I should preface this post by saying that I would love to see a competitive woman racing driver in Formula 1. It would be terrific for the sport. It would open up vast new fan bases. Danica Patrick showed the kind of impact that could be seen when she took pole and raced for victory in the Daytona 500 this year. Viewing figures went through the roof.
In the 25 years that I have been covering Grand Prix racing we have had only one girl who got as far as attempting to qualify for a Grand Prix. That was back in 1992 – more than 20 years ago – when Italy’s Giovanna Amati tried to establish herself. She did not really have the experience she needed. She had an opportunity and went for it. Any racing driver would have done the same. Getting to F1 is not easy. Perhaps with a little more time she might have done a better job. It is not possible to say. Damon Hill, who replaced her in the Brabham team was more convincing, although it has to be said that he had had a fair bit of F1 mileage as the Williams test driver before his debut. Amati had done only 30 laps in a Benetton.
In South Africa she was 3.9 secs behind her Brabham team-mate Eric Van der Poele. In Mexico it was only 2.8 secs but, under pressure because her sponsorship had not arrived, she did not do well in Brazil and the gap went out to 4.8 secs. After that she was dropped. Hill arrived in Spain he was only 0.88 secs slower than Van der Poele and in San Marino he out-qualified the Belgian and after that the pair were fairly evenly matched.
If you look at the numbers, Lella Lombardi was often as far behind her team-mate in qualifying when she was in the March F1 team in the 1970s. She has gone down in history as the first and only woman to have scored a top six finish in a World Championship race, and that was at the anything-but-ordinary 1975 Spanish Grand Prix when several cars withdrew because the barriers were unsafe and there were a series of accidents, culminating in the crash that stopped the race when Rolf Stommelen’s Hill crashed over the barriers, killing several people and injuring the driver. The race was stopped and half points awarded. I had the good fortune to report about Lella later in her career, when she was racing Alfa Romeo GTV6s in the European Touring Car Championship, and I never felt that her laps times were any different from those of the men. The calibre of drivers was admittedly lower, but she did not seem out of place at all.
The problem when it comes to women racing is that if they are even close to being competitive they have huge advantages in terms of raising sponsorship. That is as unfair as men believing that women are not good enough to be in Grand Prix racing. Sexism is a double-edged sword.
It would be wrong, for example, for a Formula 1 team NOT to test a woman who won the British Formula 3 Championship, or was a race winner in GP2 or the Renault World Series. On the other hand is it not discriminatory to test a woman who has scored only two seventh places in the DTM or who once finished seventh in a round of the Superleague Formula? Would teams look at a male driver with those qualifications?
No, they would not even get in the door…
“Can a girl get to Formula 1?” mused Michele Mouton, the chair of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, and a great rally driver in the early 1980s. “Sure, if it is the right girl, with the right skills and the right opportunities. It is a simple truth that women do not often get a chance with a top car; they do not get sufficient testing. You need all of that, but I am sure that a girl can do that. That, though, is not the real question. The big question is whether a woman can win in Formula 1 and I am not so sure about that. Men and women are different. We are not built the same way and I think the biggest difference is in terms of emotions and sensibilities. I never had a problem going at top speed with a 300ft drop right next to my car, but on a race track when you are doing 300kmh down a straight you feel lighter, more exposed, or at least I did. I think that women have a stronger sense of self-preservation than men. It is an instinct that is more developed in the woman than in the man. And I think this is important when you come to that last hundredth of a second. A woman can work up to the top level but men will just do it. Boom. Flat out. I hope that I am wrong in my analysis and that it is not really like that but that is what I think. The other important point is that circuit racing is different to rallying. On a circuit you are in direct confrontation with men and there is always the chance that, rather letting themselves be beaten by a woman, the men will push you out!”
So while I appreciate that women in overalls are useful for teams to charm their sponsors and some of them are very decent racing drivers, I do not believe that it serves anyone’s purpose to promote any driver beyond the level of their talent. Patrick has proved herself to be competitive on occasion in Indycars and in NASCAR, although she has done nothing of interest since taking pole in the Daytona 500 this year. She has earned her right to be the first lady of racing. Others must do the same.
joeblogsf1 
Good article Joe. We’re obviously talking about Suzi Wollf here, and you’re right in that if her results were those of a male driver then he wouldn’t have got anywhere near doing a test for an F1 team – that’s not to say she’s not quick (she’d undoubtably drive rings around those men who are silly enough to scoff at a woman racing), but is she quick enough? You can’t but answer “no” to that question. She’s s good marketing tool though, and perhaps Williams *can* use her to bring on a new generation of female driving talent?
Interesting that Michele Mouton’s opinion differs surprisingly little from that of Sir Stirling Moss – they paint different pictures but with very similar brushstrokes.
I agree and Sir Stirling Moss was lambasted as a result.
Did Ms Mouton say that Women “just don’t have the capacity for wheel to wheel racing”? Is did Ms Mouton say that “she” didn’t (despite being a successful WRC/LeMans and Pikes Peak driver) have the capacity?
No, clearly Sir Stirling’s comments were rather more… “assertive” shall we say?… than Mouton’s and he placed the “ceiling” rather lower, but it’s interesting that they both fundamentally feel that it is more an emotional rather than mental or physical capacity which holds women back in motorsport.
maybe the FIA should have a series just for women……………………give it a world championship status with all the trimmings…………
What would that achieve?
look at other sports, tennis, golf for example…………..Female world champion would be a desirable title to have, it would help promote women in Motorsport and as you mentioned access a new fan base, it would also be attractive to new sponsorships and TV……………
Maybe.
It’s fair to say that if we regard F1 as a physical sport, and given the undeniable physical demands placed on the drivers then it is, it’s somewhat anomalous in being a sport in which there’s no male/female divide. The only notable similar situation which jumps to mind is equestrianism where men and women compete as equals and even there the different disciplines show very different gender distributions.
But the division doesn’t necessarily have to involve entirely segregate parallel structures. One could even imagine a not-entirely-stupid hypothetical scenario involving men and women racing in the same event but in separate championships, much like the different car classes in endurance racing. Next time Luca asks for a third car, someone should mention this to him.
As a general principle though, the one thing I wouldn’t like to see is the watering down of the sport for women. Certain sports (golf and tennis are the two most obvious examples) change the format slightly for the ladies, reducing the physical requirements to attain something perhaps resembling a similar level. Personally (and I’m a man, so my opinion may well be utterly irrelevant) I think it lessens those sports.
Although I can’t ignore the fact that women’s tennis is probably the most popular women’s sport of all and thus the argument in favour of different rules is potentially a strong one.
