Girl racer dreams of joining Lewis on the F1 podium

Alice Powell, 16, today takes her place on the race grid that helped propel Hamilton to world champion

At the same time as the troubled Formula One champion enters lap two of his fight to retain his world title in Malaysia, Alice, from Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, will make her first bid for the podium at Brands Hatch, with the team that propelled Hamilton to F1 stardom.

Today is the first day of the Michelin Renault Formula UK Championship, previously a launchpad for the careers of Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Heikki Kovalainen. Like Hamilton, Alice will be racing for Manor Competition. And like him, she has a precocious talent.

When she walks onto the track, she will make history as the youngest entrant ever. And, distinctive in her trademark pink race helmet, she will also be the only girl in the race.

Sarah Shaw, Manor Competition team manager, said Alice has an in-built advantage as a driver. "Alice has very fast reactions and can see potential problems earlier than most drivers. This gives her a definite edge."

She first attracted attention last year after gaining four podiums in the international Ginetta Championship, despite being one of the youngest competitors. But it was not long before she wanted to move on to "real" racing. "When I turned 16 in January I thought 'yes, finally I'll be able to race real cars'," she said.

"Most of the others I'm racing against are over 17 and I'm the only one that doesn't have a driving licence. It's quite frustrating after races when I see them all driving off and have to get a lift with my granddad."

But neither her age nor her gender has done anything to dampen Alice's ambition. "Being a girl makes me want to go faster. You don't want to go slowly round the track or boys will say it's because you're a girl. It probably does hurt to be beaten by a girl though."

Although she spends her weekends driving, during the week Alice is like any other schoolgirl. Well, almost. There can be few 16-year-olds who put fireproof leggings, racing DVDs and reinforced neck protection on their Christmas wish-list.

At home with her parents Tony, 48, a builder, and Eileen, 42, who works as his secretary, there are few clues to the source of Alice's driving ambition. In the drive is her father's nondescript white van; her mum drives an ageing Vauxhall people carrier.

"We were never particularly keen on driving, but we noticed at an early age that Alice was into cars," Mr Powell said. "She was never into dolls; she was always on her bike and toy racer. We got her a red suit and a red trike and she raced around the garden pretending to be Michael Schumacher."

It was Alice's grandfather, Jim Fraser, 67, who introduced her to racing. When she was six he let her drive his Land Rover around a disused airfield. A decade on and she is tipped to be one of the most exciting figures in British racing since Lewis Hamilton roared into F1 in 2007. And like Hamilton, she is not short of ambition.

"My aim is to be the first successful woman in F1," she says. "There have been some women who raced in F1 a very long time ago but they've not really made an impact, and I want to make an impact. Guys all say it's too physical for women but that just isn't true. If I meet Hamilton I want it to be when I'm sitting next to him in the grid."

The five women with Formula one ambitions

Although open to women, professional racing has always been male-dominated. Since F1 began in 1950, it has seen just five female drivers, and none of them made it on to the podium.

Maria Teresa de Filippis

In 1958, the Italian was the first woman to enter a Grand Prix. She raced in Belgium – her best finish at 10th – Portugal and Italy.

Lella Lombardi

The only woman to score F1 points, she achieved 0.5 for finishing sixth in a race stopped early after a serious crash. She entered 17 races between 1974 and 1976.

Divina Galica

The only British woman raced from 1976 to 1978 and entered three races, but did not qualify. The closest she came was being 2.59 seconds slower than the last-placed qualifier.

Desire Wilson

In 1980 the South African tried to qualify for the British Grand Prix, but failed. She failed again in South Africa in 1981, when she retired with a damaged gearbox.

Giovanna Amati

The Italian failed to qualify for the South African, Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix of 1992.