(CNN) Is Formula One's female trailblazer Susie Wolff about to park her ambitions to race?

The 32-year-old -- who is married to Mercedes' motorsport boss Toto Wolff -- is the leading woman driver in F1 but told CNN she is now considering abandoning the sport because of a lack of opportunities.

As a test driver for the Williams team, Wolff became the first woman in more than 20 years to take part in an F1 weekend when she drove in four Friday practice sessions during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

But Wolff is no closer to racing against her male peers in F1, and a female racer has still not driven when it really counts -- in a grand prix -- since Italian Lella Lombardi competed in the 1970s.

"I can't wait on the sidelines forever for my chance," Wolff told a special "Women in F1" edition of CNN's The Circuit

"There doesn't seem to be many opportunities for next year to get onto the grid. This is going to be a winter of reflection because either it happens or it doesn't."

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Asked how confident she was of ever making it onto the F1 grid, Wolff responded: "I'm very ambitious but I'm also very realistic.

"It's going to be tough. It's going to be very tough."

Claire Williams, the deputy team principal of her father's historic race team and a supporter of Wolff, told CNN that, just like every other driver on the grid, Wolff still had to prove she had the ability to earn a seat in F1.

"Susie has to keep working hard," Williams explained. "She has to make sure she's the full package she can be. At the moment Susie is our test driver. We'll see where we end up at the end of the season."

Was pushing hard out there this morning. Thank you for all the support. 🙏🏻 🏁 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/XQzZ36Hhw1 — Susie Wolff (@Susie_Wolff) July 3, 2015

A golden opportunity seemed to be on the horizon for Wolff when Williams' Valtteri Bottas injured his back and had to sit out the season-opening Australian Grand Prix

But instead of announcing Wolff as the Finn's replacement for the next race in Malaysia, the team unveiled former F1 driver Adrian Sutil, who had no affiliations with Williams, as its reserve to stand in if required.

"It wasn't the best time of my career," reflected Wolff. "It was certainly tough.

"My first thought was for Valtteri, who is a good friend, but being an egoistic racing driver my second thought was, 'OK, would I get the chance?'

"There was a lot spoken about it in the media. Adrian hasn't driven or tested the car so it was a lot of hot air about nothing in the end.

"At the time when Adrian was announced, of course it wasn't great for me. It just made me more determined to do a good job when I got in the car."

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The media criticism came because the team was perceived to have overlooked Wolff in favor of Sutil.

Claire Williams explained to CNN: "We needed someone that was race ready. They had to have been in a race seat with previous history."

Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey And for her next job in motorsport .... Susie Wolff is to run the Venturi Formula E team. Hide Caption 1 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – Susie Wolff became Formula One's first female competitor in 20 years when she took part in British driverbecame Formula One's first female competitor in 20 years when she took part in the first practice sessions at the British Grand Prix . But in 2015 she announced her retirement from the sport saying her dream of making it into the starting grid "isn't going to happen." Hide Caption 2 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – Wolff told CNN Sport: "I rode the wave, was energized by all the support and fought hard. There were those who wanted it to happen. Those who didn't. Do I think F1 is ready for a competitive female racing driver that can perform at the highest level? Yes. Do I think it is achievable as a woman? Most definitely. Do I think it will happen soon? Sadly no."

Hide Caption 3 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – Born in Scotland in 1982 as Susie Stoddart, her parents ran a motorbike shop -- and it wasn't long before she got the racing bug. Hide Caption 4 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – At eight years old, she and her brother got their first go-karts. It would mark the start of her life in competitive motorsport. Hide Caption 5 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – At 18 she was ranked 15th in the world at karting, racing against future F1 stars Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen. Hide Caption 6 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – After spells in Formula Renault and Formula 3000, she landed in DTM (German Touring Car) racing with Mercedes Benz in 2006. She finished her first race in the top 10. Hide Caption 7 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – In 2010, Wolff became the first female driver to score points in DTM in almost 20 years. Hide Caption 8 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – The 2010 season became her most fruitful so far, and she ended ahead of teammates Ralf Schumacher and David Coulthard -- both former F1 stars. Hide Caption 9 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – In 2010, she married Williams F1 board member Toto Wolff, who is now working for rival team Mercedes. Hide Caption 10 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – Wolff has described F1 as the "ultimate goal," and says she was determined to follow that dream. Hide Caption 11 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – Wolff signed for the Williams F1 team as a development driver in April 2012. "Sometimes in life you just need a chance. Claire and Frank (Williams) gave me that chance," she told CNN. Hide Caption 12 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – Her responsibilities that year involved testing the aerodynamics of the car to be driven by Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna, and driving the Williams race simulator. Hide Caption 13 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – Wolff had her first F1 test at the end of 2012 and was given an expanded role for the 2013 season. Hide Caption 14 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – In 2013, she was the first person to drive the team's new car. Hide Caption 15 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – "I was also unsure if the strain was going to be too much," she says. "But already on my first lap out of the pits I knew it was going to be manageable." Hide Caption 16 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – Her new responsibilities for the season made her a regular fixture in the pits, as she eyed a driver's berth. Hide Caption 17 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – For 2014, she joined Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa behind the wheel for two practice sessions -- at Silverstone and Hockenheim -- becoming the sport's first female driver since 1992. Hide Caption 18 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey Susie Wolff's F1 journey – In March, Williams said Wolff wouldn't be considered as a replacement for Valtteri Bottas when the Finn's participation at the Malaysian Grand Prix was thrown into doubt by injury. She said that formed part of her decision to leave the sport. Hide Caption 19 of 20 Photos: Susie Wolff's motorsport journey It was announced in June 2018 that Wolff had been appointed the new team principal of the Venturi Formula E team. British racing driver Alex Lynn (pictured) competes in the electric championship with DS Virgin Racing having been at Williams with Wolff as a development driver. Hide Caption 20 of 20

At the time, Wolff also didn't have a super-licence, a requirement for all participants in a grand prix under the rules set out by the sport's governing body, the FIA.

But CNN asked whether other forces, perhaps related to her gender and which didn't want to see Wolff line up on the F1 grid, were also at work?

"You have to see both sides of the story," the level-headed Wolff answered. "If I put myself in the shoes of the team, they had a car that was quick enough for a podium and they had a test driver that had never driven an F1 race before.

"They wanted someone with race experience in the car, and I can see that side of the argument.

"There are no forces working against me within the team ... I don't think there are any forces at work it was just the right decision -- the team felt -- at the time."

.@AmandaJDavies speaking to @Susie_Wolff in Barcelona today for our Women in F1 special August 28th #CNNTheCircuit pic.twitter.com/tVkVMjL7gR — Rachel Wood (@rsowood) July 28, 2015

Wolff joined the ranks of F1 as a development driver with Williams in 2012 after an impressive six-year spell competing in the popular German touring car championship.

In her junior karting days she competed against current F1 world champion, and fellow Briton, Lewis Hamilton.

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But while Hamilton has gone on to win two world titles at the top tier of motorsport, one with McLaren and one under Wolff's husband at Mercedes, the Scot is left contemplating her future.

"Ultimately it's the one question left in F1," she mused. "Can a female compete at this level, at this time?

"There were trailblazers in the past but why hasn't there been a woman for so long?"

If Wolff decides to hang up her race suit at the end of the 2015 season the chances of seeing a female racer line up against her male peers seem further away than ever.