Motorsport: F1 Academy
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
Rachel Robertson is British, 18 years old and a member of an elite group of women, who are breaking into motorsport, which has been dominated from the beginning by men and money.
Robertson is taking part in the F1 Academy, which is a female-only racing championship founded by the F1 Group, and wants to be the first woman driver in 50 years to qualify for Formula 1 itself.
She will be driving the PUMA car operated by Hitech.
She recalls that, when she began driving go-karts at the age of 14, she was the only girl on the racetrack, racing against boys, who regarded her as an annoyance, rather than a serious competitor; and if she won, they did not say anything!
Esmee Kosterman is Dutch, 20 years old and will be driving for the Lego-sponsored team in the F1 Academy. She also suffered the same attitude from the boys against whom she has been racing!
Alba Larsen is Danish, 17 years old and will be driving for Ferrari for the second year in the F1 Academy. She never imagined that she would be competing in the F1 Academy, because she could not envisage any women competing at the top level of professional motorsport.
And the participation of women in this male-dominated sport is the issue that the F1 Academy is aiming to address. According to the most recent study, only 10% of drivers, who are currently involved in motorsport, are women.
In fact, the last woman to compete in a F1 race was the Italian Lella Lombardi, who finished 14th out of 22 competitors in the Brazilian Grand Prix, which was held at the Interlagos circuit on 25 January 1976.
We wish Robertson, Kosterman and Larsen and others like them well in penetrating the glass ceiling in F1!
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
