#women in motorsport

[justwait-sunshine]

today in the chronicles of women in motorsport...

[slutforpringles]

Laura Winter's introduction on F1TV discussing, in light of the difficulties raised by recent events for women in the paddock/industry, the importance of female representation within F1 and wider motorsports in general.

[thepotentialof2007]

I can see how it warps the mind, the perception of the world and our place in it. Power is enticing. Like Lewis Hamilton? You can eat steaks that cost the same as your electricity bill and meet him again. You, too, can bask in the balding aura of Prince Harry and the fake glow of Instagram models. Any wealth and status you lack, you can perform. What I received wasn't a crash course in Formula 1—in fact, Formula 1 only became more mystifying to me—but journalism, as viewed by the other side. The great irony of the other side is that they need journalism. The petrochemical companies, deeply powerful institutions, need journalists to write about all the things they attach themselves to that are not being a petrochemical company. Formula 1, on a rapacious tangent for growth and new markets, needs journalists to spread the good word of the richest sport in the world. Unfortunately for the other side, journalism still remains a double-edged sword.

This article by Kate Wagner, published on 1 Mar 2024, was removed from Road & Track later that same day. Link goes to archived copy.

[lellalombardiapologist]

I'll make a more detailed post later but for now happy women's day to Maria Antonietta Avanzo who was refused a seat in a team in 1921 because they "wanted all cars to make it to the finish line" only to be later accepted and arrive 3rd in her cathegory, giving Tazio Nuvolari a hard time.

Happy women's day to Ada Pace, who stood on the podium alone because the 2nd and 3rd classified drivers could not tolerate standing on a step lower than a woman.

Happy women's day to Maria Teresa De Filippis, the first woman to drive in F1, who could not race in France because the organizer told her " the only helmet a woman should wear is a hairdresser's".

Happy women's day to Lella Lombardi, the only woman so far to conquer points in f1, who was asked if she was just a pretty doll in an interview.

Happy women's day to Giovanna Amati, who raced for Brabham in a terrible car and was used as a PR stunt and received minimal support.

Happy women's day to the girls and women racing today, hoping for a better future.

[idontshitpostbuttheolympicpark]

Susie Wolff on the allegations made against her and Toto on collusion involving her role as the head of F1 Academy.

[dancing-on-inters]

@formulatrash sent out a plea, and I have finally answered. I, too, could not get this shot out of my head. The second one is for those of you who might want to see her take the shirt off as well.

[aviscarrentals]

i see so many men saying girls only watch f1 because they find the drivers hot but the second a woman gets a seat they’re going to start sexualizing and objectifying the fuck out of her

[robinfrinjs]

Always There, Women in Motorsport: The fast women of la belle époque

Women's history in motorsport is rich, and that has always been the case. Most of these stories however aren’t well known and aren’t spoken about enough. Women have always been in motorsport and always will be.

Three French women, Hélène van Zuylen, Camille du Gast, and Anne de Rochechouart de Mortemart are some of the fastest women from France’s La Belle Epoque (circa 1880-1914).

In 1898 Anne de Rochechouart de Mortemart (1847-1933) (also known as the Duchess of Uzes) became the first woman in France to obtain her driver’s license. While getting out of the car she announced with delight that woman had just overcome a new barrier. Not long after she also became the first to be caught speeding for which she had to pay a five franc fine.

in 1926 she founded the first female Automobile Club, L'Automobile Club féminin de France (ACFF)

The Duchess of Uzes in 1927

Hélène van Zuylen (pictured on the cover image) was a French author but also the first woman to compete in an international auto race. Baron Etienne van Zuylen, her husband, was the President of the Automobile Club de France

She entered the 1898 Paris–Amsterdam–Paris using the nickname Snail, while her husband used the nickname Escargot. She successfully competed the trail and entered the Paris-Berlin race in 1901 but was stopped by technical failure.

That year Hélène, a lesbian, would meet Renée Vivien with whom she would have an affair. Vivien's letters to a confidant revealed that she considered herself married to Hélène. Most of Vivien's work is dedicated to "H.L.C.B.," the initials of Zuylen's first names.

Just over a decade before she died, Hélène van Zuylen created the Renée Vivien Prize, Honoring the woman she loved and intending to give encouragement to female writers.

Hélène van Zuylen - Nouvelle Revue internationale illustrée, December 1908

Camille du Gast (1868-1942) finished 33rd (19th in class) out of 122 participants in the 1901 Paris-Berlin race. Du Gast, achieved the results despite driving her husband's 20CV Panhard-Levassor which was not designed for racing. She had to start the race in last because she was a woman. The race did mark 2 female competitors with du Gast and van Zuylen. She loved several extreme sports such as mountaineering, parachuting and frencing.

In 1902 she competed in the Paris-Vienna race and also wanted to compete in the New York-San Francisco but was refused entry because she was a woman.

