EXCLUSIVE: Red Bull F1 star reveals pushback over GROUNDBREAKING championship plans

David Coulthard pictured in 2023 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

GPFans Exclusive

EXCLUSIVE: Red Bull star reveals pushback over GROUNDBREAKING F1 championship plans

Former F1 driver David Coulthard discusses his inspiring initiative, More than Equal

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 25 October 2024 12:57 Updated: 14:14

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Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has revealed the motivation and difficulties faced by his groundbreaking initiative, More than Equal, which aims to find the first female F1 world champion in the next ten years.

The former driver, who has continued to work with his former team since retiring from the sport in 2008, often still returns to the wheel of various Red Bull machinery in a brand ambassador role, juggling it alongside his broadcasting responsibilities and the initiative he co-founded with entrepreneur and philanthropist Karel Komarek.

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More than Equal uses data-driven research and science-led innovation to understand how female-specific factors impact high-level performance in drivers.

The initiative recently partnered with the Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport in the UK to advance their unique research and driver development programme.

In an exclusive interview with GPFans, Coulthard, one of More than Equal's co-founders, opened up on his motivations behind starting the initiative and why partnerships and programmes like it are vital to the future of motorsport.

"My partner Karel Komarek, is like me, absolutely committed to making sure we've got the very best people that are like-minded creating the programmes and I believe we've achieved that in terms of there’s a really great group of talented people that are out there spreading the word, open arms to other organisations to share our scientific study."

More than Equal recently launched a partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University

F1's journey with all-female progress

The 53-year-old was previously involved with W Series, the all-female single-seater racing championship which was created to address the lack of female inclusion at the pinnacle of motorsport.

The series first ran in 2019 but in 2022, the season faced an untimely end, the last two races of the calendar axed and the series cut short due to financial difficulties. In its time, W Series brought to the fore some of the most influential female figures in modern motor racing history, including Sky F1 presenter Naomi Schiff and Indy NXT racer Jamie Chadwick, who claimed all three W Series titles.

Reflecting on how the W Series laid the foundations for women in motorsport, Coulthard explained: "I was initially involved with W Series which I think did a great deal to move the dial and basically stimulate Formula 1 into doing their own thing."

In 2023, F1 Academy burst onto the scene, a collaboration that saw F1 provide an opportunity for drivers from a range of backgrounds and experiences, partner with an F1 team to enhance their development through a new all-female racing series.

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Jamie Chadwick has become a predominant inspiration for women in motorsport, as a driver and broadcaster

Discussing the premature end of W Series and the arrival of F1 Academy, Coulthard said: "It was a shame obviously for W Series but ultimately commercially they [F1 Academy] can make it work because they've got the teams involved and global partners.

"The legacy of W is that we've got Jamie Chadwick racing in America we've got Alice Powell active on television and coaching with Alpine, Naomi Schiff is now a full-time media face and voice of Formula 1 and the list goes on.

"We’ve achieved the target of making it more public that there is a number of different roles that women can do in the sport."

Coulthard shared his own wish to see more women working in motorsport both on and off the track, stating: "Of course this is very much focused on the driving aspect but I get excited by the fact that I know that it's going to bring in more women to other areas of the sport because it's a tremendous exciting sport and it's a very creative space to be and to live and to work."

"The team at More than Equal, fantastic group of people led by Ali [Donnelly, More than Equal CEO], and collaborations are so important for the sharing of knowledge and our learnings, we will undoubtedly gain from their much longer established research programs and all of it will ultimately lead to making women that are part of that university [Manchester Metropolitan] be aware of the fact that motor racing isn't just a fun thing to do on the weekend, it can be an entire career path.

"Whether it's in media, whether it's in marketing, whether it's in design engineering, catering, driving, rebuilding cars that have been crashed by people like me, it is a complete industry that there’s a space for everybody you know male or female, young or old, if you're good enough there is a space for you."

Naomi Schiff has become a regular face on the Sky F1 race weekend broadcasts as a presenter

Coulthard shares personal motivation behind all-female initiative

The former Red Bull racer has had his fair share of emotional barriers to overcome. Sharing his motivation behind why he founded More than Equal, Coulthard revealed: "My stimulus was based on my own sister who was very naturally talented, didn't get the same crack of the whip that I got and I obviously, in her memory, want to make sure that no one else misses out who's got talent.

"Inevitably, like the boys, if you put 20 of them on track there'll be two or three of them that are very good and one that's exceptional and the others are perfectly nice human beings, did a nice job, but this is about finding the exceptional's that will eventually find a way up to Formula 1."

Coulthard's initiative focuses specifically on the early teenage years in female karting, with the aim of their driver programme shaping one young star into the first female world champion within the next ten years.

David Coulthard raced with fellow F1 legends, driving for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull

"The difficult period for boys and girls is that puberty phase when you are in that transition, we see in pre-puberty karting, girls and boys thrashing it out, equal opportunity, equal success and then once you go through that transition… that becomes the challenging years.

"[It goes from] what was a fun thing to do with your family, [and now] is it something that you’re committed to beyond all else, to then have a chance at being successful at the highest level?

"Hopefully what we will be able to do with the programme, not only identifying the talent but helping them through and giving them the belief, giving them the support systems that will give them a fair crack of the whip because they haven’t had a fair crack."

With More than Equal's ten-year goal in mind on their search to make history in finding the first female F1 champion, Coulthard shared what he hopes the next five years will look like for his passion project.

"That’s what I hope the programme accelerates where there are thousands of young men going to karts, tens of thousands probably and one or two of any generation make it to the highest level and if you're lucky every 10 years you get that exceptional performer, they're not all exceptional.

"We are not quite looking for a needle in the haystack but there’s no reason why the lightning hasn’t struck somewhere ten years ago and just about to come on our programme is that Lewis [Hamilton], is that Max [Verstappen].

"We won't know until we know."

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen both had successful karting careers ahead of their F1 domination

How More than Equal plans to combat F1 scepticism

We sidetrack briefly to discuss an unusual partnership that may be worth pursuing - the musical endeavours of Robbie Williams, and how the star's 2002 tune 'Something Beautiful' can play a part in Coulthard's dream... no really.

The former racer recalled the lyrics in an offbeat sidebar whilst still managing to convey his meaningful message.

"To use the Robbie Williams song, there’s a line in one of his songs that goes ‘you can't manufacture a miracle,'" Coulthard quipped. "We can’t manufacture miracles, what we can do is support talent and hope that they become the highly polished diamond that gives them the chance to have a crack at the world championship."

But Coulthard's mission hasn't all been easygoing, the 13-time grand prix winner admitting to GPFans that he has faced scepticism, sharing the battle often faced in motorsport for female equality and More than Equal's mission.

"There’s always been a slight reluctance I think in the sport generally and certainly maybe some of the teams.

"People tend to like to do their own thing and think that that's their little IP for them but in reality, we all need to be part of this and all need to share as much as we can.

"Let's let them see it and then they’ll believe it."

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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Red Bull Formula 1 David Coulthard