Susie Wolff aiming for F1 superlicence after FW35 test

2013 F1 season

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Susie Wolff says her next objective is to get an F1 superlicence after being entrusted with the first run in the Williams FW35.

Wolff was the first person to drive the team’s new car in a straight-line aerodynamic test at Idiada last week.

She will do further aerodynamic tests in the car as she aims to increase her F1 mileage. “A superlicence is the next thing on the to-do list,” she told media in Barcelona.

Wolff said she will not be participating in Friday practice sessions this year. She is looking to race elsewhere after calling time on her DTM career.

“I stopped DTM because for me I had done seven years in DTM and felt there was nothing left more to achieve there,” she said. “I had tried my best, come to the best point I could, and there was no real way of moving forward there.”

“And when I made that decision it wasn’t consciously because I wanted to do more at Williams, I’d made that decision already in May of last year. It just so happened that I then got the opportunity for a Formula One test in October.

“This went well and I then got asked by Mike [Coughlan] to increase my role in the team and because I didn’t have a race programme like DTM which is quite full-on, I was able to dedicate a lot more of my time to working in the team and that’s what happened.

“It’s been a very natural progression. But my new year’s resolution was to stand on a podium again so I’m not done with racing yet. I think I’ll look into doing some GT races or so, just because I enjoy racing so much.”

But she ruled out an appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours: “Unfortunately my husband has forbidden me from ever doing Le Mans, so Le Mans is off the programme!

“But, yes, Spa 24 Hours or some of the big highlight races would be really good and challenging to do.”

Toto “not an enemy of the team”

Wolff’s husband Toto left Williams to become the executive director at Mercedes’ Formula One team last month. “It’s not that he’s an enemy of the team any more, he’s still a friend of the team,” said his wife.

“But obviously he has a big job to do at Mercedes. I’m definitely seeing much less of him these days, he must have a lot of work on his plate.

“Of course we’re all competitive people and one hundred percent there’s going to be some instances this year where one is happy on a Sunday night and one is maybe not so happy.

“But there was never any question of my role at Williams coming into doubt, I’m very much a proud member of the team, there was anyway a contract in place and there was never any discussions.”

“We still support each other and maybe just talk a little bit less about Formula One at home,” she added. “I remember when I came back from a day in the factory and he said ‘how was your day?’ And I said… ‘my day was fine’. No need to say any more!”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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78 comments on “Susie Wolff aiming for F1 superlicence after FW35 test”

  1. But she ruled out an appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours: “Unfortunately my husband has forbidden me from ever doing Le Mans, so Le Mans is off the programme!

    “But, yes, Spa 24 Hours or some of the big highlight races would be really good and challenging to do.”

    Whats the point of getting involved in endurance racing if you wont ever contemplate going to Le Mans??
    Guess I wont be seeing you in June Susie at La Sarthe; I’ll be there as usual though, just 120 days of painful waiting to go…

    1. I think what’s much worse about this statement is

      my husband has forbidden me from ever doing Le Mans

      I hardly think that’s helping move forward the profile of women in motorsport or tearing down stereotypes. I can’t think of any male F1 drivers saying openly that they wouldn’t go to another series or race on of the most prestigious events in world motorsport because their wife told them they couldn’t!

      1. @jerseyf1 Well, last year, while testing for Indycar, Barrichello said that his wife didn’t want him (or wouldn’t him) racing in ovals. He ignored him, though.

        1. @fer-no65 I seem to recall Ralf Shumacher’s wife saying he was rubbish at parking and couldn’t do it without reversing sensors which was quite funny.

          1. @jerseyf1 well, Ralf wasn’t good at many things, was he :P?

  2. “Unfortunately my husband has forbidden me from ever doing Le Mans, so Le Mans is off the programme!

    “But, yes, Spa 24 Hours or some of the big highlight races would be really good and challenging to do.”

