The fight for including more women in the realm of motorsports continues to be a problem for the industry. While other sports may have paved the way to find solutions to the gaping disparity in numbers, the pinnacle of motorsports still suffers. Susie Wolff has been actively trying to change this situation, while NASCAR and IndyCar legend Danica Patrick has differing thoughts.
Whether it’s on or off the track, there are a handful of women who contribute to F1. While there have been improvements in hiring female engineers, and other staff, the void for a female driver remains empty. And so are the chances for the same.
Here, the F1 Academy headed by the very capable and talented Susie Wolff comes in. Giving aspiring female racers a fair chance, F1 invested $2.33 million on the project. Wolff has been fighting tooth and nail to bring the F1 Academy to the limelight. However, Danica Patrick had some opinions on the matter.
Danica Patrick disses special treatment for women in motorsports
Patrick’s pioneering career in motorsports paved the way for many women to dare to dream the same. Despite being robbed of a potential seat herself, Patrick declared no need for special treatment for women in F1.
Sitting down with the SkySports F1 podcast, the driver was asked if she felt encouraged by the efforts taken to bring a woman on the grid. Stone cold, she replied, “You’re assuming I want that. You’re assuming that is important to me, and it’s not.”
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Shrugging it off, Patrick opined that the sport’s success can only be measured in its competition, regardless of whether it’s a woman driving the car. Tapping into her own story, she explained, “You just got to come up like normal.”
Sharing her hot take on women’s series like the F1 Academy, Patrick continued, “At the end of the day, you’re going to have to race against guys.” Patrick explained that benching women off into a separate series would get in their own way. Additionally, she laughs at this special treatment. “I giggled along the way. I never got any minority money or anything like that.”
Patrick deems racing a manly sport
This isn’t the first time Patrick has voiced her controversial take on women in motorsports. While covering the Hungarian GP, Patrick’s take on women behind the wheel took a concerning turn.
“And at the end of the day, I think that the nature of the sport is masculine. It’s aggressive. You have to, you know, handle the car – not only just the car because that’s skill, but the mindset that it takes to be really good is something that’s not normal in a feminine mind, a female mind.”
This was shocking coming from the poster girl of the movement, as Patrick boasts an incredible racing career behind her. Patrick and Wolff are trailblazers in their field- with a lot of power to give other young girls the opportunities they had, but with better outcomes.
As Wolff continues to fuel the charge to bring a female driver to the grid, Patrick’s career stands as an example that there aren’t many things women can’t do. Thus, having a seat at the table, wouldn’t hurt.
