Discussion
AlexRS2782 said:
Quite enjoyed it tbh - i reckon it will develop / improve over the the next 5 races both in on track action / commentary & presentation.
Bit unfortunate that nobody responsible for the broadcast seemed to be aware that for a fair while, during all the important intro / promo of the driver selection process, they left the circuit mic feed(s) open and all you could hear was the tannoy, engine noise from the cars still on circuit, etc.
Rather unfortunate scene at the end with the rather hurried podium celebration. I know they're probably trying to get things done before the next DTM support race was due on circuit, but i'm not sure the female PR / W Series representative held themselves in a good light when they grabbed hold of Marta Garcia by her arm and then shoved her in front of the other two drivers to get her first in line to head to the podium. Then shortly afterwards realised that somone else had managed to hand out the 1st & 3rd place Hankook caps wrongly and proceeded to yank them off Garcia & Chadwick's heads before thrusting them back in the correct order.
.
Imagine.. just imagine they did that to Kimi R...Bit unfortunate that nobody responsible for the broadcast seemed to be aware that for a fair while, during all the important intro / promo of the driver selection process, they left the circuit mic feed(s) open and all you could hear was the tannoy, engine noise from the cars still on circuit, etc.
Rather unfortunate scene at the end with the rather hurried podium celebration. I know they're probably trying to get things done before the next DTM support race was due on circuit, but i'm not sure the female PR / W Series representative held themselves in a good light when they grabbed hold of Marta Garcia by her arm and then shoved her in front of the other two drivers to get her first in line to head to the podium. Then shortly afterwards realised that somone else had managed to hand out the 1st & 3rd place Hankook caps wrongly and proceeded to yank them off Garcia & Chadwick's heads before thrusting them back in the correct order.
.
FourWheelDrift said:
They could have used more colours for the cars.
Made it very difficult to work out who was who, didn’t it?I think even just one colour scheme and a massive, obvious number would have been easier to follow, especially with the cars swapping between drivers between rounds to eliminate any advantage, one week they’ll be in a purple and yellow car, the next week it’ll be white and red, that’s bound to cause further confusion.
Very weird choice.
bockaaarck said:
Yep, thought the racing was close, competitive and I enjoyed watching it, apart from the commentary. I’m in two minds about it, as a series.
Understand why it’s been put together, hope it provides an opportunity for those competing in the series. Kind of wish it wasn’t necessary though. And that talented women racers we’re getting the kind of drives, sponsorship funding and support they deserve. Based on capability and results. Some of them already are, of course.
That being said, whoever wins the series. Is going to be able to rock up to a team or series. With $500,000 worth of funding. And that’s a great opportunity to push your career on
I also enjoyed the racing, but I feel the same way as you about the purpose of the series, let's just say... I'm conflicted.Understand why it’s been put together, hope it provides an opportunity for those competing in the series. Kind of wish it wasn’t necessary though. And that talented women racers we’re getting the kind of drives, sponsorship funding and support they deserve. Based on capability and results. Some of them already are, of course.
That being said, whoever wins the series. Is going to be able to rock up to a team or series. With $500,000 worth of funding. And that’s a great opportunity to push your career on
My biggest issue (apart from the the fact they have effectively introduced segregation into a traditionally unisex sport..) is that I don't see what 'opportunities' this series creates. Assuming each of the drivers on the grid share the same ultimate goal of an F1 seat, then they need to be racing in F3, which they have been doing for years, as of course, it's open to both genders!!
Robmarriott said:
FourWheelDrift said:
They could have used more colours for the cars.
Made it very difficult to work out who was who, didn’t it?I think even just one colour scheme and a massive, obvious number would have been easier to follow, especially with the cars swapping between drivers between rounds to eliminate any advantage, one week they’ll be in a purple and yellow car, the next week it’ll be white and red, that’s bound to cause further confusion.
Very weird choice.
It actually takes a lot of enjoyment out of the sport when you aren't sure which two drivers are battling/colliding when incidents start to develop. I'm sure the criticisms will be heard and they'll sort it out somehow - it's just bizarre that they gave so little thought to how the drivers can be identified in the first place.
SimplySutil said:
JC is clearly capable in an open category, do not see the benefit of this series personally.
Surely you create a pool of money, and find talent like her and support these from Karting etc? Works with the Red Bull junior setup etc.
