In 75 years of history, only five women have driven a single-seater in Formula 1, and paradoxically, these pioneers have appeared on the front pages of motorsport. Maria Teresa De Filippis took a total of three starts between 1958 and 1959, including one in Monaco. In 1978, Lella Lombardi finished 6th at the Spanish Grand Prix, which allowed her to be ranked 21st with 0.5 points.
The short list goes on with Divina Garcia who has three non-qualifications in 1976 and 1978. In 1980, Désiré Wilson tried to qualify, without success, for the 1980 British Grand Prix, at Brands Hatch, driving of a Williams.
The case of Giovanna Amati is infamous for being used as a marketing tool in F1. In a precarious financial situation, the Brabham team decided to hire him in 1992 to bring back sponsors. After only three races in which she failed to qualify, Amati left the stable. More recently, Susie Wolff, Katherine Legge and Marie de Vilota have taken part in winter testing, free practice or private testing.
Formula 1 does not stop at single-seaters and grand prix. Motorsport brings together a panoply of different professions and roles. Today, for example, Claire Williams has become one of the most powerful protagonists having taken over the management of the legendary Williams team between 2013 and 2020, succeeding her father Frank, founder of the team. A ubiquitous position that puts women at the forefront of Formula 1 – under the daily spotlight in the paddocks.
In 2014 at the British Grand Prix, test driver Susie Wolff drove the Williams single-seater during a free practice session, instead of Finland’s Valtteri Bottas. A first since the Italian Giovanna Amati at the wheel of a Brabham in 1992. A few years later, Wolff would say about the world of Formula 1: “The paddock is like a pool of sharks. There will always be people against women in Formula 1.”
Now director of the Venturi team in Formula E, she stands out as one of the first women to step up to the front to defend the presence of women in motorsport.
With the purchase of the commercial rights to F1 by Liberty Media in 2018, the new management took the decision to remove the Pitgirls and the Grid Girls from the podiums, these women recruited above all for their physique had the mission of smiling to attract photographers and the media. A decision justified by the new owners who claim that this practice no longer “corresponds to modern societal norms” of women.
Without discussing performance and competence, women are very often sexualized and belittled for their physique in motorsport. Jenson Button told British magazine FHM in 2005: “A girl with big breasts really wouldn’t sit well in the seat. The mechanics wouldn’t be able to concentrate. Put yourself in the place of the person who has to fasten his seat belt”.
While Eric Boullier, former Lotus Team principal, delivered a speech filled with negative bias: “Women don’t have the same ability to coordinate behind the wheel as men. There is also another step to take: the survival instinct. If a girl can do that, maybe she’ll be a real tomboy.”
In her book The Pits: The Real World of Formula One, journalist Beverley Turner reported the words of one of the German marque’s bosses during a dinner with two Mercedes heavyweights: “We have excellent drivers , very talented. The problem, Beverley, is that they’re not very pretty. They are strong, they are fast. But they are not pretty. Rather ugly even. Looks like men”
Another hot topic: can a woman biologically take the same G’s, the same turns, the same speed as a man? A question asked following the statements of several pilots on the physical dimension, including the Frenchman Romain Grosjean who wondered if a woman could physically support the discipline – knowing that a pilot can lose up to 5 kilos per grand prix.
According to a study by the American army carried out on fighter pilots, women bear the effects of acceleration just as well as men, even though they have, on average, 30% less muscle.
Seven-time world champion and considered one of the best drivers in history, Lewis Hamilton has often used his platform to spread social messages such as during the Black Lives Matter movement. He said about it in December 2019 in a video published by his team: “I hope that one day a strong young woman will come along and beat everyone.”
Hopes exist and the door is absolutely not closed, quite the contrary. This season, several teams are among its female test and development drivers: the Colombian Tatiana Calderon at Alfa Romeo and the promising Jamie Chadwick at Williams who represents the rising star of motorsport.
The 23-year-old Briton said of being a woman in F1: “Obviously it’s a big dream, but I sincerely believe it’s possible and I can achieve something. So I will work as hard as I can to make it happen. Yes, it’s a male dominated sport, but there’s nothing stopping me from going.”
Some female figures would prefer to opt for a women’s Formula 1 championship like the WTP in tennis or the WNBA in American basketball. In 2017, Renault driver essayist Carmen Jordá proposed a separation between men and women in order to allow them to exist in the media and sportingly: “I believe that a women’s F1 championship would give us the chance to realize our dreams and to compete on an equal footing as in other sports”.
In 2019, the W Series, a car championship exclusively reserved for women, was created and signed a long partnership with Formula 1. Director Catherine Bond Muir was delighted with this agreement, symbolizing a step towards progress: “We want the W Series entertains and it will. But we also want it to become a crucial stepping stone by default for any racing driver who wants to carve out a professional career and our closeness to F1 will help and enhance that process.” A woman soon to compete with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc?