But in all those cases it also leaves women firmly in the second division. As popular as some women’s sports are, I’m not sure that in any first class sport, the women’s version is seen as the more prestigious.
At the Olympics the women’s gymnastics and figure skating both are far more popular than the men’s competitions. I’m not saying they are better but based on TV and press coverage they are definitely more popular.
A Women-only series will always face the problem that there will be those who don’t watch it because it’s not the “elite level”. It all depends what proportion of potential viewers hold that opinion, as this issue is apparent in all sports. Certain people simply aren’t fussed about grassroots and the like – though whether they’re Real Fans or not is another matter…
Get ready for the onslaught, see the Schuberth rep in the paddock for a loaner helmet.
I agree with you but you’re not allowed to say these things.
Men and women have exactly the same skills and abilities due to the remarkable exponential evolutionary biological progress made over the last 45-50 years. In fact men may be lagging (that’s allowed)
Oddly enough, I am allowed to say what I please…
“I agree with you but youāre not allowed to say these things”… why not? surely you are not one from the new fascist movement, the “PC” brigade?
I agree with you Joe, on both counts; your opinion, and that you can say what you please. I would love to see a female WC, WOW! but it ain’t gonna happen… unless it’s rigged somehow.
“Men and women have exactly the same skills and abilities due to the remarkable exponential evolutionary biological progress made over the last 45-50 years.”
Huh? Where did that come from? Generally speaking, in terms of psychological makeup, emotional makeup and physical makeup, men and women are as different now as they’ve always been.
Sarcasm.
Based on a very strange idea of what equal rights means – which doesn’t include any kind of assertion that all men and women are precisely equal in all things.
“Generally speaking, in terms of psychological makeup, emotional makeup and physical makeup, men and women are as different now as theyāve always been”
Exactly, which is why men quite frankly have attributes that make them better suited for the sport of F1. Not saying that there will not be a woman that can compete in F1, I am saying that when there is she will have to be VASTLY superior to her female racing counterparts to be competitive amongst males. ( Like Tiger Woods when he smoked the rest of the field in his prime)
There is bound to be one or two that have what it takes, it comes down to being in right place at right time.
I would even suggest I know one race woman that has moved on and married a successful driver now that had the right stuff and raced open wheeler.
I reckon the impact of having a girl in F1, and what that would signal, is worth everyone pitching in to remove these serial glass ceilings.
Yes, you have to have the talent and all that, all up to the job, but it would be a very special signal, and make the sport very very noticeable for a long while.
As it is time to time argued that racial minorities excel in some professions, that that is because they were discriminated against, and so had truly to excel, so long as there is affirmative action rather than molly coddling, F1 would do well.
Of course, there would be a huge PR problem when any girl worth her salt in the game got on the radio and uttered profanities . . . there will always be a sexist or racist or religious vocal contingent . . sometimes I think Dear Bernie preempts all that with his quips . .
Bad form replying to myself, but my tutor was a lady who missed the olympic rowing team, some while ago now, due to sudden illness. No man would pick a fight with her, and yet she was in every aspect feminine, moreso than really a whole bunch of girls I met. Just would beat the daylights out of 99% of men in a brawl . . There’s no doubt you can look good and absorb the G-forces.
Having a ‘girl’ in F1? WTF John. I’m sure the ‘boys’ wouldn’t mind.
It was once said that women would not make good fighter jet pilots because of the same arguments that ‘they are built differently and are more emotional’ – though we now have, in the US and elsewhere, not only fully qualified combat pilots but instructors.
Flying a jet where you may be killed in action is less ‘self preservation’ motivated than modern F1. So yes there may be biological differences but limiting an entire gender based on a stereotype is a limited vision.
I think we need to see a generation of girls from karting age brought up without sexism to find the early talent needed. We won’t generally find the future world champions coming into F1 in their 30’s (which is the age most female drivers seem to get to before even racking up enough interest to get placed).
Interesting point about reverse sexism – you could say its more about novelty though. Once a few women have been in F1 the rush to sponsorship may fade down. I suppose Lewis Hamilton gets a sponsorship edge for being the only black face amongst white drivers. He’s certainly paid more than the reigning world champion for his global ‘image’. Luckily Lewis is obviously talented so he doesn’t really count in my argument but we’d need to find that one woman who is genuinely competitive at the front with a childhood brought up in karting and the sexism will break down (much as Lewis helped defuse a number of racist arguments over his career).
They should combine all events at the Olympics because it’s sexist as it is now, they need to get up to date with modern times!
Do you think that being a fast driver depends only on your physical ability?
Men are usually about 10 per cent (or more) stronger than women, and trained men would be 10 per cent stronger than trained women, respectively. Every competition record backs it up (I’ve compared it a number of times with regard to ski jumping, for example). That’s why events are separate for men and women.
No, I was joking. I do think physical ability definitely is a huge factor in F1 considering the G forces and the amount of work that the upper body / torso has to do, especially over the duration of the race without excess fatigue. I would think on average men possess UPPER body strength which exceeds women by more than 10%. Women tend to carry physical strength in their legs (not so useful in F1)
While F1 is not a strength competition men are at a physical advantage in my opinion and that advantage translates to track results, women can physically train to compensate likely with sufficient results. However to be competitive at the front it would take an exceptional woman (by comparison to other female successful open wheel racers)
The folks crying for equality and claiming sexism can blame mother nature for the engineering. The olympics demonstrate our differences, thus the reference above.
“Flying a jet where you may be killed in action is less āself preservationā motivated than modern F1.” you say. On the other hand coming back home to celebrate the victory is important in both!
It’s interesting that there is a greater percentage of men who don’t have the nerve to solo (when learning to fly) then women.
AuraF1’s comments are spot on: ie F1’s next female will come from one whose childhood is based on karting. If the industry really wants a female in F1, they need to invest in one or two in karting like Ron Dennis did for Lewis.
Jimbo
Michele Mouton makes a lot of sense.
Michele Mouton speaks convincingly on the subject, though I do take issue with one point. Most young chargers will run anybody off the road to prevent themselves being beaten!
Playing Devil’s advocate (mind drifts off to the clip from the Simpsons), does anyone think that positive discrimination can be a good thing? By finding women and promoting them (perhaps close to if not beyond their racing abilities) it could act as a catalyst for future generations of women to realise at a young age that they too can achieve a great deal in motor racing.
Are pay drivers supported upon nationalistic grounds the same thing? A number of drivers (I won’t name them to avoid an argument) have got their seats in F1 because of the sponsorship they received due to being from a certain country, and therefore appealing to a certain demographic, and could the same theory also be applies to a woman driver.
