That Motorsport is a purely masculine environment is unfortunately a fact. It’s a result of a society that has always associated engines with men. Motorsport is seen as the furthest thing from the female world. Yet passion has no sex.
It is known the access to Motorsport industry is an uphill road for everyone, whatever profession you wish to undertake. But if you are a woman it is even more difficult.
Society almost doesn’t seem to understand how a girl might be interested in engines, numbers, aerodynamics, strategies.
If you are a woman your cheering or support will be frowned upon, you will have to be told that “Motorsport is a men’s sport”, that you are not prepared enough.
This stereotype thinking is unfortunately an intrinsic part of Motorsport, which for years has been closed to any form of inclusivity towards women.
Yet that didn’t stop numerous women to pursue their passion, keep pushing limits and break boundaries in a male-dominated industry.
Women who every day inspire, empower and encourage other women, being the forefront of promoting inclusiveness and diversity and spreading the message ‘you can do it’.
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We talk about role figures as Susie Wolff, ex professional driver, Team Principal and now Managing Director of the F1 Academy. Also founder of the female motorsport initiative Dare To Be Different (D2BD), a project aimed to increase female participation in racing, not only on track but in all aspects of the sport and other perceived male-dominated industries.
Sosanna Ni Dhubhain, Senior Composite Designer and Reliability Engineer at Aston Martin F1 Team, with over 10 years of experience in motorsport, she’s always been at the forefront of promoting inclusiveness and diversity in the industry.
Krystina Emmanouilides, Computational Fluid Dynamics Engineer at Alfa Romeo F1 Team, having joined Racing Pride as an Industry Ambassador in 2021 and being appointed to the board of directors in 2022, she helps drive change towards a more inclusive and equal landscape within Motorsport.
Hannah Schmitz, a key player for Red Bull Racing in the strategy department. Schmitz has made some fantastic calls in close races that have led to victories for her team over the last number of years. Widely seen as the benchmark in Formula One at present.
Photos: Formula 1, Aston Martin F1 Team, Alfa Romeo F1 Team, RedBull Content Pool
Hopefully, many more women will follow their footsteps. But their voice is not enough.
Like the seven times World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who has on more than occasion pointed out the lack of presence of women not only on track but in all areas of Motorsport.
“It’s not about finding one female driver. There’s thousands of jobs here. And very, very few high positions particularly for women.
“Equality in the higher ranks, higher positions within F1, we need more visibility also. When you look at all the garages, every team manager is male, white male, actually there’s one I think person of colour, but then all the mechanics are generally all male.
“And if there are any women, they’re more in the background. We need to bring them more to the forefront, so young girls that are watching know that it’s possible for them to be here.”
Or Sebastian Vettel, who has called on young female drivers to pursue their dreams in motorsport, carrying out several initiatives such as Race for Woman.
“Let’s say certain things can’t be done by you, because you are a girl or a woman, I think this sort of stereotype thinking is slowly disappearing but has to disappear completely.”
The Motorsport industry also seems to be making progress, showing that something is changing in the right direction. Just remember of the creation of new women’s categories such as the W Series or the brand new F1 Academy, whose purpose is to open up new opportunities and be of inspiration to the new generation of female talent.
But as long as the presence of a female fan, driver, engineer, mechanic, or a woman in any position in Motorsport makes headlines, it means that there is still a long way to go.
