Suzie Woolf Quits F1

[Nitrodaze]

I have to say, l am quite disappointed that the Suzie Woolf quest for a race seat was reduced to a side show at Williams. While it was a brave move initially, it has turned out to be harmful to the causes of Female drivers hoping to get a drive in F1. I think they shouldn't have taken on a female driver if they were not going to be committed to developing her to take a grid slot at some point in the process.

I bid her farewell and only hope Carmen Jorda, Danica Patrick or Simona de Silvestro can pick up the mantle and make it unto the grid in the near future. The idea that female drivers cannot drive F1 cars is ludicrous. If they can go to war and fight in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, fly fighter jets, they can certainly drive an F1 car. We just need a remarkable individual with good intuition and perception, an unhindered conviction to see this. These sort of individuals are few and far between, but l hope they step up in the near future to end this barrier to women racing in F1. The more uninhabited and progressive mentality of Americans have allowed women to race at the highest level in American racing series. Nascar, Indycar etc I suppose Europeans who essentially are the majority participants of the F1 series are yet to embrace the liberated modern day woman in her full capacity.

I think a woman is going to win an F1 drivers championship within 10 years if given the same chance as men to compete. It may sound impossible or ridiculous. The F1 community should take the dare and see what happens.

[AndyL]

The problem for F1, is where are the women drivers fighting for the championship in GP2, GP3 or FR3.5. And the problem for the teams in those championships, is where are the girls winning national F3 or Formula Ford races. And the problem for the national F3/FF teams is... well you get the picture.

The lack of progressive mentality that you mentioned is not at the level of F1, it's at the level of junior karting. And at that level, it's not organisations, corporations or teams with entrenched ideas. It's attitudes in families and society generally.

I think every F1 team would love to have a female driver racing in one of their cars, if they could find one fast enough. But a driver who's nowhere near good enough for F1 would do the cause more harm than good.

Perhaps the best thing F1 teams could do would be to drop their female drivers into competitive GP2 or GP3 seats, rather than having them standing around in the garage. But I suspect the current range of candidates would be found wanting even at that level. Bernie's idea of a separate women's world championship might actually be the best available option right now in terms of providing visible role models for young girls who might want to get into karting.

[AndyL]

I think a woman is going to win an F1 drivers championship within 10 years if given the same chance as men to compete. It may sound impossible or ridiculous. The F1 community should take the dare and see what happens.

If a woman is going to win F1 in 10 years, she should be fighting for a national kart championship right now. Do you know of any candidates?

[Nitrodaze]

The problem for F1, is where are the women drivers fighting for the championship in GP2, GP3 or FR3.5. And the problem for the teams in those championships, is where are the girls winning national F3 or Formula Ford races. And the problem for the national F3/FF teams is... well you get the picture.

The lack of progressive mentality that you mentioned is not at the level of F1, it's at the level of junior karting. And at that level, it's not organisations, corporations or teams with entrenched ideas. It's attitudes in families and society generally.

I think every F1 team would love to have a female driver racing in one of their cars, if they could find one fast enough. But a driver who's nowhere near good enough for F1 would do the cause more harm than good.

Perhaps the best thing F1 teams could do would be to drop their female drivers into competitive GP2 or GP3 seats, rather than having them standing around in the garage. But I suspect the current range of candidates would be found wanting even at that level. Bernie's idea of a separate women's world championship might actually be the best available option right now in terms of providing visible role models for young girls who might want to get into karting.

But Andy, all the motorsport series you have listed are all mainly european dominated series. Most team bosses in these series are european, hence the female racers have to force their way through several layers of resistance and negativity to a place in any level of motorsport within the european domain. Of course Vicky Piria in her debut year of 2012 for Trident in the GP3 series did not score a single point that season. The team was bearly a midfield team.

I am a regular visitor to Buckmore park in Kent. And l can tell you that l have seen many truly brilliant girl racers on that track that would make your jaw drop. I watch their brilliant performances and think to my self that this brilliant young talent that l am witnessing is unlikely to make it in the racing world because of the barrier she must fight her way through to get any form of recognition for her talent.

I don't think the normal feeder series for F1 would produce female racers at the moment. They would have to come from other similar level series such as Indycar and Nascar where they would have gained some experience and have become race hardened. If Montoya can transition to F1 from the indycar/Nascar series and make his mark in F1, the race winning female Nascar or Indycar driver would definitely be able to pull her weight in F1.

