Shi Wei: The Chinese Woman Breaking Every Barrier in World Motorsport

Shi Wei: The Chinese Pioneer Who Proved It Is Never Too Late to Conquer Motorsport

There are stories in motorsport that break every mold. Not every great career begins at five years old in a Bambino kart. Some begin in a newsroom, then jump to a helicopter, cross oceans, and finally land on an F1 Academy grid in front of millions of people. The story of Shi Wei, also known as “Tie Dou,” is exactly that kind of story. A story that speaks not only of speed, but of courage, reinvention, and the determination of a woman who decided that elite motorsport had a place for her too.

Birth and Life Before Motorsport: A Journalist With an Adventurous Spirit

Shi Wei was born in Baotou, in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, a city of more than two million people. She studied at the Journalism Department of Ocean University of China, a public university in Qingdao in the northeast of the country, graduating with a background completely removed from the world of motorsport.

After graduating, she began working for the Qingdao Customs News and Publicity Section, but in 2018 she made a decision that would change the course of her life: she resigned from her position to found her own company, Yunshi Media Culture Co., a short video platform focused on extreme outdoor sports. It was not motorsport but it was speed. It was adrenaline. It was the kind of content that fired her passion.

What began as a digital media entrepreneurial adventure gradually accumulated, almost unintentionally, a progressive immersion into the world of motorsport. Through her platform’s coverage of high-performance sports, Shi Wei developed an increasingly deep relationship with Chinese motorsport.

The Start of a Racing Career: Results Nobody Expected

Unlike virtually every elite driver in the world, Shi Wei did not begin karting as a child or follow the traditional junior category ladder. Her entry into motorsport came as an adult, and yet the results defied all expectations.

In 2023, Shi Wei competed in the Chinese Formula 4 Championship, becoming the second woman to participate in the series alongside Vivian Siu. By the end of that season she took home the Best Rookie Award an unmistakable sign that her speed was no accident.

In 2024 she continued building her motorsport resume, and crowned that process historically with victory at the F4 Chinese Masters, becoming the first female Chinese driver to win a Formula 4 race. The moment was more than a sporting result: it was a turning point in the history of women’s motorsport in the world’s largest nation.

F1 Academy and History: The First Chinese Driver

In 2025, Shi Wei’s story took on a global dimension. She was selected as the first Wild Card Driver of the F1 Academy for the Chinese round, competing at the Shanghai International Circuit in the number 24 car of Hitech, under the Juss Sports program. By climbing into that car in Shanghai, she became the first Chinese driver in history to compete in F1 Academy.

The Wild Card program was created precisely to generate this kind of impact: bringing local talent to their home circuits, giving them global exposure, and demonstrating that elite women’s motorsport can have roots in every corner of the world. Shi Wei did not just meet that objective she surpassed it. Her participation generated massive media attention in China and a public conversation about the role of women in motorsport that the country had long needed.

Her own words captured the scale of the moment: she hoped her journey could inspire others, that racing is not reserved for only a few, and that with persistence, dedication, and passion, everyone has the chance to go further.

2026: Back in Shanghai, with More Experience

For 2026, Shi Wei was confirmed once again as Wild Card Driver of the F1 Academy for the season-opening round in Shanghai, returning to compete on home soil in front of her compatriots. She returned with the same number 24 in the Hitech car operated by Juss Sports, but this time with the experience of having already lived that scenario a year before, and with an F4 Chinese Masters victory behind her that gave her additional confidence.

Her words before the 2026 event summed up her vision: she truly cherishes the opportunity to compete again, working hard in preparation so that more people can witness the rise of Chinese women in motorsport.

A Figure Beyond Sport

What makes Shi Wei so special is not just her speed, although that has proven more than sufficient to compete in a category backed by Formula 1. It is the story behind the speed. The accumulation of a life lived intensely, with multiple professional licenses car, helicopter, motorboat, and PADI Rescue certification and the courage to reinvent herself when she decided that elite motorsport was where she wanted to be.

In a sport where the vast majority of drivers have spent decades behind the wheel before reaching a category backed by Formula 1, Shi Wei is the proof that the path can be different. And that message, directed especially at young women in China and across Asia, is worth more than any timed lap.

TIMELINE

Childhood in Baotou, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.
Journalism degree, Ocean University of China, Qingdao. Works at Qingdao
Customs News and Publicity Section.
2018: Resigns from her job. Founds Yunshi Media Culture Co., extreme sports video platform.
2023: Debuts in Chinese F4. Second woman in the series. Best Rookie Award.
2024: Continues in Chinese motorsport. Wins the F4 Chinese Masters, first female Chinese driver to achieve this.
2025: Wild Card Driver in F1 Academy for the Chinese round. First Chinese driver in the history of the category. #24 / Hitech / Juss Sports.
2026: Returns as Wild Card Driver in F1 Academy for Shanghai. Second participation in the category.

CURIOSITIES

Shi Wei holds multiple professional licenses: a National Automobile Racing License B, a Helicopter License, a Motorboat License, and a PADI Rescue certification.
She graduated from the Journalism Department of Ocean University of China before her career in motorsport, making her one of the few elite racing drivers with a journalism background.
She worked for Qingdao Customs News and Publicity Section before leaving in 2018 to found her own media company focused on extreme sports content
Her nickname “Tie Dou” is widely used in Chinese motorsport circles and social media.
She became the first female Chinese driver to win an F4 race, at the F4 Chinese Masters in 2024.
The Wild Card initiative in F1 Academy has delivered 13 entries across two seasons (2024-2025), with eight of the 17 full-time 2026 seats now held by former Wild Card drivers demonstrating the real pathway the program creates.
Shi Wei is the living proof that a racing career does not have to follow the traditional template: kart at age 5, F4 at 15, F3 at 18. She built an entire career and business before ever sitting in a single-seater race car.
Her second Wild Card appearance in Shanghai in 2026 made her the first driver male or female to participate in F1 Academy as a Wild Card in two consecutive seasons at the same event.

IMPORTANT PHRASES

“I truly cherish the opportunity to compete again as a Wild Card driver. I will work hard in preparation so that more people can witness the rise of Chinese women in motorsport.” — Shi Wei, F1 Academy Wild Card 2026.
“I hope my journey can inspire others racing is not reserved for only a few. With persistence, dedication, and passion, everyone has the chance to go further.” — Shi Wei, F1 Academy 2025.
“A breakthrough of my personal dream.” — Shi Wei, on becoming F1 Academy’s first Chinese Wild Card driver, 2025.

Do you believe stories like Shi Wei’s are permanently opening the doors of motorsport to profiles that previously had no place in it? Can the Wild Card model be the future for discovering unconventional talent? Share your thoughts in the comments below.