That's exactly how it works, and the most direct route to F1. Going off to do a side series like FW is arguably a detour, a pointless detour for anyone good enough to attract attention of an F1 driver development programme during their karting career. Women not getting into karting in sufficient numbers, at a young enough age is the problem that needs to be addressed imo.Surely you create a pool of money, and find talent like her and support these from Karting etc? Works with the Red Bull junior setup etc.
The point is that it WILL attract more girls into the sport, at all levels.
Yeah, it might not be the perfect solution but showing young girls that they can race cars is important and however you look at it, there’s no real coverage of it.
There’s a lot of women racing at a club level but they’re mostly paying for themselves, there’s a few girls in the junior series but they’re a minority still.
It’s like showing women’s football on tv, it’s important for the kids.
Yeah, it might not be the perfect solution but showing young girls that they can race cars is important and however you look at it, there’s no real coverage of it.
There’s a lot of women racing at a club level but they’re mostly paying for themselves, there’s a few girls in the junior series but they’re a minority still.
It’s like showing women’s football on tv, it’s important for the kids.
Robmarriott said:
The point is that it WILL attract more girls into the sport, at all levels.
Yeah, it might not be the perfect solution but showing young girls that they can race cars is important and however you look at it, there’s no real coverage of it.
There’s a lot of women racing at a club level but they’re mostly paying for themselves, there’s a few girls in the junior series but they’re a minority still.
It’s like showing women’s football on tv, it’s important for the kids.
I can see the logic of that to be fair. I can see that it could help enthuse girls at a young enough age to get their folks to support them into karting. I think there is more to be done to directly get them into motorsport via karting though, such as the sport doing more to reduce the costs in the very early days, just long enough to the kids an opportunity to demonstrate some talent, even if it's only at non-competitive open days etc.Yeah, it might not be the perfect solution but showing young girls that they can race cars is important and however you look at it, there’s no real coverage of it.
There’s a lot of women racing at a club level but they’re mostly paying for themselves, there’s a few girls in the junior series but they’re a minority still.
It’s like showing women’s football on tv, it’s important for the kids.
I do understand what they're trying to do with FW, I'm just not sure it's the only way to do it, and i'm not sure that creating segregation in a historically unisex sport is entirely positive. Commercially however, I think it makes complete sense, which I'm sure was the biggest factor overall.
Robmarriott said:
The point is that it WILL attract more girls into the sport, at all levels.
Yeah, it might not be the perfect solution but showing young girls that they can race cars is important and however you look at it, there’s no real coverage of it.
There’s a lot of women racing at a club level but they’re mostly paying for themselves, there’s a few girls in the junior series but they’re a minority still.
It’s like showing women’s football on tv, it’s important for the kids.
The womens FA cup final was on TV on Saturday too. On twitter on Saturday afternoon I saw a few things from dad's who spent the day with their daughters watching women play a football cup final and drive racing cars, with the girls thinking 'I could do that'. If it gets girls on a football pitch or at a racetrack, it's all good.Yeah, it might not be the perfect solution but showing young girls that they can race cars is important and however you look at it, there’s no real coverage of it.
There’s a lot of women racing at a club level but they’re mostly paying for themselves, there’s a few girls in the junior series but they’re a minority still.
It’s like showing women’s football on tv, it’s important for the kids.
TheDeuce said:
I do understand what they're trying to do with FW, I'm just not sure it's the only way to do it, and i'm not sure that creating segregation in a historically unisex sport is entirely positive. Commercially however, I think it makes complete sense, which I'm sure was the biggest factor overall.
Maybe segregation is the solution for now though, allow the women an opportunity to race separately, encourage more new talent to the grid and eventually, there will be so many more women racing in high profile championships that they can scrap the idea completely after it’s solved the divide?Maybe.
Robmarriott said:
TheDeuce said:
I do understand what they're trying to do with FW, I'm just not sure it's the only way to do it, and i'm not sure that creating segregation in a historically unisex sport is entirely positive. Commercially however, I think it makes complete sense, which I'm sure was the biggest factor overall.
Maybe segregation is the solution for now though, allow the women an opportunity to race separately, encourage more new talent to the grid and eventually, there will be so many more women racing in high profile championships that they can scrap the idea completely after it’s solved the divide?Maybe.
