Can a female legitimately compete in F1?
Discussion
Jetl3on said:
REALIST123 said:
Women do not compete, one against one, directly in tennis. They aren't physically capable.
There was a similar argument in the 70s between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, that women cant compete with men, he challenged her to a match and lost. She went on to form the WTA.Not exactly a great example as he was 26 years her senior!
Hopefully not a repost, but this is funny - http://sniffpetrol.com/2014/07/04/woman-drives-f1-...
It's pretty much all sports. For sports like F1, you have a limited pool of young drivers to start with, of them only so many are going to be naturally capable so you're talking really small numbers from a small amount, then consider the proportion of men to women that compete and you realise that a woman getting through the present system would be quite remarkable.
F1 drivers are typically the end product of many many years of experience and talent. There are plenty of people who probably could be the fastest drivers but werent ever given the opportunity to compete.
Until societies views changes and gives equal encuoragement to youngsters of both sexes women will never compete on any scale bar the odd one or two.
It seems more boys in the majority compete and particpate more then girls. I think that is to do with socities views on girls and boys, from TV, toys to what they wear etc etc to clearly delineate the gender sterotypes.
F1 drivers are typically the end product of many many years of experience and talent. There are plenty of people who probably could be the fastest drivers but werent ever given the opportunity to compete.
Until societies views changes and gives equal encuoragement to youngsters of both sexes women will never compete on any scale bar the odd one or two.
It seems more boys in the majority compete and particpate more then girls. I think that is to do with socities views on girls and boys, from TV, toys to what they wear etc etc to clearly delineate the gender sterotypes.
With regard to the post above which mentions the Bobby Riggs Vs. Billie Jean King Tennis match, it was fairly unrepresentative with Riggs then aged 55 and retired from professional tennis since 1959.
Riggs had beaten Margaret Court earlier that year who was the Women's world No. 1, so perhaps the rumour that he 'threw' the King match is true.
I'd like to see a female F1 champ.
Riggs had beaten Margaret Court earlier that year who was the Women's world No. 1, so perhaps the rumour that he 'threw' the King match is true.
I'd like to see a female F1 champ.
It also doesn't help that the percieved role for a female at a GP is to either hold a grid marker board and look pretty and/or line up and clap at the winners with a simpering face. An aspect of the sport that has not moved on since the 70's.
This type of thing is hardly going to make a young girl think there is any other role for a woman in F1. I think it's Bernie's way of trying to capture the feel of the 70's at races (when he was young) and really, we ought to have moved on from this.
I don't know why Danica Patrick never got a shot at F1 - she did win the Formula ford festival once as I recall - which ought to indicate that she certainly had the talent.
As for other successful women in motorsport, Michelle Mouton was pretty quick in a group B Audi Quattro.
This type of thing is hardly going to make a young girl think there is any other role for a woman in F1. I think it's Bernie's way of trying to capture the feel of the 70's at races (when he was young) and really, we ought to have moved on from this.
I don't know why Danica Patrick never got a shot at F1 - she did win the Formula ford festival once as I recall - which ought to indicate that she certainly had the talent.
As for other successful women in motorsport, Michelle Mouton was pretty quick in a group B Audi Quattro.
Dr Jekyll said:
I think the problem with top level motor racing is that to be competitive you have to be dedicated, even obsessed, to the point of being slightly unbalanced. That kind of obsession is far more common in men than women.
or the girls / women with this mindset are instead found down the stable or in the dance studio ... crugbun said:
It also doesn't help that the percieved role for a female at a GP is to either hold a grid marker board and look pretty and/or line up and clap at the winners with a simpering face. An aspect of the sport that has not moved on since the 70's.
I think that's changing a bit though with Clare Williams and Monisha Kaltenborn (Sauber team principal) regularly popping up on TV and talking about the same things as the male team members would be talking about.If a women out there was really good enough, they would be in a F1 car right away due to the amount of exposure they would get a team and sponsors.
Susie Wolff is a lovely girl, but she hasn't done anything of real note in her career and she'll be 32 later this year.
Look how much exposure she has had and she isn't nearly good enough. She has had lots of coverage and doesn't merit it at all. She is cute though.
A few people have mentioned that the physical aspect isn't relevant due to more of the work being done by the car. I don't agree with that. Those F1 drivers are unbelievably fit and apparently under huge physical strain throughout the race.
I don't think it is wrong to say women just can't compete with men on a physical level. In general men are just faster, fitter and stronger.
There will be on occasion the odd exception, but it will be ultra rare for a women to compete directly with a man at the very peak of a physical sport.
Susie Wolff is a lovely girl, but she hasn't done anything of real note in her career and she'll be 32 later this year.
Look how much exposure she has had and she isn't nearly good enough. She has had lots of coverage and doesn't merit it at all. She is cute though.
A few people have mentioned that the physical aspect isn't relevant due to more of the work being done by the car. I don't agree with that. Those F1 drivers are unbelievably fit and apparently under huge physical strain throughout the race.
I don't think it is wrong to say women just can't compete with men on a physical level. In general men are just faster, fitter and stronger.
There will be on occasion the odd exception, but it will be ultra rare for a women to compete directly with a man at the very peak of a physical sport.
