Why this is the right moment for women drivers in F1

[Suzie]

I also agree.....part of the attraction for me as a girl apart from the sound and smell are the hot young guys..

I thought most female F1 fans were trying to get away from the opinion that women only watch for the drivers

[Katu]

I thought most female F1 fans were trying to get away from the opinion that women only watch for the drivers

agree with you, i've never watched it for that, though i've considered it as a tiny bonus also most of the current grid isn't my taste anyway

[sagi58]

...part of the attraction for me as a girl apart from the sound and smell are the hot young guys...

Sounds like you have your priorities straight, eh? Brava!!
Besides, it's not like we're watching the "guys" running around in shorts scoring goals and then exposing their six-pack abs every time!!
When was the last time we even saw a driver without his shirt on? As for wet t-shirt contests, all I seem to remember is Mark Webber's
dive into the Red Bull pool, fully clothed!!
Mind you, IF Bernie is trying to come up with a way to selll F1 to female viewers, I'm sure there are all sorts of publicity stunts that are
sexually charged he could make use of. Say, a la Beckham underwear ads!

[siberianlady]

Sounds like you have your priorities straight, eh? Brava!!
Besides, it's not like we're watching the "guys" running around in shorts scoring goals and then exposing their six-pack abs every time!!
When was the last time we even saw a driver without his shirt on? As for wet t-shirt contests, all I seem to remember is Mark Webber's
dive into the Red Bull pool, fully clothed!!
Mind you, IF Bernie is trying to come up with a way to selll F1 to female viewers, I'm sure there are all sorts of publicity stunts that are
sexually charged he could make use of. Say, a la Beckham underwear ads!

Haha.........not really but you guys have your grid girls and froth at the mouth over Danica etc..........so why shoud we gals be any different? Meant tongue in cheek but i still cannot warm to gals in F1.......maybe Female1 or something yeah......but it is as attractive to me as the female football world cup right now.........yeah.....not interested!

[sagi58]

Haha.........not really but you guys have your grid girls..........

pssst... I'm not one of the "guys"; but, as I happen to be female I much prefer looking at the "guys"!!

[FerrariPassion]

Now the drivers, hell yah! I prefer them in their racing suits..leaves more to imagination, the sounds of the cars all the better! And yes its a bonus they are good looking men. But I enjoy & love the racing part of F1 most importantly.

They should ditch the grid girls and let the fans get out there and hold the number signs! That would rock!!!

[Suzie]

Asides from Fernando I really don't think there's much to look at, driver-wise

[sagi58]

Especially since Kimi's no longer on the grid! sighhh...

[FerrariPassion]

Ahh yes Fernando...the stories I could tell LOL!!

Im still a dedicated Kimi fan, I also miss him on the grid. ;)

[Suzie]

http://www.stopandgo.tv/news/gp3/it/...a-trident.html

(Google translated)

Vicky Piria will be the first female competitor to race in GP3 Series. The 18 year old Perugia has reached an agreement with Trident Racing, which in turn will debut in the championship after taking the place of the Addax. "I am convinced that in 2012 my goal should be to move mile after mile. I want to become familiar with tracks, for the most part unknown to me, and with a car that I've never tried before, but I know I can count on the help of technicians of the Trident " , commented Piria, a veteran of two seasons in Formula Abarth. Already two girls before she drove the car to GP3, albeit only at the time of testing: the Swiss Andrina Gugger and Milan Michela Cerruti.

Positive news

[raylinds]

Very cool!

[siberianlady]

Groan.......

[tpe]

Well, but there are women out there who don´t see themself as mothers and deliberatly decide to never have children.

See A. Merkel and you know why women MUST have childern! :)

Seriously though, I just can see how women can cope with the physical requirements. I mean, even on sports that have less physical requirements, women never compete against men. OK, some of them maybe be better than the last standing man, but...

Unfortunatelly, F1 is all about talent. Do you think that women love to drive? And fast?

My personal opinion, based on what I see and discuss, with little girls is that they don't care. 8/8 girls aged 3-9 (my daughter and my nieces) dont' care. 4/4 boys (aged 2-6) want to drive an F1 car (OK, for the 2 years old boy, I take responsibility!) Believe me, I tried extremely hard to convince my daughter to even watch a race. But, her boy cousin, just sit there and watched...

So, where is the necessary mass in order to pick the right one? The champion?

[tpe]

The main problem is not the ability of the female, but rather the ability of men. Get men to understand that woman can do the same job as well.

I have seen a female tank crew change the Caterpillar tracks, faster then a male crew. There is female fighter pilots. So the idea that woman can not be F1 drivers, is only a ignorant thought.

