Claire Williams, deputy team principal at Williams, recognised it was a hugely
significant moment for the cause of women in F1.
“I think tomorrow is a really big day for Susie,” Williams said. “She goes out
there with her peers in a competitive situation. You’ll be able to judge her
more so than you have been able to in the past.
“She will be doing exactly what Valtteri [Bottas] would have been doing. She’s
got the responsibility that she would have to set up the car. She knows the
car, she’s done a lot of preparation in the simulator. She’s perfectly
competent to do tomorrow’s session without causing any hindrance to the
team.”
The jury has been out on Wolff’s racing career so far. While she fared
reasonably well in Formula Renault, she enjoyed a number of seasons in
German touring cars without much success, and has never won a single-seater
race at senior level.
The team continue to deny suggestions that the programme, which also includes
a run in practice in Germany, has been a PR stunt.
Williams said: “You would be naive to say that having a female on-board does
not bring commercial benefit, but everyone knows that Williams is a serious
racing team. She’s got to deliver as well. There’s no point us having Susie
if she’s not doing anything on track that she can stand up in front of
people and talk about.”
Meanwhile, after a troubled start to his Ferrari return, Kimi Raikkonen has
admitted he is likely to retire from Formula One at the end of 2015. The
Finn has been dominated by Fernando Alonso this season, and has already had
to face questions about his motivation. The 34-year-old has a contract with
Ferrari until the end of next season, after which he said he would race
something else.
“Until my contract is finished, then I will probably stop,” Raikkonen said.
“That is what I think is going to happen. I tried many things and I think
there is no harm in it,” he said. “It doesn’t take anything from me doing
F1. The teams are scared that we get hurt. In the past when I was in Ferrari
I could not do rallies.”
Renault, whose future in Formula One has also been questioned, finally rang
the changes on Thursday at a senior level in response to its dismal start to
the season.
The French manufacturer has come under sustained pressure from world champions
Red Bull, who have repeatedly criticised their Renault engine as being at
least 80bhp down on power. Earlier this week Christian Horner, team
principal, said unprompted that they had held concerns about Renault since
autumn 2012. Jean-Michel Jalinier, president and managing director of
Renault’s sporting division, stepped aside as part of the changes.