India may well be known as the land where women empowerment and reservation in various educational and government posts are necessary to bring the oppressed sex to greater heights but this was never the conception in the Western world. So, when Bernie Ecclestone, the F1 supremo, came out with the proposal of a separate Formula One only for women, it has hit the motorsport world as if a nuclear strike.
Carmen Jorda wants separate Formula One championship
At the next stop at China, Bernie Ecclestone is most likely to be facing a huge protest against his latest put-down of women drivers. There is a whiff of sexual exclusivity which has not gone well with the general audience. Segregating female drivers in a separate championship, a sort of sister series to the grand Formula One motorsport is not a great idea as women viewership is limited. The biggest blow to Bernie is the fact that all F1 teams have rejected the idea of hiring women drivers, preparing new team and cars and diverting money away into something which is currently not well accepted by the world.
Carmen Jorda of Spain, who is a development driver at Lotus told the Associated Press she would rather be a world champion among women than finish a distant second-best to men. She also said that the intense physicality of F1 driving is a barrier to equal competition between the two sexes, “That’s why a woman will never be in the top, because of the physical issue”. She added that, “I don’t want to fight for 10th or 15th. What I want to do is to win”. They could race before the main event or perhaps on the Saturday qualifying day so that they have their own interest.
Opposing this view is Michela Cerruti, an Italian racer who raced in the recent Formula E Championship. She said she would not like to be a part of such women oriented championship which is basically to attract attention. She added that these races would not be interesting and certainly less fun than seeing women and men race against each other. Cerruti said, “It is absurd that not a single woman in racing in Formula One today. In the past two or three years ago, they could have taken any one of us”.
The FIA has not taken this proposal very seriously however do not deny the possibility too. “The idea of an all women competition is not something we would dismiss without proper debate and research”, said Mouton, president of the FIA’s commission for women in motorsport. Mouton, a former rally driver herself, went on to say, “I am annoyed and very disappointed. Perhaps Ecclestone is thinking about women only for the show. I believe that women want to compete on an equal level with male counterparts”. Mouton insisted that motorsport is one the few sports that allows men and women to compete on equal terms and under the same classifications. She added, “We have to continue promoting the fact that motorsport is open to all, with the same prospects and potential to succeed”.
The intentions of Bernie, apparently, are noble. In a male dominated sport Bernie said women often shy away or not given equal opportunity, “I thought it would be a good idea to give them a showcase. For some reason, women are not coming through- and not because we don’t want them. Of course we do, because they would attract a lot of attention and publicity and probably a lot of sponsors”. Bernie goes on to explain, “They could race before the main event, or perhaps on the Saturday qualifying day or so that they have their own interest. It would be super for F1 and the whole grand prix weekend”.
If Bernie really wanted to help women make it into Formula One, he could have forced teams to hire a women driver as their test or third driver for the weekend, like Susie Wolff of Great Britain who is a test driver for Williams. He could also have thought of rules that promoted women racing at least a couple of race weekends in a season for each team. Teams would be free to choose any race of the season and certain ideas could be formed. These ideas seem more realistic, do not hurt the sport in any way and seem far better way to help women that having a separate race for them.
Bernie Ecclestone is known to be a shrewd businessman who perhaps is looking to explore various ways he could make Formula One more popular and earn higher revenues at the same time. With more races, he will have a chance to pocket higher from the sponsors, from the race tracks and with women drivers, it is bound to attract people regardless of the race outcome.
Tags: Bernie Ecclestone, Carmen Jorda, F1, FIA, Formula One, Grand Prix, Motorsport, Motorsports, Williams