An ideal scenario of course is the Hamilton example when the first black person to get into F1 (I think) is so exceptionally talented that questions about his race are drowned out by people going “wow did he just beat Alonso in his debut season”.
I have a slightly different opinion on this. Given how many pay drivers in F1 haven’t been exceptional earlier in their careers (i.e. they are there because of the money they bring) and the positive effect having a decent female driver would have to the sports image and potentially bringing in sponsorship to their team, I really don’t think there is any reason why we shouldnt see a female driver in the sport sometime soon. I do agree though that all drivers in F1 need to be of a certain standard and no one should get special treatment whoever they are. However I don’t think you can look at a single grid in F1 history and say every driver was a potential race winner or world champion.
I was having similar thoughts along these lines. Barring extraordinary differences in talent, pay drivers are judged by how much cash they’re bringing in. So I wouldn’t begrudge the fairness issue with a female driver and sponsors that might be more interested in her than an otherwise similar male counterpart. There are plenty of borderline F1 drivers thinking they would have a ride except so-and-so’s uncle owns an oil company. Fairness isn’t the point — money is.
All that said, I’m rooting for Rosie Napravnik to win the Kentucky Derby. The only problem is that she has horse racing’s version of a lousy car.
If they qualify for a super license then they are good enough, man or woman.
I think the generalisation that all women would be at a disadvantage is wrong, and one of the major mistakes that people make that lead to sexism. While a majority of women might be effected by this, their would also be a large number of men affected by it as well. The fact that male racers all start at a young age and are given a lot of intensive training through karting and other racing to overcome this sense of self preservation is probably where the difference lies. If you had as many woman as men coming through the sort of career progression path that most F1 drivers go down then I would think the differences would disappear.
As for the part where you mention male drivers pushing female drivers off the road, surely this would be a breach of the regulations? There are numerous rules for defending and dangerous driving that it would be something that wuld be punished. Perhaps sexism is so ingrained in F1 drivers would feel this way, and theywould rather perform dangerous manourvres and throw away points, but then I don’t know any F1 drivers. If it was true then it seems that it would be something that needs to be tackled.
If you read the post, you will see that this was a direct quote from the head of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission. A woman.
My apologies. Interesting that a woman should say that. I still do not agree with it and find it rather self defeating. There has been a lot of research into role models and what play in helping young girls and women develop and try new careers and for the person put in charge of fostering the growth of women in motorsport to say they are not capable is very disappointing. I would think this will take at least a generation or two to change though, it just seems so ingrained.
My mother used to say that women didn’t know how to parallel park, based solely on the fact that she herself was hopeless at it. I myself am better at it than all the males in my family. Would you take my mother’s word above mine, simply because she was the matriarch of the family?
Given Michelle’s remarkable track record in motorsport, I hardly think listening to her equates to being listened to just because one is the oldest in a family. I suspect she knows more about what it takes for a woman to drive at the highest levels in motorsport that anyone commenting on here.
Similarly, while Stirling Moss’s comments may have been unpopular, given both his own and his sister’s stature and experience his comments should carry more weight than most others. My gut tells me that they are both wrong, because I like to think that we’ve moved a long way forward in terms of equality etc……..but THEY are the experts – I am most certainly not and nor, I would suggest, are 99% of those who take issue with their opinions.
It seems often forgotten that F1 actually requires some physicality. Perhaps this may be a factor that may prove challenging for women not to drive but to be HIGHLY COMPETITIVE over the duration of the race.
One reason there hasn’t been a female Formula One driver in recent years is the endemic sexism throughout society, including supposed “enlightened” ones like the UK.
For example, in recent criticism of Ms. Wolff it is suggested that she has chosen her husband carefully, to put it politely.
Can you imagine any man being accused of marrying an heiress to fulfil his Formula One dream? On the contrary, the more girls “conquered” the better which is why so many men still revere the memory of James Hunt, who died sad and alone with his Mercedes parked on bricks on the driveway because he couldn’t afford the road tax.
Access to money trumps talent amongst men on the F1 grid, and we mostly let that go. But as soon as a woman comes along with a plan to join them all we men get uppity because she hasn’t “proved her worth”.
And as far as sponsorship goes, I don’t agree it’s easier for a female to attract backing to go racing. I think it’s just as hard at least, since most decisions are taken by men, very few products that are aimed at females only would be likely to consider advertising to a predominately male audience such as Formula One fans.
You say “Sexism is a double-edged sword”. It isn’t. It’s just sexism. No man suffers it in motor sport, just women.
I am sorry but I entirely disagree.
If you were James Calado, for example, a rising British racing driver with considerable talent, would you be happy to see Susie Wolff as the Williams test driver? You would think, quite rightly, that you have a better claim to do that job and that she was there for other reasons.
That’s sexism.
It’s good to differ isn’t it? I’m from the same generation as you but see things differently. Debate is what helps make this such a healthy blog.
Yes, Calado might deserve his chance, he’s certainly earned it. He has however, been completely fully-funded his entire career, no money worries whatsoever as far as I’m aware of and only the best teams at his disposal.
For a female of similar ability to achieve similar success she would need similar funding, no more no less. I don’t see that happening anytime soon for the reasons I’ve already stated.
It really is different for girls, it’s not just a liberal trendy thing. It’s a fact, starting from the toys on offer to parents being either packaged pink or blue.
It’ll change with time, and then we’ll wonder why we ever had this discussion in the first place.
Is it any different than an F1 team deciding to hire an inferior driver because his nationality is great for getting PR and sponsorship?
Yes. The level of competitiveness is higher amongst the pay-drivers
Surprised to hear you say that Joe. You’ve written extensively and informatively on the world of ‘pay drivers’. Is the case of Susie Wolff using her connections to get a seat any different to Max Chilton?
There are many, many quicker, skillful drivers than Chilton at the moment, yet none with a father prepared to write a Ā£40m cheque
Surely if making progress in F1 comes down to connections, Susie is just playing the game that others have been for years…
Yes. Max Chilton has won races in GP2.
So in your opinion, Max Chilton is the young driver coming up who most deserves a drive, and is there purely on merit? There is no-one better at the moment than Max Chilton?
My point is that he is were he is largely due to his connections. Just like Susie Wolff.
Both have a degree of talent and determination, or they wouldn’t have been able to get themselves into the positions to make those connections
Did I say that? No. I said that he has done enough to deserve an F1 drive. It is entirely different and trying to put words in my mouth to justify your argument in clutching at straws.