An awful lot of 'maybe's', I suppose we just have to wait and see if it does have a positive impact on women getting into the sport early and showing generally more future F1 potential than in the past. And certainly, if it does work, the moment we have a competitive female F1 driver on the grid, then that would be ten times as inspiring as FW and I imagine it would start to lose it's commercial appeal as a result. If it succeeds to do what it sts out to do, then I agree, in doing so it's reason to exist would pretty much end.
ajprice said:
The womens FA cup final was on TV on Saturday too. On twitter on Saturday afternoon I saw a few things from dad's who spent the day with their daughters watching women play a football cup final and drive racing cars, with the girls thinking 'I could do that'. If it gets girls on a football pitch or at a racetrack, it's all good.
My two girls (4 and 2.5) both stopped and stared at both the cars and football (especially the football).My four yr old especially took an interest in seeing women competing in thosesports on the screen.
I really don't get the complaints. Clearly the series is needed because oppurtunities are not their- either men are better at racing, or women don't get the same oppurtunities (or are exposed at the right age to it).
I quite enjoyed the actual race, commentary and production was appalling, but that'll improve with practice!
Are any of those women actually good enough and young enough to get into F1 if that's the idea?
And will it make a material difference to the number of girls going karting at an early age? Doubt it.
Bert
Are any of those women actually good enough and young enough to get into F1 if that's the idea?
And will it make a material difference to the number of girls going karting at an early age? Doubt it.
Bert
BertBert said:
I quite enjoyed the actual race, commentary and production was appalling, but that'll improve with practice!
Are any of those women actually good enough and young enough to get into F1 if that's the idea?
And will it make a material difference to the number of girls going karting at an early age? Doubt it.
Bert
I think, the idea probably is to inspire (which I admit I hadn't given enough thought to prior to this thread), rather than FW being a proving ground for future F1 drivers - at the end of the day, if a girl was karting now and beating all the boys at most races, then they would attract huge support and attention to progress up the ranks, and I doubt any F1 team with their eye on her would see any value in effectively taking a year out to compete in a side-line series. All you need to have a very fair shot at an F1 seat is the racing stats and mind-set that convinces an F1 team yuu could win races for them more often than anyone else they might be considering. I say all you need.. obviously, that does take some doing!Are any of those women actually good enough and young enough to get into F1 if that's the idea?
And will it make a material difference to the number of girls going karting at an early age? Doubt it.
Bert
And really, any small increase in the number of girls karting would be materially quite a good thing. There are so few that even try it, and those that do don't get very far. But probably the drop out rate is no higher for girls than boys, it's just that there are so few girls in the first place. There are some that shine occasionally, such as: https://www.ellastevensracing.co.uk/
The problem is you need an awful lot of girls performing at that level at a young age for one of them to stand a chance going up through the ranks for the next decade and eventually landing an F1 seat. But, double the numbers that start, and you double the number that might make it one day..
Let's just watch this space, maybe it can work and build the numbers. In the mean time, the FW racing itself is pretty decent.
Erring towards skeptic initially but now I'm all for it.
Yes motorsport is and should be unisex but I now get W Series - more PR excercise than serious championship.
I had to Google Marta Garcia. Seems she's a bit of a karting prodigy but had a crap debut season in F4 whilst her team mate became champion and never got another chance in single seaters till WS.
Lego Friends has a range with race cars. My nieces weren't too keen on them but hope so with more motorsport awareness!
Yes motorsport is and should be unisex but I now get W Series - more PR excercise than serious championship.
I had to Google Marta Garcia. Seems she's a bit of a karting prodigy but had a crap debut season in F4 whilst her team mate became champion and never got another chance in single seaters till WS.
Lego Friends has a range with race cars. My nieces weren't too keen on them but hope so with more motorsport awareness!
TheDeuce said:
I think, the idea probably is to inspire (which I admit I hadn't given enough thought to prior to this thread), rather than FW being a proving ground for future F1 drivers - at the end of the day, if a girl was karting now and beating all the boys at most races, then they would attract huge support and attention to progress up the ranks, and I doubt any F1 team with their eye on her would see any value in effectively taking a year out to compete in a side-line series. All you need to have a very fair shot at an F1 seat is the racing stats and mind-set that convinces an F1 team yuu could win races for them more often than anyone else they might be considering. I say all you need.. obviously, that does take some doing!