    Is Le Mans a lot less safe than Spa 24? Indeed I do recall a few horrendous crashes with LMP1 cars – from which everybody walked away, though.

    As for her husband working for a rival team, I suspect inter-team romances are not new to Formula 1, and possibly less of an issue than intra-team romances (in particular with her husband formerly on the board of Williams). I remember reading in The Mechanic’s Tale by Steve Matchett, on his 1994 season with Benetton that his (then?) partner was working at Williams, without causing any problems in their relationship (that he wrote of, anyway).

    1. I’d say Spa is more dangerous actually, because it’s a shorter circuit, so it’s ‘busier’. That is supported by facts, as there have been more casualties at Spa in the last 30 years in endurance races than at Le Mans.

    2. I suppose the only way Spa is safer is that all the cars currently are in GT3 spec that run in the 24 hours rather than multi-classes like Le Mans. Thing is, there’s a lot less experienced drivers at Spa which to me makes it less safe than Le Mans.

    1. Maybe she meant a “Super” license plate. Well, in Texas you can get one for a few bucks. Or maybe another saying ” DTM LSR”.

  3. well that was awkward…

    1. Yeah..Is it me or do her statements seem dumb?

      1. yep: dumb! reaaaaally dumb!

  4. What does she need a superlicence for? She will never race in F1. If Maldonado gets a ban for going all crashy, they would not put her in the car instead, no way.

  5. “I stopped DTM because for me I had done seven years in DTM and felt there was nothing left more to achieve there,”

    surely winning the championship, or even a race…or even finishing on the podium was something to still achieve.

    1. My thoughts exactly… What she actually confirmed by leaving was that she wasn’t good enough to get a noteworthy result.

    2. Guess what she meant to say was “there was nothing that I could achieve there”.

    3. thatscienceguy
      21st February 2013, 13:04

      Well done on taking that completely out of context. The very next sentence she goes on to say that she wasn’t going to achieve anything more than she already had there, that she had reached the peak of her abilities in the category. She never said anything about winning, she actually seemed to accept in her very next sentence that she wouldn’t win a race or championship there.

      1. Ah, so she admitted up front to being awful.

    4. “I stopped DTM because for me I had done seven years in DTM and felt there was nothing left more to achieve there,”

      surely winning the championship, or even a race…or even finishing on the podium was something to still achieve.

      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!! YES! Awesome!!! :)

  6. Susie Wolff says her next objective is to get an F1 superlicence after being entrusted with the first run in the Williams FW35.

    I’m not sure what her plan is. If Wolff wants a superlicence, then I’m guessing she wants to race at some point (because who would want a superlicence just to drive around on Friday mornings?). But I can’t see her racing any time soon; not because I don’t she has the talent, but because I can’t see any place for her to race. I very much doubt Williams will give up on Maldonado or Bottas any time soon unless they absolutely had to, and without any open-wheel racing experience since she took part in two Formula 3 races at Donington in 2005, I can’t see her being a viable prospect for any other team.

    1. Well, the question is why not?

      If she’s come to Formula 1 and become a test driver it seems logical that the next step would be to get a superlicence. I understand that looking realistically at things chances for her to race in F1 are very small to say the least, but let her dream :) I believe that no current F1 driver got there without dreaming (apart from talent, determination, hard work and a big share of luck).

      1. t does make sense for her to have the superlicense, just in case something happens to one of their front-liners.

  7. I stopped DTM because for me I had done seven years in DTM and felt there was nothing left more to achieve there,

    Read: “I stopped DTM because for me I had done seven years in DTM and realized I had achieved nothing, so it was a waste of time”

    Hope she gets the superlicense, tho !

    1. 72 DTM races, 2 top 10 (and therefore) points finishes. Easy to see why she’s ‘moved on’. Can’t think how she’d be any better driving a Williams really.