Why should James Calado (about who’s talent I entirely agree) be any more happy to see a male driver with money getting opportunities ahead of him. Wolff isn’t that good but there’s men on the F1 fringes who are at the same level.
Name names and we can discuss.
thank you madame for sharing your opinions. well done.
The BBC did a āChequered Flag Formula 1ā² program about this, with Susie Wolff and Claire Williams. http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/fivelive/cff1/cff1_20130501-1105a.mp3
But would a driver with SW’s results get a sniff if they weren’t married to the team co-owner? It’s not exactly sisters doing it for themselves, is it?
I’m 68, and I would be competitive in Nascar, the “good ole boys” are just that, old failed racers.
Danica Patrick you must be kidding? we will never hear from her again let alone in F1, as Alan Jones said “the bedroom or the kitchen” is probably right.
Firstly, you would not be competitive in NASCAR and if you think that you are utterly deluded. Ask Juan Pablo Montoya how easy it is.
Secondly, you probably said we would never hear from Danica when she went to NASCAR…
Thirdly, your views about women are in need of updating.
I’m only 67 so obviously I’s thrash you! š
It’s a purely statistical question. There’s far more boys than girls in karting, so there’s far more chance to find the few gifted ones. Same everywhere. Should football (or “soccer” in this case) be the most popular sport in the USA, there would be a lot more kids in the age categories, more talented ones, and their national team would have a better international ranking. If you want ladies in F1, just promote the recruitment in junior categories.
Maybe one of the problems for women in racing in racing is that they are always placed in the ‘odd one out’ position. Another would be physical build (in general terms), but on the ‘just do it’ attitude men might have, I know a lot of women who can have that too. But then again, I don’t have all the answers.
Recently Beitske Visser, a young female driver from Holland, was added to the Red Bull talent program. Beitske, at 16, won the first car race she was in, albeit in a somewhat superior car, but still. I really hope for her she can come through the ranks and maybe in a couple of years do a season (or more) in the Toro Rosso team…
+1
From Visser’s experience in karting she can vouch for the truth in Mouton’s assertion that “… there is always the chance that, rather letting themselves be beaten by a woman, the men will push you out!ā
It is a simple fact that men and women are different from a pure physical aspect and that the female body provides a number of evolutionary handicaps for aspiring F1 drivers. Women have their physical performance potential affected by monthly hormone fluctuations that do not happen to men. So their top performance is likely to vary over the course of one season. The other problem is spatial awareness and judgement of highly dynamic situations with hand/foot eye coordination. The male part of the species statistically scores much higher in any test that you can do in that department and it is vital for a race car driver at the highest level. I do not want to discriminate against women in F1. It would obviously be fantastic if we could have one or two. But it is a fact that females are not encouraged to compete enough to overcome the handicap that their gender imposes on them. If there are no additional incentives to lure girls into racing at GP2 level you simply will not see one getting the necessary CV that is required for an F1 super license. The FiA would have to create a very affordable GP2 level category where only women compete to get a feed stock of real GP2 women candidates. The best of them should automatically get a GP2 drive and from there they might have a chance to male it to F1 eventually.
I think you will trouble backing this up.
What do you mean by this remark. Female menstruation and the associated change in hormone levels is undisputed AFAIK. And I bet you will not find one single study into gender differences that finds women ahead of men in spatial awareness and limb/eye coordination. I would be very interested if such a study existed. I’m not speculating about mental capabilities. Those are physical attributes that are different in men and women. Nobody disputes that women have no dick. So why do we think they are the same in other racing relevant physical aspects? You do not have to go as far as Michele Mouton to explain the differences by psychology. I would call those views questionable and hard to very scientifically.
Oh Dear Werner…….how long have you been asleep?
Just google “spatial awareness gender” and you get a plethora of sources.
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/news/news/2360/
just one source from California that confirms the fact that women statistically have worse spatial awareness than men. I appears that some here are not very scientifically minded. In my view it is irrelevant if the handicaps for females are genetically induced as most experts have thought for a long time or if they are aquired perhaps over generations of differences in life style.
“Statistically have worse spatial awareness than men” does not preclude a woman from being equal to the best me, just reduces the proportion of women who might be so. So it’s no reason why there could not be a successful, woman F1 driver. There are 3 women entered to start this year’s Indy 500 and I think you need decent spatial awareness when dicing with other cars at 220 mph.
@Trevor Knowles
Sure, you are right. And I have never said anything to the contrary. But it is so much harder for females and my post explains why.
To my knowledge (Dammit Jim, I’m an engineer, not a neurologist!) the jury remains out on the question of whether differing scores on spatial awareness and coordination are down to nature or nurture. Like it or not, vast numbers of boys encouraged to join football clubs and given Lego for their birthdays while the girls are encouraged to go to ballet class and given Barbies. Again, *as far as I know*, no-one has really been able to draw conclusions on whether it’s the society around the child or the child’s chromosones which make the difference.
Even on a simpler level there’s been some really interesting research done with how nursery & kindergarten staff respond differently to girls and boys – clever little social experiments like taking a whole load of kids and deliberately dressing some of the boys as girls and the girls as boys led to very different interactions and different responses to things like trips and falls.
As for the hormonal aspects, I’ve always heard that men have a similar but less pronounced cycle (this may all be a Marxist-feminist plot) and would wonder whether various hormonal treatments (most of them developed for long-term contraceptive use) would somewhat reduce / inhibit the effects.
But I’m not a medical professional nor suicidal, so I’ve no intention of getting stuck into that argument.
@ Jem
On the issue of menstruation and its impact on decision making under pressure you only have to live with a female that is susceptible to PMS for some years and you know from personal experience that this gender can have a big problem. Under the influence of the hormonal cycle women can completely change their behaviour and aggression level. They are obviously under great additional stress and tend to make less competent split second decisions. I would be very surprised if the driving performance isn’t affected at least for such females that suffer directly from PMS. It is simply one more nail in the coffin that makes it harder for girls to compete on the highest level.
Women can use birth control pills to delay their periods. Presumably there are hormone treatments outside of birth control pills that do the same. As for spatial awareness… I’m a structural engineer in an office with a good gender mix, and I’m not seeing a difference. There may be tendencies throughout the general population, but there are certainly enough women with spatial abilities of the highest order. If you look at the most elite men and women, plain old strength seems to be the only common difference.
“The other problem is spatial awareness and judgement of highly dynamic situations with hand/foot eye coordination:.
I’ll tell you what, Werner, come rock climbing with some of the women I climb with and we’ll see who has problems with dynamic situations and eye/foot coordination.
