F1 News: Former Team Boss Backs F1 Academy As He Outlines Regret Of Not Bringing In Female Driver

His one last regret in the sport was the absence of a 'top-class' Formula 1 lady driver.

Former team principal of the Jordan Grand Prix team Eddie Jordan spoke about the progress of women in motorsports while conversing with F1 legend David Coulthard on the 'Formula For Success’ podcast. During the discussion, he revealed his single regret in Formula 1.

He expressed that though women have been making a lot of progress in the world of motorsports there was a lack of the same during 'their time' (referring to his and Coulthard's days in F1). He said:

“It’s just nice to see these girls coming out up front and going, and my one regret, and I think it’s probably your regret [addressing Coulthard] that, in our time, we haven’t seen a really top-class current Formula 1 lady driver.”

Coulthard then revealed the efforts he had been putting in to promote women in Formula 1, as a tribute to his sister Lynsay who was a very talented racer but sadly, she passed away nine years ago. He expressed his intention of training young girls in Karting to the extent that they're able to reach Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton levels. 

Saying that he saw no reason why women cannot compete with men in motorsports, he said:

“I’ve certainly been promoting and supporting women in motorsports as much as I can in the memory of my sister, Lynsay. She was a very talented racer, but never got the same support that I did.

“She passed away nine years ago now, but in her memory, I want to try and help young girls in karting develop their skills and get the sort of Max Verstappen treatment or the Lewis Hamilton treatment, where they’re really supported all the way through because physically, there’s no reason why women cannot compete with men in motor racing, [because] obviously we don’t have the same physical restrictions that would be in boxing or sprinting and all those sorts of things.”

Looking at a positive trend of women drivers coming forward to compete, both the gentlemen agreed that maybe, they could witness a female driver compete in F1 in their lifetime. Coulthard said:

“So anyway, I think in our lifetime, we might see it.”

But if you look at the real picture, Susie Wolff was the last woman to drive in Formula 1 in 2014 during a free practice session for the British Grand Prix. On a positive note though, she is the managing director of the F1 Academy setup by F1 with an aim to encourage females to participate and grow within the sport. The academy caters to all females in the junior series.

I would say that isn't a bad start at all. With the girls receiving a lot of aero from various personalities and their initiatives, it is about time we witnessed a top-of-the-class female racer in F1.