  8. @Keith I think you used the wrong picture.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2281580/Susie-Wolff-tipped-British-female-race-Formula-One.html

    Obviously female racing drivers can only be represented wearing feminine attire! Just like we have so many photos of all the male drivers topless in board shorts!

    1. @oblong_cheese sexism, sexism everywhere.

      Gotta hate that thing… it’s so anachronic

      1. Try reading the comments on that article. Theres a reason it’s nicknamed the Daily Fail.

        1. Actually, one could argue that the Daily Mail does a much better job on their article than this one, given that they include multiple pics of her in her professional attire, and yet they still provide a picture that shows us all what a beautiful woman she is as well. Pictorially-representing the complete package and not just stereotyping her as a racing driver, thank you very much.

      2. Err… in the wrong temporal order? How so?

    2. Agree about the picture. It’s what the world expects everywhere: whether it be in the music industry or tennis, people should be portraited as good looking as possible.

    3. They could have at least photoshopped some alpine stars onto those fetching pink stiletto’s

    4. I had to upload this picture of Schumacher, just had to. Imagine every F1 article about him had this picture! http://i.imgur.com/Nro9902.jpg

      1. Now that would be complete horror …

        Just imagine a modern day sportsperson actually promoting smoking!

        1. I’d be more worried about seeing ‘Ferrari – The Swimsuit Edition’ or ‘Dancing with Red Bull Racing ON ICE’, though.

          1. especially as it would probably mean we would not even see our F1 heroes, but some girls chosen for a combination of looks and movement instead. And a flashy clothing (or rather lack of clothing) desing

        2. The Marlbro Man wants his hat back!

    5. Great legs though!

  9. “Unfortunately my husband has forbidden me from ever doing Le Mans, so Le Mans is off the programme!”

    Way to empower women Susie! O_o

    1. I Love the Pope
      21st February 2013, 15:25

      So if my wife doesn’t want me to race cars on the weekend because she fears for my life and her and the kids going on without me, I should ignore her to feel “empowered”?

      Really? Why is what Susie said offensive?

      1. It’s offensive because she’s implying that her husband’s need for her isn’t fulfilled by her reaching for her dreams, and that she accepts that and is willing to curtail her dreams for him.

        1. I love the Pope
          22nd February 2013, 0:15

          I don’t get it. My dreams come before my wife? That would make me incredibly selfish and a terrible husband. Why would I get married if I didn’t seek to give all for her, even if that meant giving some things up? I really don’t get it, and neither does my wife.

          1. And would giving all for her include forbidding her not to do things that meant a lot to her? Get it?

  10. Got this classic piece from kimi’s interview

    Interviewer: There are those drivers who train intensively, for example Jenson Button with his triathlons, or Mark Webber with his biking. You don’t appear to be that kind of person…
    KR: You don’t know that – you don’t know what I do! I do my thing, but I have no interest to tell! (laughs)

    1. ho ho its gets better

      Q: So you are not the Jedi master taking an apprentice under his wings?
      KR: This is not Hollywood – this is Formula One. I try to figure out my own stuff.

    2. That interview is a couple of days old and it´s already a classic??? Really…
      I find it funny how you can consider anything Kimi says as a classic just because he´s being himself and not giving a poop about political correctness… He´s just being himself!

  11. I’m keen to see what she can do. It seems to me that if she can drive the simulator at a representative level then she would more than likely qualify the Williams easily enough assuming she could handle the pressure. The big question mark would be over race craft because she’s been out of racing for a while and out of single seaters for even longer. It would be very interesting to see how quick she could be though!

    1. People also shouldn’t forget the fact that she was the best female karter in the world just over 10 years ago, so she is probably a lot better than all of us! Probably ahead of the Caterham and Marussia anyway

  12. It’s very easy to read this article and see a number of opportunities to bash Susie. As a well known cynical knocker of drivers I think are not up to much (Grosjean, sutil, the list goes on) I’m quite guilty of it myself. In the circumstances, I think she’s been pretty courageous and honest, actually.