It is interesting that you identify that the problem runs deep into the grassroots of european motor racing. These layers of barriers are only going to ensure that european female racers like Carmen Jorda have to make their way into F1 via the Nascar/Indycar series. Even so, it is still very hard for them.

[AndyL]

But Andy, all the motorsport series you have listed are all mainly european dominated series. Most team bosses in these series are european, hence the female racers have to force their way through several layers of resistance to their place in any level of motorsport within the european domain.

And the point I am making is that the problem is not in any of those series. I don't believe that the barriers you're talking about exist. If there were women winning in GP2, GP3 or FR3.5, they would be in F1 like a shot. The sponsors would love it. And if there were women winning in national F3 or FF, they would get into the international series without a problem. But they simply aren't there.

Realistically only the top handful in a lower formula are lilkely to be good enough to progress through a higher formula. And when I look at the 2015 British kart championship standings, there are no girls near the top of the standings in any of the categories. So you cannot say there is a barrier in European racing at any level above that.

Why aren't the girls you're seeing at Buckmore Park going on to win the national kart championships? I'm not too familiar with kart racing so I can't answer that, perhaps you will have a better insight than I. But even at the national kart racing level, many of the winning drivers are privateers, not backed by professional teams. That's why I don't believe you can blame the institutions of motorsport, or teams or team bosses, for the fact that girls are not winning those championships, and therefore progressing through higher formulae.

My guess is the true explanation is twofold. First, even at the lowest level, the girls are still vastly outnumbered by the boys. So statistically, the most talented 0.1% are probably almost all boys. Not because they are any better on average, but because there are so many more of them entering. Secondly, I suspect that the families of the girl racers perhaps push them less hard than the families of some of the boys, because of lesser or different expectations.

I'm not suggesting that the problem "runs deep into the grassroots of european motor racing." I don't believe the problem is within motor racing at all. The great thing about racing is that it is very meritocratic. The problem is a more basic one within society as a whole.

[Nitrodaze]

And the point I am making is that the problem is not in any of those series. I don't believe that the barriers you're talking about exist. If there were women winning in GP2, GP3 or FR3.5, they would be in F1 like a shot. The sponsors would love it. And if there were women winning in national F3 or FF, they would get into the international series without a problem. But they simply aren't there.

I don't disagree with you on the winning aspect of your argument. My point is, female racers have to get the encouragement, support and welcome into those series in the first place before we can talk about why there are no female winners. I think focus should be on why there are no women in these series in the first place; yet there are women in the American series such as Nascar and Indycar.

If talented female racers are encouraged, supported and given the opportunity to race in the series that you mentioned, there is a very high likelihood that we shall see female winners of races and championships.

The idea of a separate series for women is nonsensical and very out of touch with this open modern times that we live in. If we can get the negativity out of the way, female talents would shine through.

And l am not suggesting that the standard be lowered to allow female racers into these series. And a female racer that wants to race in GP2 must meet all requisites to compete in that series. Physical fitness, stamina and skill.

However, one would expect the design of the car to take into consideration the physiology of the driver to assist the driver to race as fast as she can. Things like the weighting of the steering and the level of input forces required to maneuver the car through twisties etc.

[janvanvurpa]

The more uninhabited and progressive mentality of Americans have allowed women to race at the highest level in American racing series. .

Shirley

You cannot be serious.

[Nitrodaze]

Shirley

You cannot be serious.

Well share your experience! :-)

As far as l can see, there are women competing at the top level of America's motorsport. That is evidence enough. But you may have other perspective that l am not aware of, so please tell us.

Simona de Silvestro, Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher have had Indycar podium finishes in their careers.

[AndyL]

I think focus should be on why there are no women in these series in the first place; yet there are women in the American series such as Nascar and Indycar.

As per my previous post, it goes all the way down. There are no women in those series (F3 etc) because there are no women winning in the feeder classes. Not because of sexism on the part of the F3 teams. So it goes on, down to junior karting, where there are no women challenging for those championships either. Whether there is any sexism in professional race teams is completely irrelevant if all the championships at the privateer karting level are being won by boys.

[Nitrodaze]

As per my previous post, it goes all the way down. There are no women in those series (F3 etc) because there are no women winning in the feeder classes. Not because of sexism on the part of the F3 teams. So it goes on, down to junior karting, where there are no women challenging for those championships either. Whether there is any sexism in professional race teams is completely irrelevant if all the championships at the privateer karting level are being won by boys.

