Former F1 driver in BIZARRE series of statements on women in F1

The Bahrain GP kicks off the eagerly-awaited 2023 F1 season — Photo: © LAT Images

Former F1 driver in BIZARRE series of statements on women in F1

"You don't want them driving around purely serving as decoration"

Janice Kusters

Monday 21 August 2023 16:27

Jan Lammers, a former Formula 1 driver, recently shared his insights on the absence of female drivers on the F1 grid during a podcast.

The Dutchman expressed the belief that this lack of representation is unlikely to change in the immediate future - and that even if completely successful, the most likely outcome would be the inclusion of, at most, one or two women on the grid who possess the capability to contend for podium positions.

Lammers questioned the fairness of holding identical expectations for men and women in racing and suggested that the inherent biological differences between the genders have to be taken into account.

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"At a certain point, you also have to remember the birds and the bees. That there are just fundamental differences, which you can greatly appreciate in each other, but in the end it's about how you deal with those differences.”

Doubling down on his belief, he enquired, “What can you realistically expect from women? Are you getting women to participate in weightlifting using identical weights? Just to serve as an extreme comparison.”

These arguments are questionable at best, given that Susie Wolff trailed by a mere three-tenths of a second behind the significantly more seasoned Felipe Massa during a 2014 test drive for Williams. Likewise, the accomplishments of Danica Patrick in the Indycar series, where drivers encounter comparable g-forces, cast doubt on these claims.

Lammers goes on to acknowledge that determining whether women should enter the F1 grid, or if motorsports should embrace gender-segregated events like tennis, can only be answered in due time.

Girls climbing the ranks from karting to Formula 1

Amidst the increasing popularity of karting as a sport for girls and the rising appeal of Formula 1 among female audiences, a pertinent question arises: why is the representation of women in Formula 1 and its junior series not on the upswing?

Lammers believes women are at a disadvantage biologically

Lammers suggested that it has to do with how there still just aren't enough girls in karting, "First we had the story that of the 100 new kart drivers who sign up – that maybe 10 of those were girls. But then you have to take a broader view, out of 1,000 young drivers, maybe 1 ends up in Formula 1, only maybe... and if only 10 per cent of those are women, then you see how small the chance is [that a woman will be signed]."

The Dutchman doesn't necessarily see this as inherently problematic, ”I don't know what the examples are the other way around, you have to be careful not to make a joke out of it - but there will obviously be activities and sports, which the majority of the boys are just not interested in pursuing, so you just have to be very realistic about it."

The former driver holds the belief that efforts to lower barriers and offer special sponsorships to girls and women in motorsport are not having the desired effect, "If those had been boys, they would have been hopeless - because they are not winning races," before adding, "You don't want them driving around purely serving as decoration either"

While a win in Formula 1 or its junior series by a female driver remains pending, the notion that women are merely driving for show is unfounded. A clear example comes from Formula 3 at the Austrian Grand Prix this year, where Sophia Floersch became the first female driver to earn points.