Driver101 said:
I
A few people have mentioned that the physical aspect isn't relevant due to more of the work being done by the car. I don't agree with that. Those F1 drivers are unbelievably fit and apparently under huge physical strain throughout the race.
Perhaps the most comparable trade (if we exclude that of rally driver, where Pat Moss and Michele Mouton both performed on a higher level than most men) is that of fighter pilot. Higher G, technically equally demanding environment, danger of death, etc. There have been plenty of female fighter pilots since the early 90s. A few people have mentioned that the physical aspect isn't relevant due to more of the work being done by the car. I don't agree with that. Those F1 drivers are unbelievably fit and apparently under huge physical strain throughout the race.
TheRealFingers99 said:
Perhaps the most comparable trade (if we exclude that of rally driver, where Pat Moss and Michele Mouton both performed on a higher level than most men) is that of fighter pilot. Higher G, technically equally demanding environment, danger of death, etc. There have been plenty of female fighter pilots since the early 90s.
You should read up on what Michelle mouton has to say on the subject now (in her FIA role)There have been female fighter pilots, but the world is hardly flush with them and if what I've read on the internets is true the higher G forces would seem to favour them more than those of an F1 car.
I'm sure it's possible we'll see a vaguely competitive female F1 driver again, despite the odds being so heavily stacked against them the marketing potential must be enormous. Winning a WDC any time soon though? I'm sceptical.
I'd have thought Red Bull Air Racing might be more likely to see a female pilot but no sign yet there either.
I'm sure it's possible we'll see a vaguely competitive female F1 driver again, despite the odds being so heavily stacked against them the marketing potential must be enormous. Winning a WDC any time soon though? I'm sceptical.
I'd have thought Red Bull Air Racing might be more likely to see a female pilot but no sign yet there either.
Driver101 said:
If a women out there was really good enough, they would be in a F1 car right away due to the amount of exposure they would get a team and sponsors.
Susie Wolff is a lovely girl, but she hasn't done anything of real note in her career and she'll be 32 later this year.
Look how much exposure she has had and she isn't nearly good enough. She has had lots of coverage and doesn't merit it at all. She is cute though.
A few people have mentioned that the physical aspect isn't relevant due to more of the work being done by the car. I don't agree with that. Those F1 drivers are unbelievably fit and apparently under huge physical strain throughout the race.
I don't think it is wrong to say women just can't compete with men on a physical level. In general men are just faster, fitter and stronger.
There will be on occasion the odd exception, but it will be ultra rare for a women to compete directly with a man at the very peak of a physical sport.
2:15 for a marathon is still in the realms of elite performance for Men ... it's also the men;s fastest time in the mid 1960s Susie Wolff is a lovely girl, but she hasn't done anything of real note in her career and she'll be 32 later this year.
Look how much exposure she has had and she isn't nearly good enough. She has had lots of coverage and doesn't merit it at all. She is cute though.
A few people have mentioned that the physical aspect isn't relevant due to more of the work being done by the car. I don't agree with that. Those F1 drivers are unbelievably fit and apparently under huge physical strain throughout the race.
I don't think it is wrong to say women just can't compete with men on a physical level. In general men are just faster, fitter and stronger.
There will be on occasion the odd exception, but it will be ultra rare for a women to compete directly with a man at the very peak of a physical sport.
various of the 'stting down sports' see men and women compete in open competition...
Edited by mph1977 on Sunday 6th July 19:56
crugbun said:
It also doesn't help that the percieved role for a female at a GP is to either hold a grid marker board and look pretty and/or line up and clap at the winners with a simpering face. An aspect of the sport that has not moved on since the 70's.
This type of thing is hardly going to make a young girl think there is any other role for a woman in F1. I think it's Bernie's way of trying to capture the feel of the 70's at races (when he was young) and really, we ought to have moved on from this.
I don't know why Danica Patrick never got a shot at F1 - she did win the Formula ford festival once as I recall - which ought to indicate that she certainly had the talent.
As for other successful women in motorsport, Michelle Mouton was pretty quick in a group B Audi Quattro.
I don't think the stereotypical woman's role in F1 is that of grid girl etc. Claire Williams, Monisha Kaltenborn at Sauber, quite a few teams have female mechanics seen in the background on TV.. Maybe young girls (on the whole) just have little interest in driving ?This type of thing is hardly going to make a young girl think there is any other role for a woman in F1. I think it's Bernie's way of trying to capture the feel of the 70's at races (when he was young) and really, we ought to have moved on from this.
I don't know why Danica Patrick never got a shot at F1 - she did win the Formula ford festival once as I recall - which ought to indicate that she certainly had the talent.
As for other successful women in motorsport, Michelle Mouton was pretty quick in a group B Audi Quattro.
Bernie wasn't young im the 70s, he's been old forever
Patrick didn't win the Formula Ford festival, she came second in 2000. That year she competed in 14 races in the series, winning 3 points. 2001 she scored 10 points. 3 years in NASCAR Sprint cup she has 2 top 10 finishes from 63 starts and 13 laps led from 179,954 driven.
TL;DR she wasn't and isn't good enough for F1. NASCAR is a hugely sponsor driven sport, as I said earlier she generates money, not race wins.
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