    By admitting there was not much likelihood of going further in the dtm, she’s only saying what a lot of others have for months: She wasn’t a top flight driver. The comment about “my husband won’t let me” is evidence of pressure a lot of male drivers face from partners and family in the same situation. Motor racing is dangerous. Maybe a driver is happy to take on those risks, and we like to see that in our armchairs at home, but when a car launches into the air, or speeds towards a barrier at 200 miles an hour, it’s a very different experience if you’re that driver’s wife, husband, parent, child… Maybe you could argue that she should be a real racer and ignore her husband’s wishes. You, however, won’t have to sit in hospital, if it goes wrong. Lots of people were outspoken about Dan Weldon’s death last year. However, their lives went on as usual, unlike his family’s. Another way of reading it is that two adults had a mature discussion and decided what was best for their relationship. It’s none of our business, really, and I don’t think it’s unhealthy.

    I have a lot more respect for someone who is being up front about their racing, their abilities, and their approach to life than I do for many of the serial chancers and bull plop artists who wander round interviews lying about whose fault an accident was, or what their chances are, or whether or not they’re capable of driving the car without crashing.

    1. It’s very easy to read this article and see a number of opportunities to bash Susie.

      Yeah, at least she’s not a pay driver.

    2. Great post @hairs. I agree that while she is probably not going to be our next racing superstar, she never even says she is or should be.

      Doing a solid job to help the team on, and looking for achievable targets to work on.

    3. Difference is male drivers “know” that nothing bad is going to happen to them…
      Rationally of course they must understand the extreme physics involved and acknowledge the real statistical risk.

      But emotionally I think there is no other way of approaching an extreme sport if you want to be competitive.

    4. I have no statistics about that but I think nowadays Formula 1 is way less dangerous than skiing for example. There are not a lot of massive crashes, and when it happens, the driver goes out of the car in 10 seconds (Webber in Valencia, Rosberg in Abu Dhabi,…).

      1. You’re mistaking statistical likelihood with emotional attachment.

        It’s easy to sit at home and think “well that’s actually pretty safe”. If it was your child or partner sitting in that seat, statistics take a back seat to emotions.

  13. I Love the Pope
    21st February 2013, 13:05

    There is no point to that Susie.

  14. Wolff’s husband Toto left Williams to become the executive director at Mercedes’ Formula One team last month. “It’s not that he’s an enemy of the team any more, he’s still a friend of the team,” said his wife.

    translation: williams might get mercedes turbo power for next year, IF…..

    Sad….

    1. @melkurion – I don’t see anything in Wolff’s comments to suggest that Williams will get Mercedes engines in exchange for giving his wife a racing seat. Especially considering that Williams have an option in their Renault contract to continue using Renault engines in 2014.

  15. “I remember when I came back from a day in the factory and he said ‘how was your day?’ And I said… ‘my day was fine’. No need to say any more!”

    – must be a bit awckward that!

    I am sure you did try to find out how much Toto being with Williams did to help Susie get the job, its still a bit of a mystery how the connection came other than through him Keith.

    On the other hand, her being active with the FIA in promoting more females to participate in motorsports might have been part of it as well, sure enough they worked on that with both Monisha Kaltenborn and Maria de Villota last year.

    1. And Bernie is always looking for pretty girls to be involved in F1, eg Danica Patrick.

      1. You mean its a tie in with signing the Concorde Agreement :-)?

        I do agree that its just the kind of thing Bernie would do.

  16. DK (@seijakessen)
    21st February 2013, 13:58

    Susie Wolff was a glorified DTM backmarker. There’s no way to move forward if you aren’t any good at that. That her husband forbid her from doing Le Mans is sad. Maybe he is afraid Bruno will brake check her on the Mulsanne Straight?

    She only is involved with Williams because of her husband which isn’t really news to anyone. It’d be nice to see her disappear altogether.

