Fabienne Wohlwend: Life in the fast lane
Whether in a 270-hp Formula 3 racing car or her 670-hp Ferrari: Fabienne Wohlwend is at home on Europe’s most prestigious race tracks. As Liechtenstein’s fastest export, the female racing driver is proud to fly the flag for the principality – and for thyssenkrupp Presta.
When Fabienne Wohlwend opens the family photo album on her Instagram account, the screen fills with images of a little girl with sparkling eyes beaming at the camera. On most of them, a huge trophy can be seen by her side – evidence of a happy and extremely successful childhood in karting. “We are a family of motorsport enthusiasts,” says Fabienne. “My older brother was given an old kart by our father. And the first time I sat in one myself at the age of six, I knew: I want to do this too!” Fabienne received her first kart on her seventh birthday. It would be the start of a great karting career.
“From then on we spent almost every weekend at kart circuits in Switzerland and northern Italy,” she says. Not only the family photo album filled up quickly, the Wohlwends’ trophy cabinet was soon overflowing too. Fabienne went on to compete in the German Kart Championship and a couple of Karting World Championship races.
Encouraged by her many victories and championship wins in karting, in 2016 she made the move to the Italian Formula 4 championship. Fabienne knew she could always rely on her family’s support. “But on one condition: I always had to have a Plan B,” she says, which was why she took an apprenticeship as a bank clerk. And because professional motorsport costs money, it now became increasingly important to attract sponsors. “I’ve always handled the sponsor and media relations myself,” she says. “I organized all my partners myself by personally contacting attractive companies”.
thyssenkrupp: the perfect partner
One of them was thyssenkrupp Presta: “In 2017 I emailed the CEO of thyssenkrupp Presta AG asking if I could introduce myself in person”. She got the go-ahead – and impressed the management. Since then Fabienne has had the support of thyssenkrupp’s steering system division. To her, it’s the perfect partnership: “After all, thyssenkrupp Presta AG is the biggest employer in Liechtenstein. Over the years our collaboration has grown closer and closer – I really love representing thyssenkrupp!”
She then spent a season competing in the Audi TT Cup in the DTM series, before being contacted by “Octane 126”. The successful Swiss racing team was looking for a female driver with a proven track record for the Ferrari Challenge Europe – a hellishly fast and challenging one-make series in which all drivers use identical cars.
As a Ferrari fan, Fabienne couldn’t say no and demonstrated straight away what she could do with 670 horsepower under the hood. After coming fifth in her first race and dropping out of her second, in Imola she won outright: the first win by a woman in the Ferrari Challenge! Her team was delighted – and immediately signed her up.
In 2018 Fabienne drove the entire championship for Octane 126, finishing second overall in the Ferrari Challenge Europe. “In the big 2018 season-ending world final, in which the best drivers from the Ferrari Challenge in Europe, the US and Asia competed, I won the race in Monza, making me the first female Ferrari world champion,” she says – another milestone in her still young career. Succeeding as a woman in a male-dominated world is no big deal for Fabienne: “I quickly noticed that I get a certain amount of respect because I’ve served my time the traditional way in motor racing, going from from karting to touring cars, and I got results right from the start,” she says.
“I always try to take positives from every situation”
Fabienne’s success in the Ferrari also attracted the attention of the "W Series": The Liechtensteiner was invited to trials, beat off 100 other competitors and qualified for the all-women Formula series. “The W Series is a mega-platform to learn, develop and showcase yourself,” says the 23-year-old. In her first season, Fabienne narrowly missed fifth place overall, the highlight being pole position and third place in Misano.
“With my driver contracts in the W Series and with Octane 126 in the Ferrari Challenge, I soon realized that I couldn’t combine the program with my job,” explains Fabienne. “I took a big risk and quit my job as a compliance officer at the bank. That was at the end of 2019 – and then came the lockdown in March, so the timing was less than ideal.” But despite the coronavirus crisis the ambitious Liechtensteiner didn’t bury her head in the sand. Far from it: “I'm a positive person and always try to take positives from every situation. I worked hard to find sponsors, and was actually very successful. I also did a lot of physical training and worked in the simulator.” Fabienne was also able to rely on her sponsors: “I’d like to thank thyssenkrupp and my other partners once again for standing by me and continuing to support me. That gave me a great sense of security.”
Giving up is not her thing in general: “I always try to stay focused, keep my eye on my goals and stay positive even when things get tough, like in the coronavirus year 2020.” Or in 2019, when Fabienne had a heavy crash in the notorious “Schwedenkreuz” section of the Nürburgring Nordschleife, which she came through thankfully with only a few bruises. After the crash, her only concern was her helmet: “Is it still in one piece? I’ll need it in a week at the next race!” Needless to say, a week later Fabienne was back behind the wheel, finishing fifth in the W Series at Brands Hatch.
Fabienne to compete in the 2021 Formula 1 support program
Fabienne is ready to give it her all again this year, including on one of her favorite tracks, the Nürburgring: “I got my Nordschleife license this year and drove all the races for the Nürburgring endurance championship, the 24-hour qualifying race and the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.”
She also hopes to finally get her first W Series win. “My plan is to continue where we left off in 2019 before the pandemic,” she says. “Although it will be tough and very tight, I’m aiming for top 3 over the full season. I’m particularly pleased that we’ll be competing in the Formula 1 support program and so will get a lot of media attention.”
The drivers have frighteningly little room for error: “We only have one free practice, one qualifying session and one race, so the pressure is on to deliver immediately.” But Fabienne has always been great at delivering. The trophy cabinet in the Wohlwend household says it all.