In 1903 she would start the Paris-Madrid race. Which she would enter with a proper racing car, a works 5.7-litre de Dietrich car. It was a chaotic race with 207 competitors which unfortunately saw several deaths. Camille started in 29th and gained 9 positions in the first 120 km. She had climbed up to P8 before stopping to give medical aid to a fellow driver, Phil Stead (also driving a de Dietrich) involved in a near-fatal crash.

Camille du Gast in her 30 hp De Dietrich with starting number 29 during the 1903 Paris-Madrid Race

Later one of the leading drivers at that time, Charles Jarrot said that if Camille had not stopped Stead likely would have died. After an ambulance arrived she continued the race eventually finishing 44th or 45th in the shortened race.

The French government would stop the race at Bordeaux, as over half of the field (275 cars) had either crashed or retired and several drivers and spectators had died.

Open road racing was banned, so in 1904 Camille wanted to participate in the French elimination trial for the Gordon Bennett races, as the Benz factory team offered du Gast a race seat. But the Autosport Club France (ACF) banned women from racing. Du Gast published a letter in protest but the ban was defended as the ACF could not risk a woman getting injured or killed in a racing event.

Because of this she ventured to boat racing. One of those races was caught by a big storm which saw most competitors either abandon their ship or they sank. She was rescued and later declared the winner of that race.

Eventually she had to put a halt to her adventurous life when she survived an assassination attempt by her daughter. Nothing was ever the same for her after that. From that point she devoted herself to animals. She would serve as president of the 'French Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals'

NEXT UP > More female racing drivers from the early 1900s

[hungriestheidi]

endless series of women in motorsports: Doriane Pin (January 6th, 2004, France) is racing driver commonly nicknamed the Pocket Rocket. She is the 2022 Ferrari Challenge Europe Champion. She has previously competed in F4 SEA, where she finished 2nd, is currently competing in F4 UAE, and will drive in WEC with the Iron Dames and in F1 Academy as a Mercedes Junior Driver. (for @crimsonicarus)

[mxgicdave]

I've been working on this project so much, it's strange to call it finished! SO introducing, my speculative publication Parc Fermé, a monthly newspaper that would focus on women in motorsports. Though mostly a design project, I had to come up with all the content inside, which wouldn't have been possible with all the wonderful people who responded to the survey I put out last month. So thank you so much to everyone who helped me, and everyone who offered support and interest in this project. You can view the full presentation of this project on my Behance.

Make sure to tune in to F1 Academy's first broadcasted race weekend from Oct 20-22nd, and to show your support for women's contributions to this sport that we all love!!

[slutforpringles]

I'm all for calling out F1's misogyny and often outright disdain for women, but when I wake up to see multiple drivers (including Daniel) making ignorant, dismissive and insentitive comments about the ongoing Horner/Red Bull situation, and yet only see these essay-length think pieces on here about Daniel's comments, it feels decidedly less like people who actually care about calling out misogyny, and instead seems to be people using these comments to dunk on a driver (and their fans) that they don't like.

So to those people; I really hope to see your posts about Lance Stroll saying "I just like driving cars" in today's press conference when asked about the situation, or Hulkenberg answering "I'm not really affected. I read it, I see it." Also hope to see people criticise Perez's comments on his unequivocal support for Horner: "Yes, he does,” Perez told the press, when asked directly if Horner has his backing as Red Bull team principal.

As I said, please continue to call out the misogynistic system that F1 supports, but using this whole situation to score some points from other people who also dislike a driver feels pretty exploitative of the actual seriousness of the ongoing case.

[formulanni]

Susie Wolff as The Empress Tarot:

The Empress is a mother, a creator, and nurturer. She can represent the creation of life, romance, art, or business. The Empress can represent the germination of an idea before it is ready to be fully born, and the need to be receptive to change. The Empress is representative of the productivity of the subconscious, seeded by ideas.

[anonduck07]

I’ve recently started watching F1 Academy and I’ve found it pretty good so far, so here’s a guide I made in hopes it gets more people watching it too. If you can’t tell, yes I’ve got a favourite driver, and yes it’s Doriane Pin. As always this is also on my instagram, as you can tell by the squareness of it all.

[httpsmemories]

Translation of Doriane Pin's post-race interview with Canal+ about what happened at the end of the race.

(🎥 Source)

Interviewer: One last thing, about the little misunderstanding at the end, could you tell us more ? Doriane: I…Radio problems! Doriane: The last thing I heard on radio was 'Keep pushing!" to get the fastest lap during the race so I pushed but I kept asking 'How many more laps to go?" and got no anwers. Doriane: Therefore I kept pushing but I did not know that the checkered flag was out… Doriane: But I finished safely and that is what matters the most. Interviewer: Congratulations. Doriane: Thank you.

[quattroneuville]

Podium celebration for Race 1, Round 5 of 1992 DTM season at Hockenheimring, as Ellen Lohr became the only women to have ever won a DTM race.

She won over her two teammates (Bernd Schneider and Keke Rosberg) and also set the fastest lap.

[source]