Hmm...
We still talk about a sport. Do you think that women can play football against men? Not just football, but against men.

[Suzie]

Do you think that women love to drive? And fast?

Yes.

[Sianellen]

I've just started a project based on women's roles in F1 because people are always surprised when I say I am a big F1 fan, being a girl. I would be quite interested to do a poll and see just what the ratio of fans on here is men/women.

[NJB13]

@tpe, you certainly seem to have so stereotypical ideas of women. I just can't agree with most of what you say.

Firstly, on your assumption that women don't have the physical ability to perform at the highest level in F1. Patently wrong. Best example I can give is Jenson Button. Most people here would grant that Jenson, who regularly competes in triathlons and is well recognised on the grid as one of the fittest drivers - well, he is beaten in the triathlons he competes in by women.

I accept that you don't know any women that want to drive cars fast, but, you may well be Robinson Crusoe in that category. I know plenty of women who get a buzz out of lots of thrill-seeking activities - including driving fast. There are quite a few girls who race at my local kart track, and, a couple of them get lucky when they tangle with me Mind you I do tell them it's because of my kart, or weight or age.

[brembo man]

Women in F1 long overdue. They litterally fit right into a F 1 car. A strong desire to win will keep the likes of Hamilton in check! Get out of the way or else! Maryeve Dufault looks to be an upcomming driver.

[Omegablue]

I've just started a project based on women's roles in F1 because people are always surprised when I say I am a big F1 fan, being a girl. I would be quite interested to do a poll and see just what the ratio of fans on here is men/women.

I'm already surprised by the amount of women on this thread. Then again I am presently living in South Africa, and the girls here only follow Rugby for the end of the match when the men take their shirts off.
And in Italy... Girls follow soccer and Valentino Rossi...

[Omegablue]

Hmm...
We still talk about a sport. Do you think that women can play football against men? Not just football, but against men.

Let's be realistic about this one. Women playing men in football... is a bad idea for the women cause of the amount of inappropriate physical contact by the men. And I think that's why it hasn't happened.

[NJB13]

Just as matter of interest, there are some that consider women and men should not compete together in ultra-marathons because women are much better. They postulate that women do better in events of extreme endurance which also require resilience to pain, e.g. I'm pretty sure the Iditerod (did I spell that right?) has been won a few times by women. Also, the world quintuple and deca ironman records are actually held by women.

[Tifosi]

See A. Merkel and you know why women MUST have childern! :)

Seriously though, I just can see how women can cope with the physical requirements. I mean, even on sports that have less physical requirements, women never compete against men. OK, some of them maybe be better than the last standing man, but...

Unfortunatelly, F1 is all about talent. Do you think that women love to drive? And fast?

My personal opinion, based on what I see and discuss, with little girls is that they don't care. 8/8 girls aged 3-9 (my daughter and my nieces) dont' care. 4/4 boys (aged 2-6) want to drive an F1 car (OK, for the 2 years old boy, I take responsibility!) Believe me, I tried extremely hard to convince my daughter to even watch a race. But, her boy cousin, just sit there and watched...

So, where is the necessary mass in order to pick the right one? The champion?

No it isn't. It's about money and influence as much as it is about talent unfortunately. As Petrov has just proved yet again, money is just as important as talent to stay in the game (so being at the pinnacle of driving ability doesn't even come close for half the drivers tbh) but you require both (or the best car) to succeed in terms of being a driver.

Also, you cannot afford to be generic about the drive or ability of either sex to excel at anything. There are physical differences in strength potential between the sexes yes and its true that (through no fault of their own) there is a much smaller pool of women who fight for a place in motorsports than men, but personally i think the whole "they simply cannot be fit enough to do it" attitude is really just an easy excuse that people use because they cant see past the stereotypes and imposed limitations.

As regards "they don't care" - When I watch strictly come dancing - I don't care either. Does that mean that I (or my kind) are physically incapable of doing the Paso Doble??

[Fiondella]

Women in an alternative championship F1F would work. No way to women in F1 though. They're just wired up differently and they'd probably fail a drugs test should they attain the same levels of fitness to the average male F1 driver.

Besides, can you imagine the polava over parking in the Pit garage

[tpe]

Firstly, on your assumption that women don't have the physical ability to perform at the highest level in F1. Patently wrong. Best example I can give is Jenson Button. Most people here would grant that Jenson, who regularly competes in triathlons and is well recognised on the grid as one of the fittest drivers - well, he is beaten in the triathlons he competes in by women.

He is not a triathlon athlete. Is it possible that he does not give 100% on a sport that just loves but it's not his primary job?
Webber loves to do mountain bikes. So?

