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F1: Bring On the Girls, Say Team Bosses
Written by: Adam Cooper
RACER Magazine   http://www.racer.com/speedtv
05/10/2008 - 07:49 AM
Istanbul, Turkey
 
Will F1 have a Danica of its own in the near future? (LAT Photo) ยป More Photos

F1 team bosses say there is nothing to stop a woman from entering the sport, providing they’re competitive.

Danica Patrick’s success, on and off the track, has brought the subject into a focus, and led to suggestions that F1 could benefit from a female presence.

Five women drivers have taken part in the World Championship, starting with Maria Teresa de Filippis, who competed in three races in 1958 with a Maserati 250F. The only points scorer was Lella Lombardi, who finished sixth in the shortened 1975 Spanish GP, but Divina Galica (1976-78), Desire Wilson (1980) and Giovanna Amati (1992) never qualified for a championship race.

McLaren Mercedes once gave IRL driver Sarah Fisher a demonstration run at the USGP, but it was not a proper test.

“We can all see the commercial attraction, how exciting it would be to have a female driver in Formula 1,” said Honda’s Ross Brawn. “I think the key thing is that they can be competitive, because it would be a shame if, purely because they were a female driver, they got put in the car and couldn’t compete properly, but if they can compete properly, absolutely, it would be great.”

“Why not?,”
said Toyota’s John Howett. “I think it would probably be very good. We just need to see a driver with the capability that could deliver performance because we are basically all focused on winning and on-track performance. I don’t think there’s any discrimination in terms of anything within our organization or team, so if we could find a suitable driver, we would be delighted. We have young driver programs. Unfortunately most of the guys coming into karting at the moment and who are delivering performance are male, but I think it would probably be good but you would need someone who could be competitive.”

“I think the key is to be competitive,” said Mercedes boss Norbert Haug. “In various sports it’s not possible but it should be basically possible in motor sports as the Indy Racing League has proven; or as, for example, DTM shows but the key is to be competitive. We had a winner in touring cars years ago – many years ago, 16 years ago, I think – with Ellen Lohr beating her teammate Keke Rosberg at that stage, which was not very pleasing for my friend Keke, but anyway, it is possible and hopefully Formula 1 will experience that in the future.”
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