G.I.R.L: The girls-only club making history
For the longest time, women and girls have been shown the door when suggesting that they might be interested in more than just the seats that fill the grandstands when it comes to motorsports. Reassured by others around them that it's safer for them to watch on the sidelines. Don't get excited, don't mention that faulty brake caliper and most importantly don't imagine yourself in the cockpit.
As women, it takes us back to when we were a kid and someone would tell you "don't be so bossy, we already have a leader” or when a football would roll towards you after being kicked a little too far from where the boys had been playing and when you’d kick it back to them, they'd pause and stare at you for a mere second in confusion before returning back to their game. Or even when you were working on a school project and you suggested an idea that, without consideration, was shut down and never spoken about again. Every young girl has felt that. Hushed before they had time to lead. Questioned before they had time to prove. Or pushed aside before they had a chance to create. Never given a moment to stand tall amongst her brilliance.
Alba Larsen isn't an exception to this, and instead of waiting in an endless line hoping to be accepted by someone who doesn't know half of her power, she decided to create something extraordinary. An all-girls club. No questions. No doubt. Just girls becoming the women they were meant to be. Encouraged by professionals at every turn, Girls International Racing Lab is a grassroots initiative aimed at creating opportunities served with confidence and inclusion for young girls who want to pursue anything motorsports, from fast laps on track, to fast minds in STEM. Alba who, in 2024 at just 15 years old, created a place for girls to grow without the opportunity for someone to tell them that they can't.
G.I.R.L offers track days, online sim racing, 1 on 1 coaching, watch parties and mentorship which allows ambitious young women to connect with other ambitious young women. Fueled by the desire to create change, Alba has already begun to make waves with this movement including having hosted over 600 events, spanned across 6 continents and gained over 360k across social media platforms.
For many, it looked like Alba began with nothing aside from a borrowed go-kart. But in reality, she had everything she needed. She had grit, determination and a purpose to serve, that kart just meant she finally had a way of fulfilling that purpose. Being a woman in motorsports often entails that you need to work harder than your male peers in order to achieve anything close to their success or you risk not being seen at all. Well Alba is here to tell you that the ability for a woman to work hard was never a question, it was always about there being a place to showcase it and she has just provided one. Sensations like Alba Larsen are the reason that young girls will be able to trust that they have the power to change what they believed would be possible because they’re able to see themselves within the reflection of her visor.
The Ferrari-backed driver currently races for Scuderia Ferrari in F1 Academy, which is a female only feeder racing series also with the intention of creating a space for girls on track and allowing them to have the chance to prove themselves. Despite the world having many of its firsts for women in motorsports such as Lella Lombardi being the first to obtain a point in Formula 1, or the first female drag racing champion Shirley Muldowney or even Michele Mouton who was the first female to win a race in WRC, firsts are still being created in today's generation. Such as Jamie Chadwick becoming the first woman to win the GT championship (2015), or Abbi Pulling becoming the first female to win a GB3 race (2026) or Laura Mueller, who became the first female F1 race engineer in 2025.
Decades after creating history, we’re still making it which only demonstrates to us that we’re not done making our statement. The idea that we cannot achieve what those around us can is an outdated stereotype that should've left to collect dust a long time ago and it's because of people like Alba Larsen that will be the reason why instead of young girls hearing “you cant”, they hear “help us make this better”. She is giving girls a place to feel like they belong and this is only the start of a movement that will forever change the way girls imagine a future in the world of adrenaline, speed and cutting-edge motorsport technology.