From Formula One’s inner circle to shaping its future.

“I was so excited to be there and I knew it was where I wanted to be, but there were just so many challenges,” she remembers of the experience.

“Anyone who starts in Formula One will tell you it is like going to war. It is a competitive sport and an ultra-competitive environment. I made mistakes, for sure, but I also learned a lot. The biggest takeaway for me was to never give up and I will always live by that.”

Anyone that knows Carmen will not be surprised to hear about the 37-year-old’s relentless ambition. However, a new generation of young girls will hopefully start to take inspiration from her when a fictionalised version of Jorda’s life hits the big screen.

Created by ZAG, who made the wildly successful Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, ‘Carmen’ will be the first franchise series set in the world of women’s motorsport and could turn Jorda’s cartoon persona into a role model for kids and adults alike. “At ZAG , we’ve always believed in creating heroes who inspire kids to believe in themselves,” said Jeremy Zag, who has already enlisted The Greatest Showman filmmaker Michael Gracey as producer. “When I met Carmen, her journey and perseverance impressed and inspired me. I’m excited to let her personal story guide us as we imagine a new hero for tomorrow.”

Talking to the real life Jorda on the Entitled1 green sofa, it is hard not to admire her tenacity and determination. The daughter of Spanish racing driver Jose Miguel Jorda, growing up she delightedly describes herself as a tomboy who was “always active, running around and only wanted to play with cars, never with dolls”. Then at the age of ten, her life changed when her father brought home the go-kart he had raced when he was younger. And from the moment she first got behind the wheel, Carmen began dreaming of racing in Formula One.

“It changed my universe,” she says excitedly. “It’s crazy to say, but I still remember the day it happened because everything was different for me. My sister didn’t want to sit in it but I couldn’t wait. I was only driving around a parking lot, but it was funny and crazy. I fell in love.” Looking back, Jorda believes it was the adrenaline rush she got from racing that she found so compelling. Her father, meanwhile, encouraged their shared passion for the sport by mentoring her, teaching her how to go faster, pick the racing line and how to brake as late as possible into a corner. And she was quick. Very quick.

“When I was very young, maybe 11 to 15 years old, there were so many races where I was the only girl competing,” she says. So everyone looks at you like you’re something strange. It was hard for me then, and it is actually what drives me right now – I really want to change that perception of girls in motorsport.”

As Carmen’s career developed, she also says her father found it increasingly hard to watch his daughter race because of the dangers involved. “It was difficult for both of us at times,” she recalls. “The truth is the more you race and the higher the level you compete at, the greater the risks. I don’t have kids, so I cannot say really, but I believe that when you have children your instinct is to protect them. At the beginning of my career it was fun, but when the sport starts to get serious, it’s different.”

If Jorda’s father had any doubts, Carmen didn’t share them. After karting she progressed to Master Junior Formula and then Spanish Formula 3. After stints in European F3, Indy Lights and the Le Mans Series, she spent three seasons racing GP3 cars before Lotus approached her to become a development driver for their F1 team. For Jorda, it was a magical moment, but with it came pressure, intense scrutiny and no shortage of criticism. In the ultra-competitive world of F1, every driver needs financial backing, a lot of encouragement and the support of the sport’s powerbrokers – and even then, that is no guarantee of success. And Jorda, by her own admission, struggled with the step up.

“It was a huge moment for me and a huge learning experience,” Jorda describes it now. “Before Lotus, I was in a team that was maybe 40 people in total, and then you move up to Formula 1 and there are four engineers per car and up to 300 people in the team. Everything is monitored and analysed and there is just so much pressure on everyone, but especially the drivers. And I put too much pressure on myself.”

Although she didn’t get to compete in an F1 race, Jorda did a lot of simulator work and some ontrack testing. She was incredibly proud of the opportunity she was given to be a part of the team, and wanted even more for the women that came after her. She had hoped to follow in the slipstream of her female F1 predecessors and had the ambition to be the first woman to score a point in a Formula 1 race since the legendary Lella Lombardi achieved that feat in 1975, but it was not to be.

“Looking back, I wish I had believed in myself more,” she says. “Having said that, I don’t blame myself. I believe women should be given the opportunity to compete in their own F1 championship. Like in football, tennis and so many other sports, why shouldn’t women have that chance? That’s why I am such a supporter of creating the right opportunities for women in the sport. We can actually do the same as men. So I want to say a huge thank-you to Liberty Media and Formula One for creating the F1 Academy. It is a great step ahead in that direction.”

Launched in 2023 with the aim of encouraging more women to participate in motorsport, both on and off the track, this all-female Formula 4-level single-seater series was designed to develop and prepare 16-25 year olds for the highest levels of racing. With support from all ten current Formula One teams (plus a commitment from Cadillac to join the series in 2027), and a Netflix docuseries produced by Reese Witherspoon’s media company, F1 Academy has launched in full force. It was recently announced that Jorda would be joining Alpine as the head of their F1 Academy and as an ambassador for F1’s airline partners Qatar Airways. The long-term aim for the project is to get a woman a seat in a Formula 1 team and compete for the world championship. And Jorda couldn’t be more excited about being involved.

“My role is about helping to build talent, build opportunities and build credibility around women that will be joining the Alpine F1 team,” she says proudly. “And of course, that means supporting our brilliant 2026 F1 Academy driver Nina Gademan. I believe that with all the experience, all the mistakes, and all the learnings that I had in my 25-year career, I can help and support Nina to proceed on this new chapter in her career. Plus, with Qatar Airways, we’re hoping to build something long term that goes far beyond racing. It’s a message for women everywhere that we are committed to empowerment and excellence.”

Clearly a subject close to her heart, she also released a children’s book in late 2025 called On Track To Win: The Carmen Jorda Story. Deliberately aimed at a younger audience, it is less about racing and more a message of resilience, self-belief and being brave. For Jorda, nothing will replace her driving career, but she definitely has plenty of gas left in the tank. “The way I look at it, racing was a chapter in my life,” she says finally. “But I believe that everything that I’m creating now is just as exciting as well. The best is yet to come.”

HOT LAPS

Carmen Jorda… Five quick-fire questions

Who was your motor racing hero growing up?
Apart from my dad, I would say Michael Schumacher. I was a big fan of his for many years.

What is the secret to driving fast on track?
If you really want to go fast, you have to be calm. You need to have trust in the car, good balance and control, and you have to concentrate… but the key is to be composed and never over-drive the car.

Do you have a favourite race circuit?
I love the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. Not only is it an iconic venue, it is just such an exciting track to race on. And Eau Rouge is just incredible.

How would you describe your driving style – on the track and on the roads?
I have to be careful who reads this! OK, when I’m on the track, I always have to push the car to the limit. That is something that is inside me. But on the road, just going from A to B, I don’t care. I am calm, quiet and I never ever get road rage.

What is your dream car?
It changes all the time, but right now I would say it is the Ferrari Purosangue. It’s the kind of car you can drive everyday, but it has the soul of Ferrari. It has four-doors but with a racing spirit.