We need a token female F1 driver. Would you agree?

Question

F1 has pay drivers who come and go and make no impact on the sport.

So why not have a token female F1 driver who could have an impact and encourage young girls to take up racing. The reason there aren't any female F1 drivers is because there aren't enough young girls taking up racing from a young age. If we could somehow increase the number of girls who take up racing, then the talented ones will reveal themselves and get into F1 on merit.

However, I believe the only way to spark the interest in young girls is to have a token female F1 driver with enough talent. I think Danica Patrick is perfectly suited to become the token female F1 driver - She is good looking and is talented enough to not make a fool of herself in F1.

Answer 1

The key issue would be for a female driver to be attractive enough to a Formula 1 team. There are two basic ways a driver could be attractive - the first is obvious because the drivers are the front line drivers. Talent and pace - if you have that, then you will be more than attractive enough to earn a seat.

However, that is a small group, and certainly not large enough to fill all of the seats in F1. Which brings us to the second group - drivers that can bring in substantial amounts of money to the team and not be an embarrassment behind the wheel.

Danica Patrick has tested in F1, and has certainly garnered some attention. However, unless she had the backing of sponsors to make such a move, a race seat would never develop. It's likely she would be a solid enough a driver, but in order to move straight to a race seat, she would need to offer a substantial amount of cash to a team.

The same goes for Legge or any other driver. Being English, Legge could make a more realistic run for a seat, though I am not sure she could make enough of an impression in sponsorship in the Lewis Hamilton happy England. And just to note, having seen both drive a number of times, I don't think I would characterize Legge as so much better than Patrick (both are very talented drivers though).

Realistically, looking at Patrick's test time in an F1 car, she is probably .6-.7 seconds a lap off what she would need to be to make someone consider her as a someone that could compete for a podium if given the right car. And unless a major US sponsor suddenly decides F1 is an important advertising forum, there is not much chance of her coming with the needed money. And the fact that she is a pro acts agaisnt the chance that she'd be willing to accept a test job for a year or two in hopes of gaining experience and moving up.

It serve some good for the sport in the long term, but at the same time, her (or anyone) coming in and being a back marker could make the situation worse. There are more women competing in motorsports, and there's a good chance we'll hear of someone in the next few years that may have a legitimate chance in F1, though I am not sure that such a woman is yet close.

Answer 2

It IS strange that there are no females in F1. But F1 is the top "league" so to speak and maybe the females that are out there are just not good enough.

Maybe teams do think twice before they put a woman in the driver's seat, but I honestly think that winning is more important to team bosses than gender because it means more money for them. So they'd choose a female with speed and skill over a man with lesser skill anyday.

I think the ladies are not as agressive in marketing themselves as racing car drivers and do not grab the opportunities that are available to all drivers. Women do hesitate more and should rather grab any chance to race F1 to show their talent to the world.

But token females are a BAD BAD idea. Only perpetuates the problem by reinforcing the idea of merit-less women. It is competition after all, and women should just go all out for it.

Answer 3

There already have been female drivers in F1, the one I remember is Giovanna Amati, who was dropped after three races because she couldn't qualify the car, let alone race it!

If and When Danica Patrick starts winning in IRL, then I'm sure a half decent F1 test will come along, and if she's fast enough maybe it will happen.

Nobody should be in F1 if they aren't fast enough, 'token' drivers are not needed, it would damage the F1 brand.

Answer 4

I don't think we need any female drivers in F1. For one, when it comes to females, the judgment tends to get physical. Even if the female is actually a good driver, she might not be given the chance to drive if she doesn't have good looks.

Besides, it's only gender difference. What does it matter if all the F1 drivers are males? As long as they're fast and impressive and competitive, that's what keeps people watching the sport.

It wouldn't be such a good idea to have female drivers anyway. For one, people might watch F1 for all the wrong reasons and the teams with female drivers may use them for marketing purposes to get more sponsors and stuffs. Therefore, it's better if we just had male drivers.

Answer 5

No, F1 does not need a token "anything". The drivers in F1 are there because of their talent, not because of their gender or their skin color or anything other talent. Okay, some drivers are there because of the money they bring to the sport, but they money they bring is from sponsors who want to see that driver in the sport. So a Japanese company might sponsor a Japanese driver.

But to have a woman in F1 simply because she's a woman would rightly be seen as some sort of PR stunt and is demeaning for all concerned.

Answer 6

I don't think you put someone into a seat just for publicity or to attract a certain demographic. That is disrespectful, unnecessary, and completely unsafe. Danica, as an example, has potential to be good in Indy Cars. I doubt she is the one to get a first female championship, but she could win a race or 2 and she is fully qualified to be out there. However, she is no where near ready to be in F1. Point blank, she is a good racer who happens to be a girl, not the other way around. I want to see racing done by racers, not models. That's why we have pit babes.

Answer 7

I like Danica, but I don't think she is ready for F1 token or not. She needs to prove herself in IRL before even attempting to jump over. She needs at least a year of testing before she could be ready to race an F1 machine. Same goes for Legge or Duno or whoever.

Answer 8

Come on boys! Who wouldn't want a female F1 driver?!!! I bet you would stick your eyes on the TV screen and watch her like puppies. A girl will come when she is ready, now no female seems to be ready... I like more Katherine Legge, I find her a ''token'' for F1, but boys rules at the time being, so girls must wait.

Answer 9

I can't say much other than what has already been said, but if the FIA were really interested in getting more popular in the U.S., harnessing Danica Patrick's popularity would be a good way to do it.

The keys would have to be that she gets in with a good team and that she's ready to do it. Otherwise, she'll suffer the same fate as Scott Speed - insufficient equipment, miserable results, and hopeful U.S. fans losing interest quickly.

Answer 10

F1 is a Manly game, why to spoil the current interest in it by introducing females... Introduction of females in F1 will grab the attention of the Fellow drivers while driving and will lead to an accident :-)