Where are the female F1 drivers?
- fabkarssens
- Nov 4, 2021
- 5 min read
It is fair to say that Formula 1 is a heavily male-dominated sport but it hasn't always been like this and hopefully, there will be more female F1 drivers in the future
Formula 1 has been going on for 72 years now and there have only ever been 5 female drivers compared to the 822 male entries since the world championship has been running. From the 5 that have entered, only 2 have actually raced in a Grand Prix. The first was Maria Teresa De Filippis in 1958 and the second was Lella Lombardi in 1975 and 1976.
Why is this? What is the reason for there being so little? What more can be done to ensure that highly-skilled female drivers can sign up for Formula 1?
So to first answer why, we have to look further down the hierarchy of motorsport to see what is the root of the issue.
In a 2012 interview with BBC sport, Susie Wolff, Williams Development Driver at the time said, "Some people get the impression it's only hard for women to get into F1, but there are thousands of very talented male racers out there trying to get in and never do."
This is completely true as there are so many male drivers that compete in Formula 3, Formula 2, and many other categories that aspire to one day be a driver in the highest category, and yet most of these drivers will never make it to F1. So if there are hardly any female drivers in these lower categories, then that means there is an even smaller percentage of women who will not make it to F1 and gives an even more remote chance of sealing a seat in the world's best sport.
In the same interview with Susie Wolff, she states, "One of the main issues is that young girls have no one to aspire to grow up, whereas a young boy can grow up wanting to be Sebastian Vettel,"
Then comes the idea myth that Women would not be able to withstand the physical pressures of the sport but according to BBC sports, they spoke to Dr. Ricciardo Ceccarelli (offered medical support to Lotus and Toro Rosso at the time of the article). He has also set up a centre called Formula Medicine and this conducts research into how the athletes can be trained to the optimum and they found out that physical strength isn't as important as other features such as mental strength.
So if men and women may not be of similar physical strength, if their mental strength and endurance are of the same level, then there is no reason for them not to be involved. In addition, the cars that were given to the 3 other female drivers that have raced were not good enough to compete at the level of the other teams on the grid.
Lella Lombardi is the only ever female Formula 1 driver to score points and this was achieved in 1975. This was at the Spanish Grand Prix and in the end, was only given as half points because of an early stoppage to the race. She placed 6th in this race and it was only her 3rd ever race and she went on to compete in 14 more races. She is a history maker and a record-setter but I hope that this shouldn't be something that will be seen as a record in the future and that it becomes the norm for a female driver to score points in F1.
There is also another current female driver in motorsport. Tatiana Calderón Noguera is a Colombian racing driver who is currently a test driver for the Alfa Romeo Formula One team. Calderón was the first woman to stand on the podium in the British Formula 3 International Series and the first to lead a lap in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. From 2016 to 2018, she competed in the GP3 Series and later the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship with Arden.
There isn't a lack of female representation in other motorsport categories as Danica Patrick is the most successful female driver in the history of American open-wheel racing and her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win by a woman in an IndyCar Series race. She was also recently involved with the broadcasting of the US Grand Prix joining up with Sky Sports F1 to broadcast the events of the weekend. She also took Simon Lazenby for a drive around the track. See the full video below:
So what is being done to improve female involvement in motorsport? Well in 2019 W Series became an official championship. It is an all-female single-seater racing championship and in its first season, it featured 6 races with 20 drivers contesting. In 2021 it became a support event for Formula 1 at 8 races and this means that the races are held on the same weekend at the same venue so all fans can see the action alongside the F1. This has undoubtedly brought massive amounts of respect and attention to the female racing series including myself even though I'm not female. This clearly shows how it has taken the motorsport world by storm and making me and everyone else realise how good at racing they are and that all this time it has been kept away from us to see as there hasn't been support for female racing but in fact, their talent just hasn't been able to be showcased.
Jamie Chadwick was the inaugural winner of the W Series world championship also becoming the first British driver to win in the category. She has just won the current world championship which makes it a back-to-back championship win after the 2019 win. The level of her driving and how skilled she is, is starting to gather attention from F1 fans as many want her to feature in the male-dominated sport. She is currently part of the Williams Driver Academy and has said that it has always been her dream to race in F1. In my opinion, Jamie should be given the chance to prove herself in a Formula 1 car and show just how good she is.
The lack of female representation in this sport on the driving side may also be the reason why some women may feel that they cannot associate with the sport and having more women in the sport may help to attract more than the ones that are already interested in the sport. Many female fans may watch the sport because they like it for what it is and they shouldn't be criticised for liking a sport they love regardless of the lack of female presence in the sport. People should be able to do what makes them happy and so don't be that one person that makes them feel embarrassed for loving what is the greatest sport ever.
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