Gender equality has just taken another big step forward in the world of motorsport with Formula E’s announcement of a first ever “all women” test session that will take place within an FIA accredited championship. That’s right, on Thursday 7th November, Formula E will be giving up to twenty two women, (all teams need to nominate at least one female but two is preferable), the chance to test the Season 11 GEN3 Evo car that will be used for the upcoming year. The test will be taking place at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, Spain as part of the series’ pre-season testing schedule.
With the world of motorsport still of a predominantly male environment, this initiative coming from Formula E is “part of a broader long-term strategy to remove barriers and expand opportunities for women within the all-electric championship.” In fact, the drivers taking part in the test will have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves into the world of a top-tier motorsport championship by taking part in several media opportunities, team activities and half a day’s on track action. The end goal? Raising the profile of female racing drivers in, not just elite motorsport, but motorsport as a whole.
A statement released by Jeff Dodds, CEO of Formula E reads:
“We know there isn’t a simple solution for greater diversity in motorsport. If we’re going to truly give women equality, opportunity and visibility in our series, however, conditions for all need to be the same to aid their development and test themselves against those already on the starting grid.”
“Unlike other series where women drivers have to use old or restricted machinery, they’ll be using the state-of-the-art GEN3 Evo car that accelerates 30% faster than an F1 car, just as our Championship drivers do.”
“We also recognise that one test will not solve the longstanding issue, but we have to start somewhere, knowing there is a long way to go and making sure we’re making proactive, consistent steps that continue to make forward progress. As a motorsport with an almost-equal split of male and female fans, as well within Formula E including my Exec and Director teams, we believe it’s only right that our drivers and wider ecosystem is representative of those that follow and support the sport.”
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the line up of participating drivers has yet to be announced, but is expected to be gradually revealed by each Formula E team within the next few weeks. That being said, who can we expect to see taking to the cockpit of these electric race cars? Marta Garcia, Alice Powell and Tatiana Calderon are just a handful of female drivers who have already had the privilege of testing for FE teams in the past. Could they get another chance? Or, how about Jamie Chadwick and her Andretti connections, currently racing with them in Indy NXT? There are, in theory, plenty of well deserving female racing drivers out there who should revel in this opportunity.
As of October 2024, only three women - Katherine Legge, Simona de Silvestro and Michela Cerruti, have competed in Formula E since it's inaugural race back in 2014. Going into Season 11, not a single female will sit behind the wheel in the coming year, disregarding test sessions, of course. Could this test be about to influence the current gender algorithm in the world of Formula E, or motorsport as a whole?
Season 11 of Formula E gets underway in São Paulo, Brazil on Saturday 7th December.
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