Formula 1 has promoted and encouraged the talks of more diversity in the sport. With their “We Race as One” initiative the sport had plans of opening its arms towards inclusivity. however, the lack of women in the sport has been alarming for many.
Lewis Hamilton one of the many drivers has spoken about the issues that this built around and the need for more women in the sport. And when he had the chance to do it again in Qatar, he made sure he voiced his opinion for a change.
Lewis Hamilton was asked about his take on having female f1 drivers. With Aston Martin recently having a female driver take their car for a test drive, conversations about having more women come forward have come into discussion. Hamilton said,
“I feel like we need to amend the criteria [to join F1] and make sure that there’s an opportunity for real impact. Making sure that if there is a new team, they have to be diverse, they have to, perhaps, create an opportunity for a female driver to come through.”
“At the moment it’s all white owners, there’s a real lack of diversity from the top down. It’s all male, and that needs to change.”
#QatarGP 🇶🇦: Lewis Hamilton: “I feel like we need to amend the criteria [to join F1] and make sure that there’s an opportunity for real impact. Making sure that if there is a new team, they have to be diverse, they have to, perhaps, create an opportunity for a female driver to…
— deni (@fiagirly) October 6, 2023
His take on wanting a more diverse environment was heard. The river has shown his support for the women in the sport multiple times. He could be seen supporting the W-series before it was replaced with F1 Academy.
Lewis Hamilton hopes Andretti can accomplish his F1 goal
Andretti Global is one of the teams who seem to have made it official about their plans to join Formula 1. With FIA making it clear the only other team to successfully make it to F1 is Andretti, hopes are high. However, the team has seen some legal actions fly their way. Nonetheless, they seem to be looking forward to their bid to get into the sport. Meanwhile, Hamilton has put his faith in Andretti.
When talking about having women in F1, Hamilton hoped for Andretti to bring the diversity he wished. He said, “I think it’s great. I’ve always felt there weren’t enough cars on the grid. While there are definitely people who won’t be happy for me to be supportive of it, I think it’s great. It’s an opportunity for more jobs, it’s another two seats available for a female driver to come through. It opens up more possibilities and I think it would be more exciting for the race.”
“I feel like we need to amend the criteria actually and make sure that there’s an opportunity for real impact.” 🗣️
Lewis Hamilton has clarified his stance on Andretti joining the #F1 grid, and says the FIA criteria for new teams must change ⬇️https://t.co/L4vqWKGY9k
— Autosport (@autosport) October 7, 2023
Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, and many more have hoped to see change in the sport. Although F1 has introduced an all-female single-seater racing series, the drivers wish to see more.
The last female f1 driver to exist in Formula 1 was in 2014. Since then, men have been seen dominating the sport. As we further move to make a more secure and inclusive society for all as we bring equal opportunities, many have voiced for a female F1 driver.