Stewart makes bold women in F1 suggestion

Sir Jackie Stewart has advocated for more women to race in F1, arguing the championship needs to have a more diverse cohort of drivers and that the silver bullet is greater access to karting.

Speaking exclusively on the RacingNews365.com podcast, the three-time F1 champion highlighted the lack of karting in his era of racing, emphasising that greater opportunities in grassroots motorsport have allowed younger drivers to get a foothold on the ladder to grand prix racing.

Increased access and opportunities for women in motorsport have grown exponentially in recent years, as awareness around the issue has been raised. However, there is still a long way to go to reach parity with men.

Series such as F1 Academy, and W-Series before it, have provided young women drivers a higher profile, but it is not since 1992 that a woman has entered an F1 race, when Giovanna Amati entered three grand prix for Brabham.

The 1976 Austrian Grand Prix, years after Stewart won the final of his three drivers' titles, was the last time a woman, Lella Lombardi, started a race in F1.

She is also the last - and only - woman to score F1 championship points, finishing sixth in the Spanish Grand Prix the year prior.

When asked what he makes of F1 drivers getting younger and younger, Stewart zeroed in on the growth of karting to use as a lens to discuss the participation of women in motorsport.

"Karting has become so popular and so available, still very expensive," the 1969, 1971 and 1973 F1 champion said.

"Whether it's women today, because we need to have women in Formula 1, in my mind. We should have women in Formula 1.

"There is no reason why a woman can't be in Formula 1. Not at all. Nothing to do with physique or anything else, but they don't go to karting as much as boys do.

"But if we had more women, girls doing what the names that you just mentioned earlier, coming into McLaren [Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton], it was all through karting.

"And Lewis Hamilton, his dad, had four jobs to keep [bringing in] the money necessary for him to go around the world and become the multiple world champion that he has [become], all because of karting."

'Why not a world champion'

One of the biggest barriers to entry for woman aiming to climb the motorsport ladder is funding and sponsorship.

As mentioned by Stewart, karting remains expensive, even if it is more readily available as an entry point than other industries, such as aviation.

"We've got it, we're lucky to have it," he added. "I think we've come through a growth rate that's very visible, it's a reality."

However, Stewart also emphasised that wider-spread participation of women in motorsport, namely racing itself, will never materialise unless women are able to come into the industry to a greater extent than is currently being seen.

To Stewart, if that can be achieved, there is nothing to stop a woman from reaching F1 - and attaining success at the highest level of motorsport.

"We're now seeing the potential of women coming in, but it'll never be strong unless the women come in more fully," he said.

"The boys are desperate to drive a car. Now... they [women] are becoming more desperate to be at karting.

"It is expensive, but there's no reason at all why one of them couldn't be a regular Formula 1 driver. And who knows, why not a world champion."