Pierre Gasly believes the chances are good he could face a female rival in Formula 1 during his career.
Although F1 is not restricted by gender, no woman has attempted to qualify for a grand prix for more than 30 years. However recent years have seen new efforts to encourage more women to participate in motor sport.
An all-female single-seater championship, W Series, was founded in 2019, but collapsed last year. A new series for women, backed by F1, was set up last year. F1 Academy will appear exclusively on the support bills of grands prix next year.
With few women due to race in the series which award the most FIA superlicence points next year, the prospects of a female competitor appearing in F1 soon are remote. But Gasly, who made his F1 debut in 2017, sees a realistic chance he will face a female competitor later in his career.
“I would not be surprised,” said Gasly. “I think it is definitely possible.
“There is a lot of efforts put in place from the organisation, from our team in supporting women in our sports category. I’m sure if one woman really shows that she’s got the speed and talents to be part of the 20 best drivers in the world, I’m sure she’ll be given an opportunity.”
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Gasly drives for Alpine, which launched a programme called ‘Rac(h)er’ in 2022 to encourage more women to participate in motorsport as drivers as well as engineers and mechanics. Its junior driver roster features several female racers: Sophia Floersch, Abbi Pulling and several karters.
World champion Max Verstappen spoke highly of his sister Victoria’s karting abilities when RaceFans interviewed him earlier this year, though she did not pursue a career in motor racing. He believes getting more women involved at grassroots level is key to increasing female representation in F1.
“If you look at the percentage of men and women in racing, I think already for men the percentage [chance] is of course very low to get into Formula 1. So naturally, of course, for women, it’s even harder because there are less women.
“I do think physically driving F1 in some places is quite tough but I do think that it’s all train-able if you work hard for it. But it is, of course, naturally a little bit harder for a woman.
“But if you have enough talent, then of course it is possible because I don’t think team bosses are people who make decisions to choose their drivers, and look at it like ‘oh, no, we only go for…
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