Max Verstappen is a fan of the F1 Academy initiative, and what the sport’s governing body wants women to achieve in the world of motorsports. However, he doesn’t see eye to eye with the way things are running and insists that more has to be done in order to help the talented female drivers actually make it to F1 someday. Not many people have solutions, but Verstappen has an idea that could help them inch one step closer. The idea? Get involved in sim-racing.
Sim racing as become a huge thing over the last few years. Some of the biggest stars in F1, including Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Charles Leclerc spend time on the sim, even when they are not racing in the real world.
Talking about the team he drives for virtually (Team Redline) Verstappen points out that there are no female drivers. According to him, however, team bosses don’t care if a boy or girl represents them. “If there is a quick girl in between, then of course we want to have her too!” the Red Bull driver said to De Limburger. “That’s also the case in the real world, isn’t it? Team bosses don’t look at whether someone is a boy or a girl. It’s about how fast they are.”
Verstappen has been a huge advocate for promoting sim-racing in general. The 26-year-old believes that it is a great way for racing talents to get noticed by real-life teams. Not everyone has access to the finances needed to get into karting or other junior formula series. Hence, investing in a sim-racing setup could be a way to get into motorsports in the future.
Max Verstappen wants F1 to do more for women
Climbing up the ladder via sim-racing is something Verstappen feels that the young female talents can rely on. On the other hand, those who have made it to F1 Academy (an all-female single-seater racing series launched by F1), need more to develop their skills, the Dutchman feels.
In the same interview, he talks about how they drive very slow cars (F4 spec chassis) which aren’t good enough for those who want to make it to F1. Additionally, he calls out the teams who sponsor the drivers with their branding and logos.
An incredible opening round of F1 Academy for @dorianepin. Securing pole position for both races and dominating the weekend to lead the series standings, despite a post-race penalty in race 2. Congratulations on your F1 Academy debut, Dori! We couldn’t be prouder. #F1Academy pic.twitter.com/yP2R2Rns18
— Iron Dames (@IronDames_) March 10, 2024
“Its nice and all, that girls are now sponsored by F1 teams,” Verstappen added. “But what do we actually help them with? There is no next step for them now.”
It is mandatory for all 10 teams in F1 to sponsor one driver each in F1 Academy. It helps with their visibility, bringing more eyes around the world on them. But Verstappen calls for the teams to do more.