I think the emphasis has been to develop boys as they are an obvious prospect to progress up the level of racing. There are no women in the upper series, hence females are not seen as candidate for progression. I am not going to use strong words with -ism in them to describe this. But you have to admit that breaking the cultural mindset of a male dominated racing world is not an easy task for even the most talented female drivers. For male drivers, progression is expected and taken as given, only a reasonable show of some level of talent is required there after. For the female racer, she has to operate against a culture that is subconsciously resistant to her making progression to the next level. As where she is attempting to progress to, do not have her kind in it, hence she is fighting an uphill battle to be the first.

You have to put yourself in her position to see why the situation is exactly as you describe. Not because there are no new female talent to develop, but that they are not being developed because the fear is they may turn out to be a waste of time, money and resources, if for instance she gets herself pregnant or something. Then there is the old question of toughness to race full distance [which is bollocks of course].

Making it in a situation where the tide is against you is not so easy and it kills many a great prospect in the infancy of their career.

This is what Carmen Jorda thinks about the situation http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/analysis-why-wolff-s-retirement-is-not-the-end-of-female-f1-hopes/?s=1

[Jag_Warrior]

If her name was Sam Wolff and she was a male, would anyone be surprised that she/he isn't racing in Formula One?

I don't say this to be offensive, but Susie was relying on factors apart from her talent and racing accomplishments (or lack thereof) to get her an F1 seat - namely, her gender and her husband's connections. What male, 30-something racer, who'd never won a road course race in his life (much less a championship), would even dare to think that he'd EVER be on the F1 grid? And I'm sorry, but Carmen Jorda is an even bigger joke in that respect than Susie. Simona de Silvestro was/is someone who I think, with work, could make it onto the F1 grid. She's won in lower formulas (unlike Susie, Carmen or even Danica - a lonely win on an oval means little in F1) and from what's been written, she can relate to racing engineers and gives good feedback. Plus, she's not that old, she's tough (didn't even shake after being caught on fire) and she doesn't whine or act like she deserves special treatment (unlike Danica).

No one prevented Susie or Carmen from racing, instead of just hanging around the paddock on F1 weekends. Susie didn't even bother to try to get her Super License. I've heard that she's a nice person. But that and a dollar will buy you a cup of coffee these days. If you're a C or D student, you're not going to get into Harvard or Cambridge. And that's about where Susie's racing resume puts her. Too bad that Krooked Kaltenborn screwed over Simona, since she seemed to have the talent and ability to at least be respectable on the F1 grid.

IMO, Susie's failure to make it into F1 has nothing to do with women in F1. Her placement at Williams was far above where she should have been on pure merit. Shame on her for thinking that her gender and family connections should afford her special favors.

[Nitrodaze]

If her name was Sam Wolff and she was a male, would anyone be surprised that she/he isn't racing in Formula One?

I don't say this to be offensive, but Susie was relying on factors apart from her talent and racing accomplishments (or lack thereof) to get her an F1 seat - namely, her gender and her husband's connections. What male, 30-something racer, who'd never won a road course race in his life (much less a championship), would even dare to think that he'd EVER be on the F1 grid? And I'm sorry, but Carmen Jorda is an even bigger joke in that respect than Susie. Simona de Silvestro was/is someone who I think, with work, could make it onto the F1 grid. She's won in lower formulas (unlike Susie, Carmen or even Danica - a lonely win on an oval means little in F1) and from what's been written, she can relate to racing engineers and gives good feedback. Plus, she's not that old, she's tough (didn't even shake after being caught on fire) and she doesn't whine or act like she deserves special treatment (unlike Danica).

No one prevented Susie or Carmen from racing, instead of just hanging around the paddock on F1 weekends. Susie didn't even bother to try to get her Super License. I've heard that she's a nice person. But that and a dollar will buy you a cup of coffee these days. If you're a C or D student, you're not going to get into Harvard or Cambridge. And that's about where Susie's racing resume puts her. Too bad that Krooked Kaltenborn screwed over Simona, since she seemed to have the talent and ability to at least be respectable on the F1 grid.

IMO, Susie's failure to make it into F1 has nothing to do with women in F1. Her placement at Williams was far above where she should have been on pure merit. Shame on her for thinking that her gender and family connections should afford her special favors.

