The last woman to put behind the wheel of a single-seater during a Formula 1 race weekend was Susie Wolff. The wife of Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff , contested Friday practice for the 2014 British Grand Prix at Silverstone with Williams, 22 years after the last grand prix appearance by a woman: it was in 1992 Giovanna Amati , who he entered three races for Brabham .
With a view to 2030, Alpine not only wants to guarantee greater diversity among its employees, but also to bet on female protagonists in Formula 1. With this objective as its main goal, the French brand has started a new project: “Rac(H)er ” (which mixes runner -racer- and the feminine of his -her-) .
Laurent Rossi , CEO of Alpine, said there is no reason why women “can’t do this”. However, he did not hesitate to confirm that the road is long. “We are talking about a project planned for eight years and starting now,” Laurent Rossi told ‘BBC’.
The goal is to start karting races from now on that lead, if the plan goes well, to the premier class: “The idea is to start from scratch and build a path, just as we have done with the men. I am convinced that that if we do that, we’ll have a much better chance of success for women.
“It’s just about creating the right framework and changing perspectives and breaking down prejudice. I guess right now 99% of women think it’s not feasible, but there’s also a very small proportion of female pilots right now.”
“But if we open it up, who knows? Statistically speaking, there will be more women who want to try it. And we will train them. Hopefully, there will be more women who can make it into F1.”
Alice Powell, Alpine Academy, Abbi Pulling, Alpine Academy
Girls and women, from karting to Formula 1 with Alpine financing
Rossi himself sees no reason why women can’t succeed at the top of motorsport: “Women fly fighter planes and are astronauts. They could also drive a Formula 1 car. I’m sure.”
With her project, Rossi also wants to refute the thesis that women cannot physically keep up with men in motorsport. And so he defends it: “If Fernando Alonso can drive a Formula 1 car at 40, then I don’t see why a super fit woman couldn’t do it at 30.”
“I’m 40 too, and I know what that means, so I’m pretty sure a super fit woman at 30 would beat Fernando in most physical activities. So if he’s pretty good at driving a Formula 1 now, so that’s a good example of how physical strength [alone] is not the key to success.”
Among other things, Renault’s sports department wants to guarantee “the right financial package” and actively seek sponsors with the aim of creating a fund for talented women on four wheels.
At the same time, Alpine is committed as a team to internal and external training programmes, it wants to encourage young women in particular to pursue scientific and technical training. To that end, a mentoring program will help inspire more women to work at Alpine and support them in their careers with the company. And in addition, it will explore with a scientific study the reality of the obstacles that some suggest have prevented women from reaching the top in recent years.
50% of Alpine’s new employees in F1 are women
“We want to increase diversity step by step,” the press release dictated. “The goal is that in five years our workforce will be 30% women.” Currently, in 2022, only 12% of Alpine are women.
Claire Mesnier , Vice President of Human Resources at Alpine, added: “With Rac(H)er, we want to create a true meritocracy and not just move statistics. We have designed a unique and long-term program that is based on the commitment of all employees of Alpine”.
“The challenge is to encourage reflection within the teams, but also to provide concrete means for things to progress so much within the company. We are committed to doing so in all areas of the company and we lead by example.”
“50% of Alpine’s Management Committee are now women, not because we want to have that percentage, but because they are the best in their field of expertise to lead the role and their responsibilities.”
