Ladies, start your engines….

Bernie has spoken. The man who liked racing so much he bought the company is quoted as saying there'll never be a female Formula One driver. If there was his idea of the perfect female driver would be a black, Jewish or Muslim, Spanish speaking beauty - heck why not throw in single-mother too?! In 1903, Selwyn Edge, who was at the forefront of promoting motor racing in Britain, realised that a car well driven by woman would attract more attention than by a man. Almost a century later it would seem Bernie doesn't rate such promotion and even if he did 'where would they come from?' he asks. Well …..

The truth is there have been women racing drivers since the dawn of motorsports; Camille du Gast, Dorothy Levitt and Madame Junek are just a few of the pioneering female drivers to not only race at the beginning of the twentieth century but score respectable results and even wins. However, a hundred years later the number of women race drivers remains low. In 1997, the RAC Motor Sports Association commissioned psychologist Dr Judy Eaton to study women's involvement in motor racing as only 2% of competitive motorsport licence holders in Great Britain are female, approximately 32,000. The low number of competitive female drivers is surprising when you consider 40% of karters aged 8-12 years old are girls. Why the large drop out rate? This is an aspect Dr Eaton studied. Reasons girls drop out of karting were found to include peer pressure and physical changes. Girls who remained in the sport reported they felt forced to quit, cases included girls being bullied, verbally abused or over-scrutinized if they did well as people accused them of cheating. Another major setback for young competitors is finance. Motor racing, even at the lower levels, is an expensive sport and girls find it particularly difficult to secure financial backing. Consider the number of male racing drivers today who pay tribute to their family and friends for extensive support, financial and emotional, as they tried to make it to the top - this support is often lacking for female drivers as it is deemed too risky. In a 1997 television documentary, David Coulthard said it was not the lack of physical strength that prevented women from competing in motor racing but that they don't have the discipline or attitude to make it, a view echoed by Brands Hatch chief Nicola Foulstan, but without a supportive background it's a catch-22 situation. Murray Walker is quoted as saying women are not physically strong or aggressive enough. The physical argument is most often put forward for the reason women will never make it to the elite levels of motorsports. However, recent research for sports in general suggests female physiology is actually better suited then men for endurance events which is encouraging for would-be women drivers. With dedicated training it is highly probable a female driver could train to the physical strength needed to compete in F1. I'll gloss over Eddie Irvine's comments that women can't be F1 drivers as 'their brains are too small' on the grounds he is a controversy seeking missile!

In 1962, the British Women's Racing Drivers Club was formed and now boasts a 100+ membership including single-seater, rallying and karting female racers providing women with much needed support and networking. To only prophesize on the probability of a female F1 driver, or even champion, is to do a great disservice to the varied female participation in the sport. BWRDC chairman Susan TP-Jamieson has written she doubts the majority of members have ambitions to be F1 drivers, motor racing is more than F1 alone, but she sees no logical reason against a female F1 driver. The odds of becoming an F1 driver are stacked against every young hopeful, 22 seats dreamed of by hundreds of thousands worldwide. A female driver would have to be special but isn't that a prerequisite for all F1 drivers?

The first women to compete in an F1 Grand Prix since the introduction of the World Championship in 1950 was Italian, Maria Teresa de Filippis. Filippis raced in three GPs for Maserati in 1958 posting a best finish of 10^th at the Belgium GP, two laps down. In 1959, she failed to qualify for the Monaco GP in an F2 Porsche and retired from racing, a retirement undoubtedly influenced by the death of her mentor, French hero Jean Behra.

In 1975, Maria Grazia (Lella) Lombardi became the first and so far only woman to post a top six finish in an F1 GP. Backed by multi-millionaire, Count 'Guggi' Zanon, Lombardi was effectively bought a seat at the March Racing Team racing in a total of 12 GPs during the 1975 and '76 seasons. Her points finish came at the 1975 Spanish GP. The race was almost cancelled as the drivers did not want to race after Emerson Fittipaldi posed for a photograph on an Armco barrier which gave way, on inspection the surrounding Armco was found to be unsecured. The drivers eventually agreed to race after much pressure from team bosses and race organizers. On lap 26 Ralf Stommelen's Hill-Ford crashed into a safety barrier which broke on impact, the crash killed a track marshal, a reporter and two fire marshals. The race was stopped and because two thirds of the race had not been completed the finishers were awarded half points hence Lombardi scored 0.5points for her sixth place. Bar a 7^th place at Nurburgring her following results were disappointing and she made her final F1 outing at Austria in 1976. She continued racing including stints in NASCAR and Sportscar racing but illness forced her to retire. Sadly, Lella died of cancer in 1992 aged 42.

The only British women to attempt to qualify for an F1 race is Davina Gallica. A former four-times Olympic skier, twice as British team captain, and holds the downhill skiing speed record, Gallica was awarded an M.B.E by the Queen. She attempted but failed to qualify for three GPs: 1976 British GP, 1978 Argentinean and Brazilian GPs driving for Hesketh. In the 1990s, Gallica has since had success in truck racing winning the British Class A Championship and recently took up the challenge in the Women's GT Global series.

In 1980, South African Desire Wilson failed to qualify for the British GP in a Williams FW07. Wilson won the Aurora AFX round at Brands Hatch the same year. In 1997 she drove the Pace car at Homestead which prompted the formation of the all-female PPG Pace Car Team who have paced all CART events since. More recently she is involved in running a motorsports consulting business with her husband, Allen Wilson who designs race circuits.

The most recent female F1 driver is Italian Giovanna Amati. The daughter of a wealthy businessman her life before racing was eventful when she was kidnapped and held for ransom. From 1987, Amati drove in F3000; in 1991 posting best race finishes of 7^th and 9^th. In 1992, with a rumoured $3 million in backing, she signed for the Brabham team but left after failing to qualify for the first three races of the season. She remained in the news after the tabloids reported of an alleged relationship with former World Champion, Niki Lauda. In more recent years she has raced in ISRL, Ferrari Challenge and Women's GT Global races and is co-anchor for Italian terrestrial television's F1 coverage.

Never say never Bernie, never say never.

© Rebecca Hobbs

(c)RH PR 2007