Ferrari’s pledge to promote women racers ‘isn’t just marketing’

The CEO of all-women racing championship W Series has defended Ferrari following criticism of their claimed support for women racers.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said their Driver Academy should include women in future. The FDA currently features nine male racers and no females.

However W Series CEO Catherine Bond Muir defended the team. “I know that Ferrari have come into some flak on social media,” she said. “But what we all have to remember is if we cast our minds back to a year ago, there weren’t very many women involved in motorsport at a high level.

“If you look back to the amount of time that [the media] were writing about women in motorsport it was much, much less than it is now. I think what we have to applaud is that the tide is rising for all women in motorsport. And I think what Ferrari is trying to do is to help that tide to rise.

“I don’t think it is just a marketing plan, I think that they really, genuinely want to see if they can get a woman into Formula 1 and if they can attract a young superstar and take them through their academy and be the team to get a driver into Formula 1 then frankly, hats off to them.”

Bond Muir added she hoped any driver Ferrari managed to promote into F1 “would come from W Series”. The championship will support two F1 races in Mexico and the USA this year.

Ferrari’s Driver Academy line-up this year includes Marcus Armstrong, Mick Schumacher, Callum Ilott and Giuliano Alesi (pictured) plus Robert Shwarzman, Enzo Fittipaldi, Gianluca Petecof, Arthur Leclerc and Dino Beganovic.

Formula Regional European racer Sophia Floersch was among those who criticised Binotto’s comments, writing on social media: “What a discussion. Is this the spirit of modern people? As long as we are just marketing stuff in racing nothing will change. We have to show that we are equal. Proof of concept. Like Michele Mouton.”

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