    Having women involved in driving F1 cars for the sake of it is pointless. I have no problem with them being involved assuming they have any real talent, none of which Susie has ever exhibited. I’d prefer they’re not there because they have an eye candy factor involved.

  17. I can see her getting a drive with an F1 team. Sadly, in these days few people get a drive on merit alone; and it is unlikely on merit she would get a drive (on past performance). With many teams, it is the driver who can gain the most sponsorship who gets a drive. Sponsors look for unique selling points on all of their drivers, hence she is likely to gain sponsorship. I just hope that I am proved wrong – either by her getting a place on merit or that she does not get a place at all.

  18. To be honest, I’m pretty cynical about a lot of female drivers, because they are excused too much. I was glad to see Danica Patrick do well when she did, but she was very inconsistent in Indycar and it remains to be seen what she does at the Daytona 500. Suzie Wolff never impressed in DTM, but let’s not forget there have been plenty of male backmarkers in there who did fine in open wheelers. I understand why she would want her superlicence, but since she’s not confirmed as a 3rd driver, I doubt Williams would call upon her when Maldonado or Bottas are not able to drive.

    I’m not too sure about her appeal to sponsors. Look at a driver like Sarah Fischer, she was in Indy before Danica Patrick was and once she started doing well, Sarah was basically forgotten by the media. If Suzie gets a F1 driver (complete speculation, though) I highly doubt brands would want to be the sponsor of a driver who is outpaced or crashes a lot, regardless of gender.

    If Lotus keeps Beitske Visser, who won a lot in karting and in Formula ADAC (including one race where she won despite having a broken back from the day before), she might be one of the first females to make it through to high ranked open wheelers – as long as she keeps winning.

    1. I Love the Pope
      21st February 2013, 15:27

      And winning should be the measure. Not sex and not money.

    2. I think she may be doing something F3 next year with Lotus. I’m also interested as to how Simona de Silvestro will do now she is with KV Racing in Rubens’ old seat.

  19. Is it just me or does anybody else think she kind of looks like Resse Witherspoon??

  20. Male opinions on a woman’s place in motorsport are truly enlightening. But seriously folks, how about checking those knee-jerk reactions at the door, eh? Look, say, hypothetically speaking, if Monisha Kaltenborn’s husband were a middling driver in some series and announced he was striving for a superlicense we’d laugh it off, probably, but it would pretty much end there, right? The discussion would stop at ability and nepotism. Why the need to go off on what you think about one gender’s place in the sport vs another’s? If we claim to only want to think in categories of ability, then how about we stick to that?

    1. +145323. Some of the comments on here have been rather irritating.

    2. I Love the Pope
      21st February 2013, 17:19

      And if some of us think differently? Is it a crime to look at the world differently than you?

      1. I don’t really understand your comment. Where do you get this ‘crime’ thing? …and ‘differently’ in what way?

        1. I love the Pope
          22nd February 2013, 1:18

          Some of us don’t really see the point of women racing…or boxing and wrestling for that matter.

          1. Then again, many don’t see the point of men doing these things either, that’s ok, as essentially there is not that much “point” to doing a sport anyway.

            But what is the difference between thinking there’s not “much point” in women doing these sports, and them rather not doing football, tennis, sailing, tae-kwon-do etc either? Shouldn’t that be the choice of the person involved. If they want to do a sport, why bar them from doing so (not as a family member that is, but in general).

          2. I Love the Pope
            22nd February 2013, 13:02

            We don’t ascribe to the notion that just because something can be done, it ought to be.

  21. “But she ruled out an appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours: “Unfortunately my husband has forbidden me from ever doing Le Mans, so Le Mans is off the programme!”

    I’m sure it was said in jest. A mix between Scottish and German humour!

    1. Australian sorry :p

  22. “If Susie is as quick in a car as she looks good out of a car then she will be a massive asset to any team and on top of that she is very intelligent. I am really looking forward to having her in Formula One.”

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