Women's F1 championship
Discussion
According to Sky Sports Bernie is suggesting an all female F1 championship as a support series to F1 which really is a long shot IMO with even Susie Wolff saying it's not a good idea. Could this bring back the third car discussions with teams running a female driver in a 3rd car, as long as they could run different liveries it could help inject a bit of extra cash to teams as I'd imagine it could bring a lot of new sponsors to the sport?
kambites said:
Daft idea.
F1 isn't a test of physical strength, men have no fundamental advantage over women. If anything women should have an advantage since they're generally shorter and lighter. If they want women in F1, they need to start by getting more girls into karting.
Do you really think F1 doesn't involve a fair amount of physical strength? I know most of the drivers are build like a streak of piss but as well as being immensely fit, I'd expect them to be pretty strong too.F1 isn't a test of physical strength, men have no fundamental advantage over women. If anything women should have an advantage since they're generally shorter and lighter. If they want women in F1, they need to start by getting more girls into karting.
I've heard several drivers talk about the debilitating effect of the g-forces on their bodies, particularly over a full race distance and I can't help thinking that the natural strength advantage that most men have over most women would be a factor here.
lauda said:
Do you really think F1 doesn't involve a fair amount of physical strength? I know most of the drivers are build like a streak of piss but as well as being immensely fit, I'd expect them to be pretty strong too.
The days of bull necks and forearms like tree trunks are long gone , drivers are little wimps today compared to the 80's /90'sLost soul said:
lauda said:
Do you really think F1 doesn't involve a fair amount of physical strength? I know most of the drivers are build like a streak of piss but as well as being immensely fit, I'd expect them to be pretty strong too.
The days of bull necks and forearms like tree trunks are long gone , drivers are little wimps today compared to the 80's /90'shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yas_TM4X0f8
lauda said:
Lost soul said:
lauda said:
Do you really think F1 doesn't involve a fair amount of physical strength? I know most of the drivers are build like a streak of piss but as well as being immensely fit, I'd expect them to be pretty strong too.
The days of bull necks and forearms like tree trunks are long gone , drivers are little wimps today compared to the 80's /90'shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yas_TM4X0f8
Lost soul said:
The days of bull necks and forearms like tree trunks are long gone , drivers are little wimps today compared to the 80's /90's
Forearms like tree trunks may be gone thanks to power assistance, but most seem to have big necks.Women's smaller stature may help them with the G forces - a wing commander I used to know in the RAF said that shirt pilots dealt with G forces better.
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k1_6 said:
k1_6 said: According to Sky Sports Bernie is suggesting an all female F1 championship as a support series to F1 which really is a long shot IMO with even Susie Wolff saying it's not a good idea. Could this bring back the third car discussions with teams running a female driver in a 3rd car, as long as they could run different liveries it could help inject a bit of extra cash to teams as I'd imagine it could bring a lot of new sponsors to the sport?
Allowing teams to run a 3rd car with female drivers would be great I think, they could run a separate women's drivers championship for say 3 years to allow time for competitive drivers to emerge. The 2 best finishers in a team could score constructors points, which might encourage some more adventurous strategy choices. If after 5 years the girls are still miles behind they can bin the whole thing.The only way we are going to see women taking part in top level Motorsport is if we create the demand. If McLaren or Williams can gain a competitive advantage by going out and finding talent
then it will happen. Once the successful women are found and there is a way up from grass roots then it will become self sustaining.The alternative outcome is that F1 would conclusively prove that men are better at driving race cars than women and settle the argument for a while, I see it as a win-win situation.
Gaz. said:
That's hardly representative and in that situation (not strapped in properly, can't see) you'd fair little better.
Suzie Wolff wasn't flapping about like a rag doll for 89 laps of Silverstone - the race is only 54!
I'm not for one minute suggesting that it isn't physically possible for a woman to drive an F1 car. I was just challenging the comment above that said that a man would have no natural physical advantage over a woman when racing an F1 car.Suzie Wolff wasn't flapping about like a rag doll for 89 laps of Silverstone - the race is only 54!
It looks to me like a very physically challenging endeavour (particularly considering the climates some of the races take place in) and I would therefore expect that, as in pretty much any other sport you care to mention, the fittest male will usually perform to a higher standard than the fittest female.
Its an interesting idea for teams to run a third car for a womam.The problem is that I can only think of 2 or 3 women suitable so it just would not work but the biggest factor is if say Mercedes said it will cost 15% more for their yearly budget where will this money come from as Bernie would not get any more income so I guess he will not be willing to give the teams 15% extra
The only positive is that Fred and Jenson wont be last.
The only positive is that Fred and Jenson wont be last.
Great idea. We could have pink cars, stop all forms of point scoring so no one feels bad about not winning, though Stoddart will be well used to that these days, and award vouchers to spend at mothercare.
FFS, are you lot as senile as Bernie?
When a woman who's half good enough comes along, she'll get a drive. Plenty of men who're half good enough are getting drives so shouldn't be that difficult. So far none has made herself known.
On further thought, why not? F1's well on the way to being FUBAR, why stop now?
FFS, are you lot as senile as Bernie?
When a woman who's half good enough comes along, she'll get a drive. Plenty of men who're half good enough are getting drives so shouldn't be that difficult. So far none has made herself known.
On further thought, why not? F1's well on the way to being FUBAR, why stop now?
lauda said:
Do you really think F1 doesn't involve a fair amount of physical strength? I know most of the drivers are build like a streak of piss but as well as being immensely fit, I'd expect them to be pretty strong too.
I've heard several drivers talk about the debilitating effect of the g-forces on their bodies, particularly over a full race distance and I can't help thinking that the natural strength advantage that most men have over most women would be a factor here.
That's more a question of endurance than brute strength. Anyone reasonably fit can hold their neck straight against a 5G cornering force for a few seconds, the question is who can do it for a significant chunk of a two hour race. However, I don't think women are significantly physiologically inferior to men in that regard. I've heard several drivers talk about the debilitating effect of the g-forces on their bodies, particularly over a full race distance and I can't help thinking that the natural strength advantage that most men have over most women would be a factor here.
Women also, on average, have lighter heads.
Bernie is trolling. He's always trolling.
It's a stupid idea and he knows it. But what he has done is get the conversation rolling again. There's no physical impediment at all - women do drive in many other formulas, including endurance racing, and their heads don't fall off - so the only impediment here is cultural.
As was said above, the FIA need to put a huge effort into getting girls into karting. A vanishingly small proportion of the kids that start out karting ever get to F1, and if only a small proportion of the karters are girls there's no chance we'll ever find a female world champion.
It's a shame really, as motorsport is a sport where men and women can and do compete on a level playing field.
It's a stupid idea and he knows it. But what he has done is get the conversation rolling again. There's no physical impediment at all - women do drive in many other formulas, including endurance racing, and their heads don't fall off - so the only impediment here is cultural.
As was said above, the FIA need to put a huge effort into getting girls into karting. A vanishingly small proportion of the kids that start out karting ever get to F1, and if only a small proportion of the karters are girls there's no chance we'll ever find a female world champion.
It's a shame really, as motorsport is a sport where men and women can and do compete on a level playing field.
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