@ SteveH
I think rock climbing is exercised at different speed than motor racing and it does not involve multiple moving objects that have to be included in the decision making in split seconds.
One hint to evaluate the problem is the debate around aging of F1 drivers. The men also loose the particular capabilities with age as reaction speed degrades.
So speed and the number of objects seems to be very relevant factors making rock climbing a rather bad yard stick.
Werner, I wasn’t suggesting that rock climbing and motor racing are equivalent; they aren’t. What I was suggesting is that you are lumping a pretty diverse and huge population (about half of humans, at last count) under a very small umbrella. Do you honestly suggest that there are no women who might, given the early exposure and training most successful drivers get nowadays, be as good a driver as a man because most women menstruate? You are judging a single potential woman driver by statistical analysis with a sample size of billions.
No, Werner, woman aren’t the same as men and, as a group, might share characteristics that would be counter indicative of success as an F1 driver, but that does NOT mean that there is NO single woman with the skill set, physique, reflexes, and brains to be a successful F1 driver. I don’t know why you are arguing against the possible success of a woman driver; shouldn’t you rather encourage women to race? Some of them might have the drive and skills to succeed, and that would be a good thing.
And finally, go rock climbing with a good women climber; they have grace, agility, and fluidity that most men lack and are able to climb as well as most men even though they lack the upper body strength of men.
I don’t say that women can’t hack it in F1. I say its harder for them because they are less suited by the physical aspects of their gender.
See Brandon Warren’s comment on the matter
I have two teenage daughters the youngest has been diagnosed as having spatial awareness issues as well as other things related to her dyslexia,she the most natural female driver I’ve ever seen – ( wished i had got her into Karting when she was younger) . the older daughter doesn’t have the issues and can’t drive anywhere near as well.
confused why it’s okay for crap drivers (some current, many previous) to pay their way on to the grid, but the only women you’d allow, are one’s who have a required level of talent?
you’re not the only one who’s argued the same point, willy buxton waffled on along these same lines the other day. but until a female equivalent of yuji ide is given a drive, f1 is not doing enough to encourage women drivers.
There are no crap drivers in F1.
The guys we think are crap have to get within 107% of the fastest time in Q1 when they’re driving the worst cars on the grid. They may not be the next Alonso or Vettel, but they’re not crap either. Standards in F1 are actually very high right now.
Agreed.
Sorry but didn’t we do all this a few weeks ago ?
I can remember mentioning the BBC2 documentary on Suzi Wolff. I also mentioned that my old belief that women just did not want the necessary huge neck muscles, was blown away when Lewis and DC were chatting and Lewis said that they did not need them nowadays with the high cockpit sides. (and that DC’s neck had now subsided to a normal size)
Divina Galica, was the one I remembered and Joe proved that I am older than I thought when he told me of her era and sadly few motor racing achievements. (mainly an olympic skier)
It is my very firm belief that even with talent, money and extreme perseverance, an awful lot of luck and coincidence is needed to get into F1.
BTW I always felt very much safer on the track than on a fast UK road. At least theoretically, everyone was going in the same direction! (And hopefully your advanced skid control allowed some “aiming” whilst crashing)
Prior to Giovanna Amati, was Desire Wilson (who actually won an f1 race, albeit a British national level one) the last woman to try to qualify in a GP?
Yes. What is often forgotten about her is that although she failed to qualify for 1980 British GP, she raced in the 1981 South African Grand Prix for Tyrrell. She qualified 16th of 19, ahead of Derek Daly (RAM March), Geoff Lees (Theodore) and Eliseo Salazar (RAM March). She was just 0.6secs behind Eddie Cheever, her Tyrrell team-mate. She stalled at the start, then climbed up through the field until crashing. The race was later declared to be a non-championship event because of the FISA-FOCA War. It should be added that she is still the only woman to have won a Formula 1 race. That being the Evening New Trophy at Brands Hatch on April 7 1980. It was a round of the British F1 Series, which was not the highest quality, but the 40-lapper included Eliseo Salazar and Emilio de Villota in Williams FW07s, Giacomo Agostini in Williams FW06, Guy Edwards in an Arrows A1 and Geoff Lees in a Wolf WR3. She raced a Wolf WR4.
Thanks Joe, forgot Ms Wilson was in the ’81 S.African GP.
She also won the Monza 1000km sports car race in a DeCadenet (Gordon Murray re-designed Lola, i think).
There’s a certain amount of ruthlessness needed when racing in F1 and it’s difficult to see male drivers applying this when competing against women.
This is the reason why the British Army won’t allow women as front line combat troops, because the men will be too protective of them and not focused on the objective.
Patrick, I race in FF with women and there was no difference or lack of ruthlessness on my part. They were just other drivers.
Good point Steve although Formula One is a dangerous sport and putting a woman in peril, wheel to wheel banging at 200mph is not chivalrous conduct.
That said, these days Girls are behaving more like Boys and Boys behaving more like Girls; think Metrosexual males and Ladette females.
The future of gender evolution is unknown, yet with current data you can guess where it’s going… Perhaps one day we will see an Infantry Battalion comprised entirely of women commanded by Colonel Boadicea.
That’s a very disappointing quote from “the chair of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission”, and proof that there is still a long way to go for equality in general, let alone in the world of sports.
You could just call it being realistic.
The quote is realistic? That women have a more developed sense of self preservation? This armchair biology/psychology that always goes around in these discussions helps no one. And given the usual ego of racing drivers, they’re not generally predisposed to let anyone past them, I’m not sure they’d think about the gender at 200mph.
Michele Mouton, an armchair observer? You are probably not old enough to know but she took part in 50 World Championship rallies and won four of them. She was runner-up in the World Rally Championship in 1982. She won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and the German Rally Championship – the first female driver to win a major championship in rallying. She also won the two-litre class driving at Le Mans. I think she is uniquely placed to have an opinion, rather more than you do anyway. And I know the quotes are true because she said them to me.
None of which qualifies her to comment on gender difference, which would be best left to experts in that field.
Which I presume you are?
I note the carefully chosen photo.
Why would you presume I am? I’ve only studied it a small amount, and have known people who have studied it in much greater depth. Regardless, the idea that people should not tar entire genders with the same brush, and should not found their opinions on their own ill-informed beliefs of biological psychology, does not rest on my own credentials. There are physical differences between straight and gay people – are gay people less likely to be monogamous? There are physical differences between people of different races, are some superior to others in certain fields? These arguments amount to the same thing, and none are acceptable. The relevant differences are part of a much larger tapestry of what makes someone the person they are, with their own specific capabilities.
