News: Formula E To Make History in Women’s Motorsport

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.

Daniel Ricciardo: Is This Really The End?

At one point or another, a racing driver ends up leaving the series where they made their name, integrating themselves into apart of motorsport history. And, for 8x Formula One race winner; Daniel Ricciardo, his time is nigh, and not for the first time either. Sadly enough, this could very well be the last. Regardless, throughout his 13 years in the series, specifically in recent years after his fun-loving portrayal in Netflix’s Drive to Survive; Ricciardo has become one of, if not the most popular driver on the F1 grid, leaving hoards of fans heartbroken at his mid-season exit. And, it’s not just the fans feeling blue with his departure. Several of Ricciardo’s competitors and racing friends have taken to social media, sending well wishes his way, while branding him a legend within our favourite sport. There is no denying, the outpouring of love for Danny Ric speaks volumes, which could easily explain as to why many are also disgruntled at the fact that the Red Bull family failed to give him the F1 "send off" that he deserves.

In the grand scheme of things, Ricciardo's career hasn't necessarily proved to be anything of a speciality. But, as with many an F1 driver, has included notable highs, lows and what ifs that have shaped it into one career fans may remember in the years to come. Like it or not, regardless of how his career played out, Ricciardo has, for sure, left his mark on the sport and fans all over the world, with some even still in denial that it seems as if this is it. But is it truly the end for our happy Australian?

The most realistic answer in this circumstance is yes. With only one seat currently vacant for 2025, at Sauber - which could be heading the way of Valtteri Bottas, Ricciardo’s options are almost non-existent. Almost, so to speak. Because, rumours are Formula One’s favourite past time and, as this season continues to evolve, Sergio Perez’s seat at Red Bull continues to come across as “under threat” from his consistently poor performances in 2024. If you’re new here, you may be wondering as to why Perez’s seat could be of such an importance to Ricciardo. Simply put, it’s his life line that could prolong his F1 career and give Red Bull one of the strongest line ups on the grid. This is believed to have been Red Bull’s plan all along, after resigning Ricciardo to the team as third driver at the start of 2023.

Alas, with Perez’s sponsorship and PR, he seems to be a shoe in to stay at Red Bull for 2025 alongside Max Verstappen, leaving Ricciardo simply with no where to go. His only F1 option would most likely be in the form of a reserve driver or, as new rumours suggest, an ambassadorial role, but now in his mid-30’s, would he want that?

There is no denying that Ricciardo’s career took a big hit after leaving the Red Bull team the first time at the end of 2018. He was lucky that they were there to rescue him in 2023. But, F1 and motorsport is cut throat, we know that. Should Ricciardo’s demise be really that all to surprising? Probably not. Regardless, one thing we can all agree on, he deserved better than the brutality he endured right at the end

Race Review: Singapore GP 2024

Remember the Singapore Sling Chicane that guaranteed some form of race fueled drama during the Singapore Grand Prix? Well, I'm not lying when I say that we could have done with it during this "snooze-fest" of a race in 2024, despite it being AWOL for the past decade. It's a shame that a race with great anticipation is being labeled this way, but with Lando Norris finishing twenty plus seconds ahead to second place man; Max Verstappen, it's hard not to feel a little subdued after missing out on what could have been a potential "spicy" battle in this interesting and nail biting championship.

With Norris starting on pole, alongside rival Verstappen, many were questioning as to whether the McLaren man could break his habit of "bottling" his start while on pole. Alas, he did, heading into a very clean, bar a couple of cars going wide, turn one, ahead of Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The leading pair would quickly drop Hamilton and his Mercedes, while trading fastest laps, giving us fans the reckless optimism that we needed to believe this race was going to go down to the wire. However, Norris had pace that Verstappen did not. With some encouragement from the McLaren team he would soon leave the Red Bull for dust, quickly gapping him to over five plus seconds.

So, with the leading battle over as quick as it begun, attention turned to the mid-pack, where Daniel Ricciardo would be the first to pit on Lap 11, almost all but confirming that he was on a two stop race, which could potentially have been his last in the series, as rumours go. Could this be why he took his time to let his frustrated VCARB team mate through in the latter stages of the race while on different strategies? Doubtful.

In what has been a common theme in modern day Formula One, tyre talk was definitely on the radar at the Singapore Grand Prix. "I'm sliding around like hell," Kevin Magnussen, returning from his one race ban, would tell his Haas team. Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz would also pit early on for a change of compound. Disappointingly for Albon, his pitstop would mark the beginning of the end of his weekend, with an overheating engine marking him as the first retirement from the race.

As for his teammate; Franco Colapinto, there was nothing but praise for the young Argentine, only in his 3rd Formula One race after replacing Logan Sargeant at Williams for the remainder of the season. "He's very good. Difficult to pass Colapinto." Sergio Perez tells his Red Bull team, after once again finding himself stuck in the mid-pack behind Colapinto and his Williams. However, Albon may not have the same opinion on his teammate if this race is anything to go by, accusing him of "divebombing" at Turn One of Lap 1. Oh, we do love heat of the moment radio messages.

There seemed to be plenty of frustrated radio messages being aired up and down the field during the race. Something to keep us entertained at least. Most notably was Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari. A poor qualifying saw the Monagasque start the race in 9th, before getting stuck behind Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso throughout the majority of the early stages of race. The Marina Bay Street Circuit is difficult to pass on. Like Monaco, qualifying is crucial and could be the undoing of a perfect weekend, just as Ferrari would discover, with only late-race team orders enabling them a crucial 5th place finish for Leclerc. After Sainz's early and only pitstop, at best he managed 7th.

Regardless of the overtaking difficulty Singapore brings to the calendar, there were still several moments throughout the race that would wake me up, hooking me to the action. If you can really call it that. Take Hamilton's late move on Yuki Tsunoda which would nearly see the Mercedes driver in the wall. Or, the moments several drivers, including Norris, would find themselves brushing up against the barrier. And, what about the George Russell and Leclerc battle towards the end? The moments were there. It was just unfortunate they had no consequences on the race itself. Remember the Safety Car? We haven't seen it in over 8 races!! No wonder the majority of my Twitter feed were calling for Magnussen to park his car up on track when he received a puncture in the closing stages. Spoiler; he got back to the pits, but later retired after posting a, now deleted, fastest lap.

One driver to watch during the race was McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who won last time out in Azerbaijan. After starting in 5th, the Australian would take advantage of astounding pace McLaren seemed to have accrued in recent times. After pitting, and finding himself back behind the Mercedes duo, the youngster would have some work on his hands as he fought his way back to 3rd. But, this was Norris' race, from the moment he walked through the paddock entrance on Saturday morning. Red Bull, however, would claw back as many points as they could, interestingly using Ricciardo and their sister team to steal the fastest lap point away from Norris.

For both McLaren and Red Bull, this race was promising. Are we being too optimistic in hoping for a down to the wire championship battle in the drivers and constructors? I for one hope not.

Next up: Texas baby!