F1 News: Pundit Blasted After The Hungarian Grand Prix - "Taking Feminism Backwards"
F1 pundit and former racing driver Danica Patrick has come under fire after making comments about women in motorsport during the coverage of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Sky Sports introduced a new feature to their coverage of the race weekend in Budapest which went down well with fans. They brought a number of 'junior' reporters in to help cater to the younger audience. The young reporters did some commentary, pit lane reporting, and also have the incredible opportunity to interview many of the drivers and team principals.
Whilst speaking to one of the young pundits, Scarlett, Patrick spoke about women in motorsport.
She commented:
"As I've always said in my whole career, it takes 100 guys to come through to find a good one, and then it takes 100 girls. That takes a long time to find a good one, right? It's just, the odds are not in favour of there always being one or being many of them.
"And at the end of the day, I think that the nature of the sport is masculine. It's aggressive. You have to, you know, handle the car - not only just the car, because that's a skill, but the mindset that it takes to be really good is something that's not normal in a feminine mind, in a female mind.
"You have to be, like, for me, I know if somebody tries to bow up or make it difficult on me, I would go into like an aggressive kill mode, right? You just want to go after them, and that's just not a natural feminine thought. I say that because I've asked my friends about it, and they're like, 'Yeah, that's not how I think'."
Whilst Patrick has highlighted the unbalance between men and women in motorsport, which is something which is actively trying to be changed, the comments have missed the mark. Fans have been calling the former driver out for discouraging young and enthusiastic females who are keen to enter the industry.
YouTuber Mike Channel commented on the situation to Twitter, writing:
"Watched the F1 Juniors broadcast to spice up the Grand Prix. The kids did a great job. Felt a bit sorry for Scarlett when Danica Patrick told her women were at an inherent disadvantage in racecars. For what it's worth I disagree: precision, focus and drive aren't male-exclusive.
"Even if you believe that in your heart, maybe try not to crush a young girl's dreams on live TV"
Another fan blasted the reporter for "taking feminism back twenty years". They wrote:
"I need someone to get Danica Patrick off my screen. she's taking feminism back 20 years"
Someone else posted:
"@SkySportsF1 why would you put Danica Patrick on F1 kids? Girls need role models not someone saying you have to be aggressive to be in F1 and that’s not a female trait. Makes aggression sound like a bad thing but in sport applied properly it’s positive. Taking feminism backwards"
Although Patrick's achievements as a women in motorsport can be inspirational to young girls, including being the first woman to win a IndyCar series race and to secure a pole position in NASCAR, there is such an emphasis on encouraging more young girls to join the sport and comments like this can be discouraging.