Also, the ‘carefully chosen photo’, for whatever reason you (Steve) believe it to be carefully chosen, is my Facebook profile image, which is dragged over to my WordPress account, and hence not even remotely chosen with this comment thread in mind.
One P.C brainwash complete,
“and none are acceptable”
er, you missed “in my opinion”
Sarcasm Rich.
Oh, and also, the photo WAS carefully chosen by you. Nuf said.
here here monsieur Saward. well done piece on a delicate subject in my opinion.
being used as a symbol in the same way by sales and marketing types ever since motoring events were created many moons ago seems to be my only reason to support your brave take on this matter.
be well people.
Ultimately though, it’s still a subjective opinion. Even if it is a well informed one
Perhaps some Sports scientists could do some controlled experiments to get some objective data?
Maybe Bernie could fund a study? š
Given that people like Pat Moss and Michele Mouton had both the stamina and the talent to compete at the top level in rallying and that F1ās safety standards have improved immeasurably since the 1980s, I donāt feel that womenās āstronger sense of self-preservationā would be detrimental to their competitiveness in the modern F1 arena.
Ironically, in this male-dominated sport there is enough gossip generated by male followers of the F1 bloggerati to indicate that the ādifferenceā¦in terms of emotions and sensibilitiesā is not as great as some might think.
Joe, what is your view on Red Bull adding Dutch Beitske Visser to the Red Bull Junior team? Commercial motives? or do you think their motives are genuine?
Let us see how she does.
Bit of both.
Sure, comercially, of all the likely candidates she being a “she” makes Visser perhaps the biggest potential story to market if she truly can race her way up the ladder.
But with 2 wins from 17 starts last year, Visser is at least a genuine contender at the level she’s currently competing in.
Is about all you can ask for at this stage, yes? Then it’s wait and see whether they can help her thrive or not.
Perhaps an F1 2 car race team should be made to have one female and one male driver, rather than two of the same sex?
Now there’s a crazy thought.
Yes. The Harriet Harman rule…
Can’t Williams give Susie Wolff at least 1 free practice session, has she got her super licence?
I am sure that they can. I don;’t know about the super licence.
“The problem when it comes to women racing is that if they are even close to being competitive they have huge advantages in terms of raising sponsorship. ”
I would agree with this but on the recent 5Live BBC F1 podcast they interviewed Claire Williams and Susie Wolf and Claire said that they have not found it any easier looking for women centric sponsorship.
Do you think that’s just PR talk or perhaps more that Susie isn’t really in a central role?
Assuming you mean “women centric” as meaning targetting women as a market, it’s probably a case of a catch 22. Because relatively few women are interested in F1, it makes F1 a poor place to spend money on marketing products and services to women.
It might take some time for that to change, even if Wolff were promoted to a race seat.
I think Michele Mouton’s quote is realistic. So is Sterling’s (I’ve looked again at what he actually said). For some it’s a generational thing. My wife says, ‘why not?’ with the proviso of course that women are prepared to undertake the intense training required to compete at the highest level. Women now have a more visible presence in motor sport, in all areas, which surely must be a good thing for its long term sustainability. The rest is down to personal motivation and a more enlightened attitude by their potential employers.
Danica Patrick, I always wonder if Bobby Rahl would’ve had complete control of Jaguar F-1 she might had a chance at F-1
Just a bit more food for thought. Motor sports are unique in that women may sometimes enjoy a physical advantage because they are lighter, on average, than men.
Conor Daly and I were lucky enough to have dinner with Bobby Rahal at a karting banquet in the U.S. in the mid-2000s, and he commented that Danica’s slighter body shape and lower weight allowed the team to move additional ballast around. Apparently the engineers felt that this gave her somewhere between three tenths and half a second in hand against heavier drivers merely due to setup flexibility on certain courses. Obviously it was worth less time on ovals, but did improve tire degradation. Nothing against Danica, it’s just a fact of life and perhaps part of then reason male drivers were often predominantly slighter for many years. Neil Mickelwright at Forsythe once told me that one of his taller and heavier drivers wasn’t able to use specific development pieces (floors and whatnot) because those placed him above the minimum weight limit, thereby nullifying the aerodynamic advantage.
I assume weight isn’t as marginal in F1, particularly now that we have set distribution requirements, but I sometimes wonder if body weight has anything to do with some of the gap we’ve seen between, for example, Mark and Sebastian or Jenson and Lewis. We often argue that drivers have the same equipment at their disposal and overlook the fact that they have differing body shapes. Might be interesting to look into.
Always a fan of the blog. I appreciate that you call it like you see it.
Lighter drivers can have more fuel on board.
Fuel will be even more critical in future 2014 and onwards.
Apparently some teams now start the race with up to 10% less than required to finish the race at full charge thus fuel saving is normal and goes along with tyre saving. In general all weight/mass saved is an advantage, less mass need less fuel.
BUT that is not to say that all women are lighter than all men, some of the guys are starting to look like jockeys nowadays.
F1 drivers have, on average, always been small; this isn’t a new trend.
Just a bit more food for thought. Motor sports are unique in that women may sometimes enjoy a physical advantage because they are lighter, on average, than men.
Conor Daly and I were lucky enough to have dinner with Bobby Rahal at a karting banquet in the U.S. in the mid-2000s, and he commented that Danicaās slighter body shape and lower weight allowed the team to move additional ballast around. Apparently the engineers felt that this gave her somewhere between three tenths and half a second in hand against heavier drivers merely due to setup flexibility on certain courses. Obviously it was worth less time on ovals, but did improve tire degradation. Nothing against Danica, itās just a fact of life and perhaps part of then reason male drivers were often predominantly slighter for many years. Neil Mickelwright at Forsythe once told me that one of his taller and heavier drivers wasnāt able to use specific development pieces (floors and whatnot) because those placed him above the minimum weight limit, thereby nullifying the aerodynamic advantage.
I assume weight isnāt as marginal in F1, particularly now that we have set distribution requirements, but I sometimes wonder if body weight has anything to do with some of the gap weāve seen between, for example, Mark and Sebastian or Jenson and Lewis. We often argue that drivers have the same equipment at their disposal and overlook the fact that they have differing body shapes. Might be interesting to look into.
Always a fan of the blog. I appreciate that you call it like you see it.
Is there a glass ceiling in motor racing? team owners do not appear to take female drivers seriously just like in the corporate world with female executives. Most team owners are middle aged and conditioned by no fault of their own to think this way.
Simona deSilvestro has been impressive (regardless of which sex she is) in IndyCar this season. She is driving for the same team that Barichello was driving for last season and using teammate Tony Kannan as a yardstick, she appears to be outperforming Rubens, especially in qualifying.
