2021 is set to become the most exciting year for women in motorsport on record. With it being one of the only sports where women can legitimately participate on a level playing field with men, and are not technically disallowed from doing so, it’s disappointing (if not surprising) that it has taken so long for the girls to compete alongside the boys, and gain the respect they deserve. The gender-balanced teams of the upcoming Extreme E series, all-female line-up of the Richard Mille team competing in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), and the addition of the W Series to Formula 1 race weekends are all causes for excitement. We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves though. Whilst this is a year where there are more opportunities for women in motorsport than ever before, there is still plenty of work to be done. Women are not nearly as represented as they should be, and realistically it’s going to take a while for us to get there. Formula 1’s ‘We Race as One’ initiative to promote equality in the sport should be a positive step forward, but so far it has seemed somewhat full of empty promises, evidenced by the sport’s recent handling of the disgusting behaviour of Nikita Mazepin (something I will delve deeper into on another day). However, we can both criticise current out-dated structures in the sport and campaign for change, whilst celebrating the steps forward that have been taken in recent years, and the achievements of the women who have broken into the boy’s club and who we can watch competing at the highest levels of motorsport on our screens this year.
Apart from the more obvious issue of the lack of involvement and opportunities for girls at grassroots levels, one of the major barriers preventing women from progressing within motorsport is sponsorship. It is no secret that to get a seat at the table in any form of professional motorsport, you need vast amounts of money, and unless you have a billionaire father willing to buy out a team for you to race for, that money is most likely going to come through sponsors. Prospective sponsors want evidence that their investment is going to be worthwhile, and without a rolodex of examples of successful female racing drivers to look to, the vast majority decide that investing in female talent is too risky. Hence, women don’t get the sponsorship required to progress through the ranks to the upper echelons of motorsport, sponsors continue to have no significant female success stories to look to, and the vicious cycle keeps going round. I think this looks set to change though. In last year’s 24 hours of Le Mans, Richard Mille entered an entirely female team. This was the first instance of an all-female team racing in the fiercely competitive LMP2 category, and the most significant instance of such a team having major sponsor backing and substantial success. Out of the 4,298 teams that have participated in Le Mans since 1923 only 23, or 0.535% (!), have been exclusively female. The all-rookie team of Sophia Floersch, Beitske Visser and Tatiana Calderon made history simply by showing up, but not content with this (and why should they be?) they majorly impressed with their performance, placing their car 9th in the LMP2 field, and 13th overall (out of 59 finishers). With minimal testing and last minute line-up changes due to injury, the three rookies proved they could beat the (often far older and far more experienced) boys, and with style, outperforming the teams of established WEC drivers such as Alex Brundle and Giedo van der Garde. Richard Mille made an investment in Floersch, Visser and Calderon (and some may say took a risk with them) and it absolutely paid off. With the announcement that the team will be joining the LMP2 class for the 2021 WEC, the light will be shone even brighter on the talents of these extraordinary women. Hopefully this will be the catalyst the sport needs to make sponsors wake up and see the potential female drivers hold.
Moving from endurance to rally racing, the start of the inaugural Extreme E series is something I am very excited about. As well as highlighting the seriousness of the climate crisis in an innovative way and drawing the attention of racing fans to global warming, it will provide parity between male and female drivers, as each team is compromised of a man and a woman who will share the driver and co-driver duties. The women who have earned seats so far are not nearly as well known as their male counterparts, but all have mightily impressive CVs. Molly Taylor is the youngest ever winner of the Australian Rally Championship, Laia Sanz is the most successful female rider of all time in the bikes category at the Dakar Rally, and Claudia Hurtgen won her class at the 1997 Daytona 24 Hours, and came third in the GT2 class at Le Mans in 1998. In addition to bringing the talents of these women to the attention of fans, Extreme E will also provide a platform for them to learn from their often more experienced and successful male teammates. Racing for Lewis Hamilton’s Team X44, Cristina Gutiérrez is undoubtedly talented, being only the second woman to win a Dakar stage, yet she will surely relish racing alongside Sébastian Loeb, the most successful rally driver of all time. I don’t mean to sound condescending towards these extremely talented women, but due to the aforementioned issue of sponsorship, many will not have had the chance to reach the highest levels of their respective motorsports, and hence will have not had the chance to race against and learn from these stars. Proximity to great skill in a collaborative team environment can only be a beneficial thing.
One Extreme E driver who will have a very busy 2021 is Jamie Chadwick. The winner of first W Series championship is both competing for Velcoce Racing, and retuning to the all-female single-seater series to defend her title. Whilst it has been discussed as to whether the series is detrimental in the fight to get women in Formula 1 (something I disagree with), what is not up for debate is the level of exposure it has granted drivers such as Chadwick, Visser and Marta García, among others. The W Series is free to enter and drivers are selected through a number of tests, evaluations and races, eliminating the issues of the search for sponsorship and money speaking louder than talent. Whilst the series took a sabbatical in 2020 due to coronavirus, it is returning even stronger in 2021 with an exciting and improved race calendar that sees it as a support series for Formula 1 race weekends. Those attending Formula 1 races at iconic racetracks such as Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and Spielberg will get the opportunity to see the women of the W Series behind the wheel, giving the races increased publicity and spectatorship. This could also be life changing for young girls attending the races who might not have seen women in racing cars before, or believed it was something women could do. As well as bringing the series to the attention of more members of the general public, this new calendar of tracks will be brilliant for the drivers themselves, giving them the opportunity explore the FIA Grade 1 level tracks used by F1, F2 and F3 (the circuit grades are related to weight/power ratio, and F1 races can only take place on Grade 1, the highest ranked, circuits).
Finally, in January 16-year-old Maya Weug became the first winner of the FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars programme, after many rounds of intense competition. She has won a place on the Ferrari Drivers Academy, the first ever woman to become a student of the legendary Scuderia. Furthermore, it was recently announced that a team lead by Beth Paretta and featuring predominantly women in all roles will be aiming to qualify for the prestigious Indy 500 race this year. 5 time Indy 500 veteran and 2010 rookie of the year Simone de Silvestro will be driving, and the squad will have the backing and technical assistance from Team Penske (one of the most successful teams in the history of the NTT Indycar Series). It really is looking like 2021 is going to represent a paradigm shift for women in motorsport. I cant wait to see more and more female success stories and will be following them intently, as I hope you will to, whether you identify as a woman or not. There are far more exciting female drivers than I was able to mention in this article, so please go and seek them out on the websites for WEC, the W Series and Extreme E. I want to finish with a quote from 20 year-old Floersch, who not only raced in Le Mans and Formula 3 last year, but did so after fracturing her spine in a horrifying crash in late 2018. Talking to The Telegraph she said ‘When I do a presentation now, I always show a video of Charles Leclerc at Suzuka, going through a right-hander at 155mph, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other adjusting his mirror. So, he can drive at that speed with one hand, but a woman cannot do it at all? I don’t think so.’
