Between 1975 and 1976, another Italian, Lella Lombardi, raced in 12 Grands
Prix and became the only woman to score a championship point with a sixth
finish. Briton Divina Galica also drove between 1975 and 1976 but failed to
qualify in any of her three races, and between 1978 and 1981 South African
Desire Wilson struggled to make the grade, but did qualify for her home
Grand Prix, famously overtaking Nigel Mansell before spinning out on lap 51.
Recently, the much-loved Maria
de Villota – also a Williams test driver – died in October 2013 as a
result of the head injury she sustained in a practice session crash 15
months earlier. It’s fair to say that women in F1 have a poor record. But
apart from the sadly missed de Villota they all had one thing in common:
incomparably slow and underfunded cars.
But maybe F1 is just too tough for girls? While researching my book, several
physiologists told me that wasn’t true. F1 is not man versus woman. It is
human versus car and many women could train themselves to withstand those
rigours. Women actually fare better in events that involve extreme
temperatures and could meet the sport’s demand for lighter drivers.
So the problem must be mind-set. Not so, according to psychologist Professor
Adrian Moran. “Concentration under pressure, hand-eye co-ordination,
effective peripheral vision, the ability to control anxiety, visualisation
skills and motivation are not gender-related,” he says. “There is no reason
why women could not be as good, if not better, than men.”
Even Michael Schumacher agreed in 2004 that the lack of women drivers was
“cultural: too few women coming up the ranks.” He was partly right. The most
influential factor in discouraging girls is lack of financial support.
Parents don’t believe a girl could earn a living as a driver in the way that
a boy could. Which of course is true – although she stands a chance if she’s
a looker.
One McLaren Mercedes executive told me: “We have good female drivers. The
problem is they are just not pretty. They look like men. Women must be more
beautiful, more feminine. That’s how it is.”
F1 needs to grow up. It’s losing female and younger fans. A woman in a
competitive car would re-energise the sport and attract a new fan base. We
can only hope Wolff turns out to be more than a publicity pawn.