I wonder what Barbara Cartland would say to all this discussion?
Note: for those who are completely mystified by this comment, Google her ‘connection’ with Brooklands race track …
I’m pretty sure that Joe already knows it. I look forward to an piece in GP+.
I would be VERY surprised if he didn’t! I also would be interested to hear his take on that whole episode …
I’m sure there are woman out there who could be competitive, and even win in F1. However nobody is blocking girls from joining karting leagues, junior racing series and such. They probably have it easier to find the money for it than young men. teams are likely to be more interested in a talented woman than a talented man. Where exactly IS the glass ceiling here?
To me the level of talent in the few young females racing nowadays is just not good enough. The likes of Suzie Wolff and Maria De Villota who get to F1 on no merit other than being female just make it harder for real talented women to make it as it makes it harder to take female racers seriously.
One day the right girl will emerge, I don’t see any ceiling holding her back, on the contrary she’ll likely have it easier to get to F1 than her male counterparts, she just needs to want to pick up a steering wheel..
I remember a TV interview with Gerhard Berger where he was asked if he would like his children to follow him and become racers. His one sentence answer was something like “Both my kids are girls.”
When the interviewer persisted Berger was clearly dumbfounded at such as an absurd question. His tone and body language was clear – they’re girls for god sake, how can they be race drivers?
Isn’t the real reason why we haven’t seen many women drivers in F1 because a) there aren’t many/any that are good enough to drive in F1; and b) there aren’t many women involved in driving vehicles in motorsport full stop? Are they less inclined to take up the sport anyway, meaning that the pool of female drivers is extremely small compared to the pool of male drivers, and the female drivers that do exist are not up to the standard expected of a driver? Why should they be promoted if they are not up to competing with men? I also think it’s a quirk that the only people raising the issues about female drivers in F1 are………..men. Where are all the female drivers beating the drum? Are they going unheard – or – are they just not there? Are women just not bothered about pursuing the sport, in which case, why all the fuss? Just to counter this, there are women involved in F1, and that’s good to see – the head of the Sauber team on the pitwall (forgive me for forgetting her name!!), I’ve seen some of the techincal team in Red Bull are females, and many of the PR team are female as well, so they must be (or at least I hope) they are there on merit. Also, I believe a woman heads up a team in another formula, is it endurance racing? (Joe, help me out here!)
No idea.
“there arenāt many women involved in driving vehicles in motorsport full stop”
…
“Where are all the female drivers beating the drum?”
Some might say you’ve answered your own question there…
Simona de Silvestro’s IndyCar career has perked up now that she is free of the Lotus lump that cost her two seconds per lap last year. She can run at the front, against anyone, although an IndyCar is a far cry from an F1 car. That said, she is well-sponsored. Compare to Katherine Legge, who lost her ride despite the support of a women-in-racing initiative. Talent matters. De Silvestro’s real potential is hard to determine because of her team, which is competitive but not top tier.
Agreed, Simona de Silvestro is a real talent. I don’t know whether she has tried to get an F1 test, but it would be interesting see how she would go in an F1 Young Driver session if anyone would give her a shot. She has not won an INdycar race yet like Danica Patrick, but she seems to be a better all-round driver, who goes well on road circuits and ovals, whereas Patrick’s strength seems to be just on ovals. Having said that, I recall that Patrick was second in the 2000 Formula Ford Festival to Anthony Davidson. Shame that Katherine Legge lost her ride too.
It’s almost impossible for females to get sponsors because of negative press.
Those at the top of motorsport pretend F1is 100% underpinned by talent, using the flimsy explanation that money has been a factor since “day one”. Money has always played a part, but today, it is ten fold. Moreover, age is key, eg many foreign drivers spend hours testing abroad in F3 cars at 14 years of age. “Superwoman” could not compete against these drivers and their budgets.
Many highly talented girls drop out of karting before the age of 12 because they are usually on a budget of Ā£10,000, whereas lots of average boys with good coaching etc are on budgets of Ā£80,000, ie that boy will progress to Formula Ford but a top female will not. Fans may wait a 100 years for a girl who can afford Ā£80,000 for karting. Bernie’s answer is to wait and see how a female progresses through GP3 and GP2, as if it was just going to cost a few quid.
F1 is scraping the pot for excitement, eg tyres. A decent female in F1 could dramatically increase TV viewings, excitement. Giving a female an F1 test is not the answer. If China can enter a very mediocre F1 reserve driver and give him lots of seat time, why cannot other countries enter a better female?? The Chinese see the commercial value of doing so.
It is no good for those at the top waiting for a sponsor to drop from heaven to deliver a female to F1. The industry needs a few females to secure F1’s long term future. Even if a female had to run near the back with a low budget F1 team, lots of wives, girlfriends and young girls would watch it on TV.
Jimbo
Why are boys somehow on budgets 8x those of girls? I don’t really see how that logic works out.
Yes, there are some cultures where a family might be expected to save for a woman’s dowry or something. These tend not to be prominent in the major feeder territories for F1 anyway.
And yes, there will be some families where parents start to say “honey, maybe you should settle down and do something, you know, more feminine” which might contribute to lower (perceived) levels of competition on the women’s side of many sports.
But ultimately it’s not like rich parents are really choosing which gender of child to have. Charles Pic could have been born Charlotte and Daddy Pic would still have had just as much money sloshing around to take young Charlotte karting.
Hi Jem
Logic is irrelevant to the comments, which were based on fact, ie many boys spend Ā£80,000 a year on karting. I do not know of any UK girl who has spent Ā£40,000, let alone Ā£80,000 pa for karting, in the last 10 years: hence the notion that it could take a 100 years for a girl to find Ā£80,000 for karting.
Boys who spend Ā£80,000 get the best coaching and equipment and if a girl had such budgets they could compete on an equal footing at the grass roots. Even on low budgets, some girls occasionally beat boys on good budgets. If girls cannot meaningfully compete in karting, they will struggle in cars.
I do not know the answer to your question of why boys can get eight times more money than girls. Possibly a lot of businesses and sponsors believe that Sir Stirling Moss’ has got it right, but It may be due to there being more males in the sport. Undoubtedly, if F1 had a female racer, it may attract more F1 racers from girl karters who might find Ā£40,000 to Ā£50,000 pa. Females in F1 would add an intreguing dimention, and a new TV audience of young girls.
Jimbo
Thanks for the clarification.
We live in a curious world.