And really, any small increase in the number of girls karting would be materially quite a good thing. There are so few that even try it, and those that do don't get very far. But probably the drop out rate is no higher for girls than boys, it's just that there are so few girls in the first place. There are some that shine occasionally, such as: https://www.ellastevensracing.co.uk/
The problem is you need an awful lot of girls performing at that level at a young age for one of them to stand a chance going up through the ranks for the next decade and eventually landing an F1 seat. But, double the numbers that start, and you double the number that might make it one day..
Let's just watch this space, maybe it can work and build the numbers. In the mean time, the FW racing itself is pretty decent.
You make good points, I enjoyed watching, so hopefully it'll get attention and generate some interest! I hope they manage to make the production better. Not just the poor quality, but give the thing some more professionalism.And really, any small increase in the number of girls karting would be materially quite a good thing. There are so few that even try it, and those that do don't get very far. But probably the drop out rate is no higher for girls than boys, it's just that there are so few girls in the first place. There are some that shine occasionally, such as: https://www.ellastevensracing.co.uk/
The problem is you need an awful lot of girls performing at that level at a young age for one of them to stand a chance going up through the ranks for the next decade and eventually landing an F1 seat. But, double the numbers that start, and you double the number that might make it one day..
Let's just watch this space, maybe it can work and build the numbers. In the mean time, the FW racing itself is pretty decent.
Bert
Jamie's Dad (Mike) posts on the Lotus 7 Club forum sometimes and has given his thoughts and some other info on Jamie's approach to the series. Worth a read https://www.lotus7.club/forum/chitchat/jamie-chadw...
Charles
Charles
It's always going to be hard to work out if girls aren't going into it because they feel excluded or they're just not interested. I know loads of motorsport families and in nearly all of them the males go racing and the females are into horses with show jumping, dressage etc.
Paddocks do seem a lot less testosterone filled than they were 20 or even 10 years ago though which can only be a good thing.
Paddocks do seem a lot less testosterone filled than they were 20 or even 10 years ago though which can only be a good thing.
Kraken said:
It's always going to be hard to work out if girls aren't going into it because they feel excluded or they're just not interested. I know loads of motorsport families and in nearly all of them the males go racing and the females are into horses with show jumping, dressage etc.
Paddocks do seem a lot less testosterone filled than they were 20 or even 10 years ago though which can only be a good thing.
At the end of all this experimentation/determination that women should be better represented in the sport, it is only reasonable to consider that the sport, speaking in general terms, doesn't appeal to anything like as many women as it does men. At least in terms of taking part personally.Paddocks do seem a lot less testosterone filled than they were 20 or even 10 years ago though which can only be a good thing.
There could be basic (as an average) differences in the sexes that cause a difference in preference/performance. In day to day life, such differences are generally small and very easy to navigate around. But in motor-sport, at the sharp end, the most fractional differences in approach and suitability can make all the difference.
It's a very difficult subject to tackle really. It probably shouldn't be, we all know there are endless subtle differences between the average man and the average woman, that in some way are bound to favour one sex when it comes to a given task, or preference to even undertake that task/hobby/whatever.
Maybe FW will open that door as wide as possible, and answer the question one way or another. I'd love to see more female drivers in the main series, but I really wouldn't have an issue if the core problem turns out to be that there simply aren't enough interested in being there to ever be evenly represented. If that turns out to be the case, then endlessly forcing the issue would be more of a problem for me.
I think if the backers of FW gave bursements to deserving drivers in other series, then they wouldn't get the coverage and the investment lost if the driver doesn't impress
Doing it all centrally gives them the coverage - I watched it as a lot of other people did and its got people talking.
It highlights some problems. F3 cars are exciting to drive but not necessarily to watch. There is a mixture of experience within the grid, some never having driven single seaters, with some having a season or more behind them.
Commentator was the worst aspect, she didn't seem to have much insight into motor racing.
Doing it all centrally gives them the coverage - I watched it as a lot of other people did and its got people talking.
It highlights some problems. F3 cars are exciting to drive but not necessarily to watch. There is a mixture of experience within the grid, some never having driven single seaters, with some having a season or more behind them.
Commentator was the worst aspect, she didn't seem to have much insight into motor racing.
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