Formula 1: More Than Equal and Manchester Metropolitan University hoping to develop female F1 drivers

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Formula 1: More Than Equal and Manchester Metropolitan University hoping to develop female F1 drivers

The main obstacle for anyone trying to enter F1, be they a man or a woman, is money. Wealth speaks loudly in the paddock and, as Stanton points out, it is one of the few sports “where your financial capability is as important as your talent”.

But with women making up on average only about 10% of those in motorsport and many sponsors unwilling to take a chance on even the best female drivers, the lack of opportunity means the physiological demands of a modern F1 campaign on a woman’s body are still unknown.

While Coulthard believes there is no physical reason a woman cannot compete in F1, a VO2 Max test, for example, shows a male’s score is typically around 20% higher than a female’s with the same fitness level.

Stanton says it would be remiss if the development programme did not compare the two sexes.

“When we do our talent identification, we look at how they stack against the current field, which is boys and girls. We then look at the female field and try and gain an understanding of how they look there,” he added.

“We try to flip that lens every now and again to see it from both sides.”

When it comes to competing against boys in karting, Lana Flack, from Australia, and Skye Parker, from Trelogan, Wales, know first-hand how hostile events can be when the sexes are mixed and girls are winning.

Lana, 13, found herself the victim of sabotage when she was heading for championship glory, while Skye, 14, – who has also been selected as part of the FIA’s Girls on Track programme – was told “this is why women shouldn’t race” while being wrongly accused of taking another driver out.

They hope that with support they will be able to break down barriers like this to fulfil their ambitions.

“My big dream is to be a multiple F1 world champion,” Parker says. “But I have to get one first.”

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