Formula 1 is a men’s sport, but that hasn’t always been the case. The reasons are not linked to machismo but to other factors.
With the birth of women’s academies and competitions, the world of motor racing has once again been democratised. The cliché about women driving has been disproved, the reasons for the non-participation of at least a female pilot can be found in a series of conditions that have led men to excel.
Lella Lombardi was the first and only woman to score points in F1. In an extremely tough era where injuries and deaths at the wheel were frequent, the Piedmontese achieved a sixth place in 1975 in Spain. She was the second woman to drive a Formula 1 car, competing in 12 stages against the 3 of Maria Teresa de Filippis, who preceded her in the 1950s. Ironically, the cars of the time were more physically demanding.
Today, cars are packed with driving aids and electronics. Susie Wolff, wife of the Mercedes team principal, drove for Williams in free practice for the 2014 British GP. Maria de Villota, daughter of former Formula 1 driver Emilio de Villota, became a test driver for the Marussia team in March 2012 of Formula 1, but a terrible crash suffered during a test at Duxford aerodrome on 3 July 2012 put an end to his career, due to the loss of his right eye and his death a year later.
Formula 1, therefore, has remained orphaned of a female talent. One of the main problems is linked to the number of places and the very high percentage of men. In the minor classes they are predominantly male and by percentage the best 20 drivers in the world arrive. So in numerical terms the possibilities for women are very limited. Furthermore, on a physical level, a woman should endure stress that is not trivial.
Ground effect cars have very strong lateral G forces. The human body is subject to stresses which, also in terms of weight, are different between women and men. Luckily many girls are becoming interested in the world of four wheels and have started careers in Motorsport. The desire to compete with the best drivers in the world is there and Ferrari is raising many competitive female drivers in its Academy.
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Max Verstappen’s mother competed in karts at high levels, despite not climbing the ranks. The Iron Dames, in the WEC, race in the GTE AM class with a Porsche 911 RSR, and have achieved impressive results. Rahel Frey, Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting stood out among an army of males.
Dorian Pin, in the Prema team in the LMP2 class, achieved excellent results and aspires to a seat in the Lamborghini Hypercar in the future. Endurance challenges, although demanding, are less demanding than F1. Hear Valentino Rossi’s opinion.
The failure of the W Series led to the birth of a new category where there are many promising girls. Thanks to the preparation in the Academy, it is likely that new faces will enter the world of F1.
It would be wonderful if new heroines could emerge in the circus like Lella Lombardi. In other sports, for physical reasons, there is a clear separation between the sexes. The story of the Piedmontese pilot teaches us that a chronometric comparison between women and men is not only possible, but also challenging.
