RB: First woman in their junior program

Cool! Good luck

 

publicity stunt and nothing more. She's pretty quick but nothing special. A third of the winners points in the ADAC formel cup (albeit 2 wins).

Good luck to her in any racing she'll participate in but I seriously doubt anything to do with actual F1 racing. Tin tops is where some girls can be much more successful in. Harsh reality.

 

Scottish racing driver Susie Wolff has signed for Williams as a development driver for Formula 1.
BBC News - Oban woman Susie Wolff joins Williams F1 team

Susie Wolff: Williams test driver who is only female in Formula One | Mail Online
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

There are some decent female fighter pilots out there if you can handle a fighter jet at full tilt you can driver F1, and let's not forget the G-force queen Patti Wagstaff. They can handle the physical demands. We just have yet to see a female cut it at the sharp end of the various grids out there, it's dog eat dog.

 

I've always kind of wondered if women were not in F1 due to lack of skill or discrimination. I'm sure seeing a woman on the grid would cause quite a stir, but I would hope that top teams would be big enough to hire based on merit and not just for the publicity... I'm sure sponsors would be lining up, though.

 

Put her in SV's car this weekend!!!!

 

if you think about how many women actually pursue a career in racing, and then those that are good enough to make it in f1 it's gotta be a very rare breed. I can't think of too many guys i knew who were young that did not want to be a race car driver at least at some point in their life. I'd imagine nearly any heterosexual male dreams about it at least once.

 

Very true. Not too many girls at the go-kart tracks.

 

I know, I know...it's a sexist joke but--

Susie WOOF!

Seriously though, I hope she's good enough to make it.

 

Well, since the last one drove into a steel plate ramp....

Best wishes to her......it might be a wee bit soon, to wear that smirk.

 

They ARE matching..look closer....

I don't "get it"....but the shoes and gloves are a set.

 

Wooosh....

 

So she knows which one goes on which foot? But the gloves are backwards... Maybe it's a test.

 

It may be an Alex Wurz style superstition for good luck.

 

...wow

Not one post pointing out how these female drivers are undoubtedly more talented than most of us (as I assume there are some ex-F1 pilots here and we know we have some Indycar drivers - who are the only ones on the same plane here and duke it out on the track)

So you can win two races and not have talent in an open wheeler series? Really? These are people chasing a dream and beating the odds. They get my support, admiration and respect.

 

Who says she doesn't have talent?

 

Publicity stunts, all of em

 

Yes, but can she parallel park?

 

I don't know about that. Susie didn't do terribly well in DTM last year, usually nearer the back of the grid than the front, but she clearly earned the seat. She had a couple of races where she started at the rear due to a nasty qualy, and moved steadily forward through the ranks. She showed a lot of skill and race craft that could make her a very good development driver. Does she get a race seat? Remains to be seen.

 

That's fine, but this is the big leagues. Whenever a woman driver comes along (besides for maybe Michele Mouton) there are always a bevy of excuses and concessions. For instance, Danica has been "learning the ropes" of Nascar for like 2 years now. Sooner or later you have to produce the goods.

Race seat? Lol, no chance. DTM is where F1 drivers go when they're has-beens, not the other way around. This is all PR/marketing...money hungry teams like Williams haven't been blind to the amount of press/sponsorship that Danica pulls in. So put this chick in the car as a "test driver," enough to drag in some sponsors and positive PR but not enough to risk anything worthwhile by having her actually race the car. Perfect.

I would say Red Bull knows a thing or two about marketing. They're just getting theirs...nothing more, nothing less.

 

Susie has been racing in DTM for years and never accomplished anything noteworthy. I used to watch DTM a lot and barely remember her scoring points. I looked it up. 4 points since 2006.

Publicity.

Announcing that she's development driver and letting her do some straight line tests (anyone with some experience can do this) is a very cheap way for them to get some publicity and hopefully some sponsorship. Much more effective/cheaper than hiring lets say Kovalainen (since he's joined the line at the job centre).

 

Fair enough. I guess I am being overly generous about her abilities.

That said, all the best to both of them. If they can provide the development / test driver results the team needs, provide a bit of publicity, and maybe encourage some talented young girls to pursue driving more than they might have, then good all around.

 

Uh, F1 is entertainment first, competition second. If fans aren't entertained, then no sponsorship dollars, ticket sales, etc. The novelty of a woman will be enough without world champ talent.

 

It's inevitable that we will see a woman in F1 sooner or later.