Abbi Pulling: the racing driver bankrolled by family not fortune

Motorsport doesn’t do dreams on the cheap. For 2024 F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling, the road from karting in Lincolnshire to the GB3 grid was paid for by a combination of her dad’s welding business and a self-taught crash course in chasing sponsors. Here’s how she did it…

“I don’t think my dad has a retirement fund anymore,” says Abbi Pulling, talking to Leisure Kicks just as her latest season with Rodin Motorsport in the GB3 Championship gets underway. The 23-year-old is now in her seventh season in coveted single-seater racing, each a testament not only to her phenomenal ability as a racing driver, but to her and her family’s dedication to navigating their way through one of the world’s most expensive sports.

Recent estimates put the cost of a season in karting at £130,000 for an eight-year-old, rising to up to £260,000 by the time a child reaches 13. For a year in F4, the bill surges past half a million pounds. Jumpers for goalposts this isn’t. “If you’re a runner you just need a pair of trainers,” says Abbi, a two-time junior karting champion. “Or as a football player, you get football boots and you find your local pitch. A test day in F4 is roughly £6,000. We could deal with the cost of karting, but cars were on a whole other level.”

As a non-Olympic sport, motorsport doesn’t receive any UK Sport funding, leaving the families of youngsters who dream of becoming the next Lando Norris with the mammoth task of covering the costs. Abbi is forever indebted to her dad – a former motorbike racer who runs a welding business – for doing everything he could to contribute. “He’s the one who’s carried the financial burden, and also the time. My dad has been the biggest supporter of me.”

Mounting fees include travel expenses, equipment, and support staff. But the most unpredictable cost – and therefore the most daunting – is the one drivers can’t plan for, and daren’t think about. The mechanics’ bill. “You know how much a season costs for the year, but the crash damage bill is unknown,” explains Abbi. “You don’t know how fortunate or unlucky you’re going to be.”

Back in 2021, Abbi found this out the hard way. Following an outstanding rookie campaign that saw four podiums, the 18-year-old claimed three podium finishes in the first six rounds before being forced to end her season. “I was leading the race at Thruxton when someone went into me. I had a crash damage bill that meant I couldn’t continue that season.”

“You’re racing with one hand behind your back when you’ve not got the funding to push a bit more”

In a sport that hinges on milliseconds and fearless instinct, any doubt festering in a driver’s subconscious might as well be an anchor attached to the rear wing. “You’re racing with one hand behind your back, basically, when you’ve not got the funding to push a bit more. You don’t put 110% on the line,” Abbi admits. 

Heartbroken, Abbi wondered if she’d ever get the chance to return to the sport. “There’s definitely been hard times where the financial aspect has meant I either can’t progress or I go through the winter with no clue what I’m going to do next.”

A call-up to the pioneering all-female W Series provided a lifeline in 2021, before the F1 Academy followed in 2023 and allowed Abbi to grow her profile as a role model in a sport that hasn’t always proven accessible for women. “The W Series and now F1 Academy kept me in the single-seater ecosystem and kept me in the public eye. And because I got results, that’s what kept everything going,” says Abbi.

She used the moment to redirect the invoices from her family to commercial sponsors. Despite wanting to spend every waking minute on the track, the Lincolnshire racer had the smarts to pick up the phone, fire off emails, and blag corporate facetime. She’d contact hotels and ask for sponsorship in the form of free digs during race weekends. She also leveraged the power of social media. 

“I never like to brand myself as an influencer,” says Abbi, “I’m a racing driver through and through. But over the years I’ve gathered quite a large following, and brands tend to like that.

“It takes a lot of sanity away from me trying to get meetings, but it’s very rewarding to know that my dad is no longer under any pressure, as it was something that we couldn’t afford year in, year out.”

In 2024, not only did Abbi claim a brilliant F1 Academy title win but she also became the first female driver to win a round of the British F4 Championship. It opened yet more doors, and the reluctant influencer welcomed public speaking engagements and commentary for the BBC. Crucially, it also earned her the GB3 Rodin seat in which she now sits. But while she’s been able to relieve the burden on her dad, she’s not managed to completely escape from the need to go cap in hand.

“I’m having phone calls and meetings daily to make sure I’ve got funding, and also trying to get gigs and work in other aspects, because I’ve also got to pay my rent. It’s nonstop.”

Abbi acknowledges the frustrations of racing against rivals who don’t have the same concerns, but doesn’t think it’s healthy to dwell on it. “I’ve always lined up against people who’ve had a large amount of funding, but while there’s some envy, I don’t resent them for it.

“I don’t like thinking about it too much as it can create the wrong narrative in your head. I’ve made the most out of the opportunity that my dad gave me early on in my career, putting himself in a sticky situation at the start. But he will say it was all worth it.”

A week after speaking to Leisure Kicks, Abbi proved that worth once again, making history at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium when she became the first woman to secure pole position and win a GB3 Championship race in her Rodin car.