I guess I'd better introduce myself. I've been a motorsport fan for 34 years. The first F1 race I remember watching was Monaco in 1984. I've watched plenty of the very best drivers on the planet plying their craft on the fastest and most fearsome circuits on the planet. In my lifetime, I've seen Prost, Senna, Schumacher and Hamilton win many World Championships. I have attended at least 15 Grands Prix at both Silverstone, and more recently Monza. The very best competing at the highest level.
So. What's this all about? The title of this blog for example? I can name on 1 hand the ladies who've got anywhere near competing on the same strips of tarmac my heroes have raced on in my lifetime of 38 years. The lady Damon Hill replaced at Brabham in 1992, Giovanna Amati failed to qualify in the 1st 3 races. Simona de Silvestro was signed as a 'third' driver by Sauber but had no realistic chance of a race seat, despite competing in the Indy Car championship to a very high level. Oban's Susie Stoddart, now wife of AMG Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had a similar contract with Williams and had numerous outings in practice sessions (notably at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, I am delighted to say I watched and gave her unwavering support), but ultimately left in part due to being overlooked for a full time drive.
So what stopped them from sitting on the grid at the very top of the sport I love? Absolutely nothing to do with talent, I can assure you. If you're fast, you're fast. I believe it was purely because no-one was willing to take a chance, to go against the norm and just be brave. Whether it's sponsors, bosses, or whatever, all it needs is someone to back these girls to do the job they are capable of. And in theory, the 'W' Series is a good idea. Until you realise that no woman racing driver wants to race against other women. They want to race against racing drivers. They want to be able to race against Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. They want to beat the new stars like Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly, both of whom have top seats in F1 in 2019 on merit.
And there lies the issue. 'W' segregates girls, effectively says that they're not good enough. That once they're 'hand-picked' for the championship they can compete on a level playing field. Except it's not. All those who've dared to comment against this new series have pointed to 1 thing. And they are better equipped to comment as they have lived it - sponsorship and budgetary issues. Plain and simple. Ask Pippa Mann, a veteran Indycar driver and one of the very best female racing drivers the UK has ever produced. She will say that the 1 biggest thing that held her back was convincing someone to put their money where their mouth is and back her because of her talent, irrespective of her gender. I've already said this on Twitter, and I'll say it again. My daughter Imola is 7 and I would hate for her to think that whatever it is she wants to do with her life will be limited with the common belief that to succeed in anything, she can only do it against those of her own gender. How many 7 year old girls watch F1 and dream of racing at Monza, Suzuka or Monaco, but don't see anyone of their gender doing it, and think it's an impossible dream?
So what's the solution? For a start the F1 teams with junior programmes like Red Bull, Ferrari or McLaren should be actively seeking the talent like they did with Max Verstappen, Charles LeClerc and Lando Norris and providing a budget, professional support and a pathway to the top. Maybe this $1.5m prize fund would be better spent on funding these competitors to the top, instead of making example of 1 girl from 18-20 in the series? Surely this is a better and more effective use of this cash?
Honestly, I believe it's a badly conceived idea with the guys in charge trying to do a good thing but misjudging it massively. I understand the concept, BUT David Coulthard didn't have gender or budgetary issues on his way to a full time race seat at Williams. Support is a good thing. Segregation certainly isn't...