Just as an aside, being loosely connected to this article, I would mention the Womenās Motor Racing Associates Club (WMRAC) or ‘Doghouse Owners’ Club’, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012. I was surprised it was still going after all these years. Behind every great man etc….
I have to say that some of the earlier comments were interesting to see. I am in the US Air Force and we have women fighter pilots who compete with men in various exercises and, in many cases, they are superior pilots. They are also combat proven so the idea that they can’t be as ruthless or aggressive is silly as well.
At last someone speaking from known facts and not postulating some of the absolute nonsense written above.
Hear, hear
Nick – you can’t compare an air force with F1. Some correspondents have made good points, including David’s below. You will find similar sentiments from others elsewhere under this article. You need to define a “fact”‘ in contrast to an opinion.
Just to follow up on this. The US Air Force began to allow women to fly combat missions as long ago as 1993. Colonel Jeannie Leavitt was the first woman fighter pilot and the first to graduate from the Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Today she is the first fighter wing commander. She has flown more than 2,500 hours in F-15s, including 300 hours on combat missions, mostly in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Britain had female pilots in WW2 but they were only involved in transporting planes (including fighters) from base to base. There were 166 women pilots (who made up about one eighth of the Air Transport Auxiliary service). Fifteen were killed, including pioneer aviatrix Amy Johnson. They were the first women in Britain to be given equal pay to men by the government. Flight Lieutenant Jo Salter was the first British woman to become a fast jet pilot in 1994. Today 5 percent of fast jets are flown by women. Flight Lieutenant Helen Seymour is believed to be the first to have flown Typhoons in combat, while Flight Lieutenant Michelle Goodman was the first to be awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross in 2007 in Iraq, after flying her helicopter at low level at night, under fire in order to rescue a casualty.
Thanks Joe. The 5 percent figure is interesting – I assume it’s quite small, in actual numbers, compared to the intake as a whole. Maybe it’s the equivalent, as a proportion (say), to Seb Vettel’s right leg!
An early morning thought Joe. I’m wrong of course – counting test drivers, which includes Susie Wolff of course, the 5% figure applies to F1 as well, although technically she’s not ‘racing’.
Not should she be, based on previous results. Tokenism does not help the cause of equality.
Totally agree.
By the way, remember also that this year is the 50th anniversary of Valentina Tereshkova becoming the first woman to go into space. She completed 48 orbits of the earth, which was more than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown before that date. It is also the 30th anniversary of the first US woman astronaut, Sally Ride.
I believe something like 55 women have now been in space.
What you don’t say Brandon is how many female pilots there are in the US Air Force and how easy (or hard) it is to become one as woman. I thought that was the crux of the problem here.
There are obviously more female fighter pilots than there are female F1 drivers.
Joe, obviously, but one could equally say that about civil engineers, accountants, lawyers or whatever. It would be simple enough to find out. I thought we’d moved on from debating the skills/’bravery’ factor necessary for women to become F1 drivers. Isn’t it a given? Brandon’s point, although well made, doesn’t move us further on either. I assume that a public sector ‘equal opportunities’ employer, such as the US Air Force, create career paths which by sheer proportion alone would include women, subject to certain fitness levels.
Steve, surely you don’t think a “equal opportunities” policy is used in the US AF for fighter pilots?
I can imagine some of that being considered when deciding about promotions – as its seen to be necessary to make more equal opportunities. But not for the actual piloting.
These women have to be as good, or better, than other wannabe pilots to get the job, just as what we would like to see in F1.
I think your last sentence sums up the problem – as good, fine, better shouldn’t be necessary.
I read a book by a young woman flying Apache helicopters in Afghanistan for the british army-I would think a very high level of spacial awareness & precision would be required. Sorry, I don’t remember her name, or the book title. I am sure women are just as capable as men in many occupations that require a high level of concentration & clear thinking.
Dressed to Kill by Charlotte Madison
Fundamentally, I believe that there’s no real reason why a woman shouldn’t hack it with the guys in circuit racing. My big disappointment was that Desire Wilson didn’t get to stay in World Championship F1. She’s still the best woman racer I’ve seen, and deserved a decent chance. But don’t forget that Lella made a massive impression Down Under racing an F5000 Matich. That was no easy car to drive, and she impressed a LOT of very macho racers. The March she drove in F1 was a bitsa typical of that era of March’s history, as Robin (Herd) would be the first to admit.
In another favourite realm of mine, it would be a brave (or, actually, extraordinarily dumb) guy to take issue with what Paula Murphy, Shirley Muldowney or Kitty O’Neil achieved in drag racing, and latterly Melanie Troxell, Ashley Force and Hillary Will have thrashed the guys. Then there are the jetcar racers, the incomparable Elaine Larsen and her protege Marisha Falk, Jessie Harris and Anne Canuso, not to mention the much missed Kendall Hebert.
I remember once seeking Ron Dennis’s counsel for our world propeller water speed record programme, and his advice was that I should either put Richard Noble or my sister in the cockpit. Marketingwise, he had a point… If Tom and Sam had been Tomasina and Samantha, who knows how far we might have been able to climb with a different, but no less valid, unique selling point?
The one major problem the next really quick woman will have is the weight of expectations, but that’s really no heavier than the expectations she’ll have of herself.
David Tremayne
The reason why a woman can hack it is because they already hack it in motorsport, unlike tennis, soccer, etc, where women mainly lack speed and leg power. For that reason, you never have a mixed men and women’s football teams. However, they still play “flat out” for the whole match in women’s hockey or socker and they do not lack stamina. In motorsport, a driver mainly need upper body strength and neck muscle. Women have this upper body strength and neck muscle already because if they did not, they would not be regularly beating talented men in GP3, which is more or less the equivalent of devision 3 in soccer. Lots of men never get beyond 3rd division in football, but this has nothing to do with body strength. They do not get to Division 1 mainly because of a lack of mental agility and skill. To shine and find a sponsor in GP3, a driver needs a top team and plenty of practice, unlike the soccer player. However in motorsport to get to F1, they need money as well, and women need more money than a man because of years of bad press.
Jimbo
I don’t agree with your final point. Women generally have an easier time finding money because they are unusual.
Hi Joe
The reality is not the case, unfortunately. There is also a temptation to argue that females cannot get money because they cannot drive. I used to believe that females got money easier than men. A few females got sponsorship mainly in the US, about 7-10 years ago. Apart from a few, who are well connected, I do not know of a European female under 24 years old who has had a free drive or decent money for a half decent championship (karts or cars) based on merit. I appreciate that men out-number females, but I know of lots of mediocre single seater chaps, who got good money from organisations (not family) and who could never dream of getting to F1.
Jimbo