You say the obvious and what is easiest to say about this situation but carefully avoid the question. My point is, why bring her in if she wasn't going to be developed for racing. Is Carmen just another doll in a race suit for media attraction as well? Silvestro did not even get her feet into the cab of the Sauber.

I understand full well the competition these lady racers are up against. From GP2 champions to experienced F1 drivers, all waiting in the wings for an opportunity to driver a F1 car. My main point is that if they are wearing a race suit, then they should occasionally grace the race track so that we may see if they have what it takes.

[Starter]

If Montoya can transition to F1 from the indycar/Nascar series and make his mark in F1, the race winning female Nascar or Indycar driver would definitely be able to pull her weight in F1.
Not to pick knits with you, but Montoya climbed the traditional ladder into the 2nd top level of motorsports in Europe (wasn't he champ that year?) BEFORE he was farmed out to CART for a couple of seasons of experience. He went back to Europe for F1 before he did NASCAR and then back to IndyCar.

[Starter]

There are any number of talented female racers at the lower levels of motorsport. The problem is that the vast majority don't have either 1) the money or 2) the drive (perseverance) to stick it out long enough to advance to F1.

The idea that there should be separate venues for female drivers is ridiculous. Motorsport is the one sport where women can compete on an equal playing field with men. Especially with all the driver aids today. Because it's not about size or pure strength, it's about physical conditioning, reflexes, concentration and mental toughness in order to be competitive.

[COD]

Michelle Mouton in rallying proved that women can compete in top level motorsport succesfully. But though she was a great rolw model for women, there has never been another since. So its not about lack of role models, or some glass sealing. If a woman is good enough, she will make it. There just has not been any. Most of it is down to so few girls starting motorsport in the first place

[Nitrodaze]

Michelle Mouton in rallying proved that women can compete in top level motorsport succesfully. But though she was a great rolw model for women, there has never been another since. So its not about lack of role models, or some glass sealing. If a woman is good enough, she will make it. There just has not been any. Most of it is down to so few girls starting motorsport in the first place

It is great that you brought up the brilliant Michelle Mouton. Actually, Michelle Mouton is an example of a female driver that got the right level of support, encouragement and nurturing that is required for a female driver to succeed. One doesn't get to be good without these things. Hence if there is a lack of women presence in any series, that alone is evidence that they are not getting the support, encouragement and nurturing they require to get good enough.

Incidentally, Michelle Mouton got the sort of support that Lewis Hamilton got, incidentally Max Verstapenn is getting at the moment. And there is a parallel between the plight of women and Black drivers in European series. There are not many Black racers in top level racing in europe. Some series do not have any black drivers at all. I am sure you would like to say they are not good enough hence why they have not got a drive. But that is another matter, lets not cloud the female driver point of this thread.

Racing has to reach some level of diversity which allows talent of any orientation [gender etc] to be able to progress to the top level of motor sport. The talent would shine through given the right nurturing and encouragement.

[Bezza]

The problem with Susie Wolff is that she always comes across with a sense of entitlement. Indeed even in her "retirement" press announcement she states it is because F1 drive "isn't going to happen". The wording of it is quite accusatory and as if she has been hard done by.

If she really wanted to get an F1 drive, then she should have pushed for a drive in GP3 / GP2 and been competitive in that series.

She never deserved an F1 drive realistically based on her past results. I feel her cause has done more harm than good to women drivers in F1.

I would love to see a woman in F1 but I want to see one who has worked their way up the ladder by winning titles and being competitive, not some of form of tokenism or media story.

[Nitrodaze]

I would love to see a woman in F1 but I want to see one who has worked their way up the ladder by winning titles and being competitive, not some of form of tokenism or media story.

I totally agree that F1 seats should be earned by deserving and very capable female drivers. I certainly thought Silvertro was a genuinely good candidate for an F1 seat. With an Indycar podium under her belt, she has the credentials to do well in F1. I think, give her a good car, she probably could drive in the top ten and possibly earn a podium.

Desire Wilson won 3 races in 1980 and 4 podiums in 1988. She is currently the most successfull F1 female driver to date.

[Jag_Warrior]

You say the obvious and what is easiest to say about this situation but carefully avoid the question. My point is, why bring her in if she wasn't going to be developed for racing. Is Carmen just another doll in a race suit for media attraction as well? Silvestro did not even get her feet into the cab of the Sauber.

I understand full well the competition these lady racers are up against. From GP2 champions to experienced F1 drivers, all waiting in the wings for an opportunity to driver a F1 car. My main point is that if they are wearing a race suit, then they should occasionally grace the race track so that we may see if they have what it takes.