I accept that you don't know any women that want to drive cars fast, but, you may well be Robinson Crusoe in that category. I know plenty of women who get a buzz out of lots of thrill-seeking activities - including driving fast. There are quite a few girls who race at my local kart track, and, a couple of them get lucky when they tangle with me Mind you I do tell them it's because of my kart, or weight or age.

Your example is accepted, but on the other hand, you talk about women/girls that were interested. I talk about an average girl/boy.

[tpe]

No it isn't. It's about money and influence as much as it is about talent unfortunately. As Petrov has just proved yet again, money is just as important as talent to stay in the game (so being at the pinnacle of driving ability doesn't even come close for half the drivers tbh) but you require both (or the best car) to succeed in terms of being a driver.

If I am not mistaken, money were out of the equation at the very beginning of this thread.

Also, you cannot afford to be generic about the drive or ability of either sex to excel at anything. There are physical differences in strength potential between the sexes yes and its true that (through no fault of their own) there is a much smaller pool of women who fight for a place in motorsports than men, but personally i think the whole "they simply cannot be fit enough to do it" attitude is really just an easy excuse that people use because they cant see past the stereotypes and imposed limitations.

Yes I can. Men cannot be as good as women in gymnastics. Men cannot be as good as women in synchronized swimming, can they?

As regards "they don't care" - When I watch strictly come dancing - I don't care either. Does that mean that I (or my kind) are physically incapable of doing the Paso Doble??

Did I said that? I don't think so. What I said was that the critical mass is not there. If you are not cared about Paso Doble (and especially on ice), and let's assume for a minute that the majority of men do not care about that, then how many men will be able to compete at the highest level?

[tpe]

Let's be realistic about this one. Women playing men in football... is a bad idea for the women cause of the amount of inappropriate physical contact by the men. And I think that's why it hasn't happened.

And not the fact that an average woman weights 2/3 of an average man?

[Tifosi]

If I am not mistaken, money were out of the equation at the very beginning of this thread.


Yes I can. Men cannot be as good as women in gymnastics. Men cannot be as good as women in synchronized swimming, can they?


Did I said that? I don't think so. What I said was that the critical mass is not there. If you are not cared about Paso Doble (and especially on ice), and let's assume for a minute that the majority of men do not care about that, then how many men will be able to compete at the highest level?

You said F1 was all about talent - it's not.


What solid evidence do you have to make the claim that women could not compete in F1 - apart from the fact that people like to say it a lot?


I agree that there isn't the same size of pool of women available to F1 as men. However, you could say that about Finns compared to Germans. Still, Finnish F1 drivers exist

[Suzie]

They're just wired up differently

In what way?

Women can be just as competitive and addicted to speed/adrenaline as men can. For anyone who has seen Closer to the Edge, there's a female biker in that film called Jenny Tinmouth who holds the women's record around the Isle of Man. If a woman can take part in the TT, when some men don't have the balls (so to speak) to, there's no reason why they can't take part in F1 also.

[Alessandra]

If there,s a group who can look at an F1 driver and say 'so what?' it must be fighter pilots. Are there female fighter pilots? Yes.

The elite drawn from this group that form the Red Arrows display team has contained a female pilot since 2010.

At the time the two things that required alteration for her to achieve this were 1) attitudes 2) certain design aspects e.g. It was discovered that women pilots tended to reach blackout point sooner than male pilots. However, once one cockpit ( I believe it was) design was altered to accommodate both men and women there was no difference in this area.

Therefore, based on this model it would appear that for talented young female drivers to succceed in F1 attitudes towards women must change (probably the most difficult bit) and perhaps certain car design aspects to accommodate both men and women and.....Simples

[Fiondella]

In what way?

Women can be just as competitive and addicted to speed/adrenaline as men can. For anyone who has seen Closer to the Edge, there's a female biker in that film called Jenny Tinmouth who holds the women's record around the Isle of Man. If a woman can take part in the TT, when some men don't have the balls (so to speak) to, there's no reason why they can't take part in F1 also.

I was being a little facetious, but generally speaking girls are much more delicate and have a greater sense of fear. I'm sure there are many exceptions to this. When I go karting I always observe the marshals doling out neck braces to all the female competitors.
If you took a sample of random 100 women and 100 men and put them in reasonable priced car and asked them to put in their best lap round a race track; my bet would be that the top 100 drivers would be predominantly men. (Great idea for top gear me thinks ) Anyway my point is that men would have an unfair advantage due to nature and possibly nurture.

Ever read the book men are from mars, women are from venus?:

http://www.funny.com/cgi-bin/WebObje...are_from_Venus