Red Bull star blasts F1 gender issue as “utter b*******”

David Coulthard speaks to Sebastian Vettel on the F1 grid — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Legends

Red Bull star blasts F1 gender issue as “utter b*******”

A racing icon with over 200 appearances in F1 has lashed out at a major issue in the sport

Jude Short

Friday 7 March 2025 11:57

Formula 1 grand prix winner and legend of the sport David Coulthard has publicly spoken out over the lack of women competing in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Five women have entered a grand prix since the sport's inception, including Maria Teresa de Filippis who was the pioneer as the first to do it, and Lella Lombardi, who is the only female driver to have scored championship points in F1.

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Lombardi raced in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix and scored half a point. No full points were earned by any driver on the grid that day as the race was cut short after just 23 laps.

Despite no new female drivers appearing in F1 for the past 33 years, a new developmental pathway has been launched for young women to show their skills and gain valuable track time.

F1 Academy debuted in 2023, and in the two years since, it has gone on to experience success - including 2024 champion Abbi Pulling securing a seat in the GB3 championship at the start of this year.

David Coulthard made 247 appearances in Formula 1

Abbi Pulling picked up 338 points on her way to claiming the 2024 F1 Academy Championship

Coulthard slams gender gap in F1

Coulthard, who won 13 F1 races during his time in the sport, has frequently made his belief clear that female talents are able to compete in the upper echelons of motorsport.

The former F1 star raced for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull during his career, which spanned from 1994 until the end of the 2008 season. Since retiring from the sport, Coulthard has remained behind the wheel as a Red Bull ambassador at their fan focused Show Run events.

The 53-year-old also co-founded the groundbreaking motorsport initiative 'More than Equal,' which aims to find the first female F1 world champion in the next ten years.

David Coulthard continues to pilot Red Bull machinery in an ambassadorial role

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Coulthard stated: "Of course it will happen. Without question.

"It’s utter b******* that women don’t have the strength to do it. Anyone who doesn’t train doesn’t have what it takes to perform in motor racing — whether you’re a man or a woman."

The Scotsman elaborated, adding that talent is more important than anything else.

"The main thing is, are the ones driving right now good enough to make it? It’s not an opinion. It will be based on lap times. Ultimately, it’s the stopwatch that dictates things," he added.

"You can either do a fast lap time or you can’t. And, if that is the case, as I say to my son, you can join a long line of people with good excuses as to why they didn’t do a specific lap time — why this, why that. Sport is about delivery."

Red Bull Ferrari Spanish Grand Prix David Coulthard