If I had enough money, Lotus would let my old a$$ hang around the garage in a race suit. She's cute, has some backing and she likes wearing her short-shorts in the Lotus garage. If that's all she wants, that's cool. IMO, she should have spent her time becoming a better racer, instead of being a paddock princess. But she knows (deep down) that she's not capable of racing or even testing that car. Carmen has never accomplished anything of merit in racing. Not a single thing. Nada. She's even more unaccomplished than Susie. We can assume that Susie's hubby still being a William's shareholder and the fact that Williams is running Mercedes engines has everything to do with her placement. Why else would she be there? And they did let her test a couple of times. IMO, she should be happy with that. As has been said, this sense of entitlement that Susie and Carmen have is annoying.

Simona has actually won professional road course races and was very close to winning the title in Atlantics. She's legit. Susie and Carmen are not. Simona, I feel bad for. It's just unfortunate that some other team, besides Sly Sauber, didn't bring her in.

[Jag_Warrior]

I don't think the normal feeder series for F1 would produce female racers at the moment. They would have to come from other similar level series such as Indycar and Nascar where they would have gained some experience and have become race hardened. If Montoya can transition to F1 from the indycar/Nascar series and make his mark in F1, the race winning female Nascar or Indycar driver would definitely be able to pull her weight in F1.

It is interesting that you identify that the problem runs deep into the grassroots of european motor racing. These layers of barriers are only going to ensure that european female racers like Carmen Jorda have to make their way into F1 via the Nascar/Indycar series. Even so, it is still very hard for them.

Trying to make it into F1 via NASCAR or the IRL would be a complete waste of time, IMO. NASCAR is an (almost) all oval stock car series. So it really has no connection to Formula One. Other than some car swap promos/publicity stunts over the past decade or so, no NASCAR drivers have taken modern F1 cars for a run. Truly exceptional racers, like Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch, have had their names mentioned in F1 circles. But NASCAR, in general, has not and will not be a path to Formula One. The old CART series had several drivers transition to F1, with varying degrees of success. But those cars were pretty much on par with F1 cars in regard to horsepower/weight. The (IRL) Indycar that we have now, while more developed than previous iterations of the series, still has a horsepower/weight ratio just above GP2. And to the best of my knowledge (fading memory issues here), no IRL driver has ever gotten a legit test. I believe Marco Andretti was given a "test" by Honda several years ago as a "thanks" to his dad's team. But he wasn't in line for a drive - neither was Danica. So that series isn't a gateway to F1 either. The old ChampCar series, sort of like CART's weak little brother, produced a dominant champion in Sebastien Bourdais. There should be no argument that the dude could race a car. But having a hotshoe youngster as his teammate, combined with having to deal with the intricacies of F1, did not serve him well.

I say all of this to point out that while a female can/could get into IRL Indycar with a check (Pippa Mann, Milka Duno, et al), by being popular and having sponsorship (Danica Patrick) or by having stick-to-it-tiveness and/or talent (Simona di Silvestro, Kathrine Legge and Sarah Fisher), most of us (I believe you included) wants Formula One to be the pinnacle of motorsports. Personally, I would like to see more racers making it on talent and fewer making it based on bringing sponsorship or any sort of politics (political correctness included). If a female dominates in the IRL, that might get her a test in F1. I don't know. But I would say that winning a handful of races in GP2 and being in the top three in the standings would get the attention of an F1 team even more. There is simply no substitute for having a leg up by knowing many of the tracks and understanding the engineering culture in F1.

My idea... while Susie is tool old and doesn't have the talent to race in Formula One, she has been around the game long enough to be helpful to someone who is younger and does have the raw talent to some day race in Formula One. She has written for Huffington Post. And though Arianna Huffington no longer owns that site outright, she's still connected to it... and she has a boatload of money. The two of them could combine forces and foster a girl who actually could climb the ladder to F1. They could. The question is, do they want to do something real or just talk the talk, while refusing to walk the walk? Time will tell.

[COD]

Desire Wilson won 3 F1 races in 1980 and 4 podiums in 1988. She is currently the most successfull F1 female driver to date.

