The two of us found motorsport in completely different ways - Samantha grew up a lifelong Tifosi, and Sarah stumbled on it in college a few years before Drive to Survive. In 2021, the world started to see a cultural wave of online communities forming out of the desire to connect , and it was during this time that we found each other - the both of us wanting to talk about something we were so passionate about but didn’t have an outlet to discuss it in. For us, that passion was Formula 1. 

Soon after we connected, we noticed that while there were a large number of women or female-identifying folks listening in on the dialogue, only a small percentage felt comfortable enough to join in on the conversation. We started getting DMs from other women and female-identifying folks echoing our sentiments or offering different points of view. We encouraged them to join the conversation, and were met with the same response time and time again: ‘I want to, but I’m scared to share my point of view. I’m worried that I’ll be told I don’t know what I’m talking about. Speaking up is too intimidating.’

We then noticed an even bigger gap in the space - new, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ fans - or basically anyone who wasn’t a white, cis, male fan of the sport for 10+ years - were being shut out from conversations.

Grid Clique was founded to be a place for a space for anyone who wanted to talk about the sport - whether they’ve been a fan for 10 days or 10 years, no matter where they’re from, no matter the color of their skin, and no matter who they love - as well as hear from industry experts that they could relate to - whether through gender, race, nationality, sexual orientation, and beyond. We hope that by handing those who traditionally wouldn’t have a voice a loudspeaker to share their stories, anyone who has a dream to launch a career in motorsport, or just get involved, find themselves welcome and represented in the sport.

Welcome to Grid Clique - everyone is welcome.