The idea is to give female drivers equal opportunity.

:: Ivonn Simeonova, Young driver

“I think we need more girls in Formula One and in motorsport because we are all equal. And, I mean, we should get the same chances.”

At this training and assessment camp, there are half a dozen trainees: four from Europe, one from Australia and one from Malaysia.

British talent Skye Parker says the teens are starting from scratch.

:: Skye Parker, Young driver

“So on the first day, we learned how to, like, actually drive the car, because a lot of us have never done that before. And on the second day, which is today, we learned how to drift as usually when I tried attempted drifting, I would just slide and spin. But this time I learned how to control it.”

British driving coach Sarah Moore says there are a lot of misconceptions about women in the sport.

:: File

She used to race in the now-defunct all female W series.

And says one of the biggest skills the young female drivers need to learn is not physical - it's mental.

:: Sarah Moore, Coach

“I think one of the biggest things you have to deal with as a girl, especially coming up through karting and as you progress into cars, is the comments that you receive around the paddock on social media. I think that's one thing that as a female, I've had to learn to deal with or more so learned to ignore.”

:: File

The last woman to race in Formula One was Italy's Lella Lombardi in 1976.

:: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

The sport now has its own all-female F1 Academy support series, led by former racer Susie Wolff.

Just as those drivers could be seen as potential role models...

Slovakian driver Laura Bubenova says she hopes she can serve as one in the future.

:: Laura Bubenova, Young driver

"I'd like to be viewed as a role model for them in the future. I'd like to establish myself as a very good driver, not as I get to Formula One, because I'm a woman, but I'm there because I'm talented. I'm good enough to do this, and I do it because I love it.”