She was a bit less successfull than you give her credit

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiré_Wilson

[Nitrodaze]

Trying to make it into F1 via NASCAR or the IRL would be a complete waste of time, IMO. NASCAR is an (almost) all oval stock car series. So it really has no connection to Formula One. Other than some car swap promos/publicity stunts over the past decade or so, no NASCAR drivers have taken modern F1 cars for a run. Truly exceptional racers, like Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch, have had their names mentioned in F1 circles. But NASCAR, in general, has not and will not be a path to Formula One. The old CART series had several drivers transition to F1, with varying degrees of success. But those cars were pretty much on par with F1 cars in regard to horsepower/weight. The (IRL) Indycar that we have now, while more developed than previous iterations of the series, still has a horsepower/weight ratio just above GP2. And to the best of my knowledge (fading memory issues here), no IRL driver has ever gotten a legit test. I believe Marco Andretti was given a "test" by Honda several years ago as a "thanks" to his dad's team. But he wasn't in line for a drive - neither was Danica. So that series isn't a gateway to F1 either. The old ChampCar series, sort of like CART's weak little brother, produced a dominant champion in Sebastien Bourdais. There should be no argument that the dude could race a car. But having a hotshoe youngster as his teammate, combined with having to deal with the intricacies of F1, did not serve him well.

I say all of this to point out that while a female can/could get into IRL Indycar with a check (Pippa Mann, Milka Duno, et al), by being popular and having sponsorship (Danica Patrick) or by having stick-to-it-tiveness and/or talent (Simona di Silvestro, Kathrine Legge and Sarah Fisher), most of us (I believe you included) wants Formula One to be the pinnacle of motorsports. Personally, I would like to see more racers making it on talent and fewer making it based on bringing sponsorship or any sort of politics (political correctness included). If a female dominates in the IRL, that might get her a test in F1. I don't know. But I would say that winning a handful of races in GP2 and being in the top three in the standings would get the attention of an F1 team even more. There is simply no substitute for having a leg up by knowing many of the tracks and understanding the engineering culture in F1.

My idea... while Susie is tool old and doesn't have the talent to race in Formula One, she has been around the game long enough to be helpful to someone who is younger and does have the raw talent to some day race in Formula One. She has written for Huffington Post. And though Arianna Huffington no longer owns that site outright, she's still connected to it... and she has a boatload of money. The two of them could combine forces and foster a girl who actually could climb the ladder to F1. They could. The question is, do they want to do something real or just talk the talk, while refusing to walk the walk? Time will tell.

Jag, it is always great to read your posts and you speak wisely. I have to say that l agree with you completely that we want F1 to be the pinnacle of motorsport. And it should not be watered down for any reason. Having fewer cars on the grid has alot to do with the difficult and highly competitive path into this modern day F1. I talk about women drivers with the full knowledge that there are a host of very talented drivers out there deserving of a shot at driving a F1 car but are unable to find a drive. Throwing the plight of women drivers into this mix, especially since there is a lean supply of equivalent level of women drivers is admittedly reaching. It would be great to see a competent female driver in a F1 car in the near future. Maybe Silvestro would get another chance via another team.

[Jag_Warrior]

Thank you, Nitro. I appreciate that. And yes, Simona is someone who I've also liked for awhile. I like her attitude and I like her approach. I don't know her personally, but I don't believe there's a single thing about her that says, "entitlement". She's even said that she doesn't want to be seen (strictly) as a "female driver". I think that's smart on her part, because currently, that's like being in a tallest midget contest. And unlike Susie and Carmen, she didn't sit around and wait for too long before finding another ride and getting back in the cockpit. Unless (and even if) you're a GP2 champ, you can't stay on the sidelines for too long. My feeling is that both Susie and Carmen have avoided racing of late in order to keep people from seeing just how mediocre (at best) they are. Both have connections and/or access to money. And both could have been racing throughout this season... if they'd wanted to.

As I believe someone said earlier in this thread, the girls who are on the go-kart or lower formula tracks now are the ones who *may* make it to Formula One. Other than Simona, I can't think of a female who has recently won even a lower formula series race. And I think it does a disservice to all females when people cannot be honest (because it's a political correctness no-no to state the truth) and tell people like Susie Wolff or Carmen Jorda that they just don't have what it takes, and they're never going to be in an F1 car and actually race... unless someone is willing to write a huge check and put them in a backmarker car.

I'm never going to be the CEO of Bank of America. I came to that conclusion a long time ago. But rather than whine about it or hang around the BofA lobby, bothering the board members as they walked by, I took my career in another direction. There's nothing wrong with dreaming. But at some point, you have to get in tune with reality.