With the motorsport world still seemingly debating the issue of women racers, it was heartening to see two female friends achieving success at the weekend. Vicky Piria recorded her first F3 podium at Paul Ricard, while Alice Powell romped to yet another F3 victory at her home circuit of Silverstone. It was further proof, if it was needed, that women do, of course, have the requisite mental aptitude not only to race but to race fast, hard and successfully.
I’ve been thinking about the topic quite a lot recently. Why haven’t we seen more women racing in F1? And it has led me down many paths. Paths based not simply upon gender, but upon nationality, race and, latterly, paths based upon sexuality.
Jason Collins comes out on the cover of Sports Illustrated
Today, my attention was drawn to a tweet to an article from NBC Sports, announcing that an active NBA star had come out as homosexual. Jason Collins has made his admission via the front cover of the American sporting bible that is Sports Illustrated, and to the American sports world it is a very big deal.
The issue of sexuality in sports remains a taboo topic. Think about it. How many sportsmen and women can you think of who are openly gay? Actually, it isn’t too hard to think of a few in almost each major sporting discipline, be they active in the present day or having long since hung up their training shoes. But if we are discussing why there haven’t been more women racers in F1, I started to wonder why we haven’t yet, at least to my knowledge, encountered many, if any openly gay racing drivers in our field?
Motorsport is a male dominated world. It is still inherently sexist. From the grid girls and the post race “tunnel of totty,” even in this politically correct era, motor racing and particularly Formula 1 remains defiantly stuck in the past. Oh how we tittered when grid boys first appeared in Valencia. It remains, despite the world having seemingly moved on, unflinchingly macho.
In the UK, Gareth Thomas, the third most capped Welsh International rugby player in history came out in 2009, but even such an admission from such a huge star in a sport usually deemed to be so macho, has seemingly not served to open the floodgates.
British football (soccer) still struggles hugely with the subject of homosexuality. The BBC ran a fascinating investigation into the subject by Amal Fashanu, whose Uncle Justin was the first and thus far only openly gay English footballer in the UK, and who tragically committed suicide over non-footballing issues in 1998. The findings of this documentary were that there are numerous players within the sport who are homosexual, but that almost all still feel incapable of admitting it.
One notable exception to this is Robbie Rogers, the US International footballer (Soccer star) who until recently played for Leeds United. Having revealed his sexuality, he walked away from the game.
Ever since I first became a Formula 1 journalist a decade ago there have been rumours, hushed whispers, over whether certain drivers are gay. It’s nothing new. The rumours have always existed. Nelson Piquet reportedly once insinuated Ayrton Senna was gay… but this was around the same time that Senna had insinuated he’d been a naughty boy with Piquet’s wife.
There are openly homosexual members of the F1 paddock. Matt Bishop, former Editor of F1 Racing and now Group Head of Communications and PR at McLaren came out to friends and family when he was in his teens. He has worked with some of the sport’s biggest names over the past two decades. His civil partner Angel Bautista attends many races with him. Matt’s sexuality is not an issue in the paddock. It never has been.
But of our sport’s greatest stars, in spite of swirling whispers that some have wanted to, nobody has yet felt comfortable enough to come out.
If true, if there are now or have ever been drivers who felt incapable of being honest about their sexuality, isn’t that an incredibly sad indictment of our sport?
It is tough to find examples anywhere of openly gay men or women racing drivers. But there are a few.
Mike Beuttler
via RichardsF1.com
Mike Beuttler was perhaps the only openly gay racer in the 70s and his story is a truly tragic one. A talented F3 star, he graduated to race in one of Formula 1’s most dangerous eras, and survived it, only to succumb to complications arising from AIDS shortly after his retirement from racing at the age of 48.
Evan Darling raced in the US in a world of closed wheel racing and NASCAR where, perhaps even more so than Formula 1, perceptions of masculinity rule the roost. He was openly homosexual from the age of 18, but said he found it tough to find sponsors owing to his sexuality. I know too little of him to debate his talents as a racer and whether that had more to do with it, but it is alarming that, certainly in the modern era, his is the only name upon which I can stumble.
Fascinatingly, however, NASCAR now operates a “Drive for Diversity” program which is intended to see a wider range of racer than your average white male. Danica Patrick, of course, is evidence of this program at work inspite of her history in single seaters, but reigning champion Brad Keseolowski has already spoken out openly in favour of welcoming homosexual drivers to NASCAR.
“I don’t think anyone cares (if a driver is gay)” he told Queers4Gears. “If you can win, you’ll have a ride in NASCAR. I can’t speak for the fans, I can only speak for myself, but in this garage, if you can win, people will want to be a part of what you can do.”
It’s a tough business. But incredibly, one example crosses the lines between our quest to find an openly gay racer and a female one. Robert Cowell, a successful pre-war racer, went through gender reassignment surgery and continued to race post war as Roberta. She won the 1957 Shelsey Walsh Speed Hill Climb.
I understand why we are having the debate about female racing drivers reaching the top level, but as Edd Straw pointed out in his fabulous article on the subject, we must not give undue attention to average performance simply because it has been achieved by a woman. The only way to get a woman to an F1 race seat is on merit.
For me, it’s the same argument as race or nationality. Did Lewis Hamilton get to Formula 1 because of the colour of his skin? No. He got there because he is one of the finest talents of his generation. Talent must win over every other consideration. Will we see a Chinese F1 driver? Will we see a Russian F1 race winner? A Qatari World Champion? In generations to come, as grass roots racing is established in these new F1 heartlands, there is an increasing chance that we will.
It is tough to get to the top, just ask any karter who never made it into single seaters. And there are enough boys out there, let alone girls, with their own stories of what might have been.
Women will make it on merit, when one who truly has the talent emerges. Just look at the results at the weekend. Piria on the podium. Powell on the top step… again. Women have the talent. It’s only a matter of time.
But women are making their way and forging their paths in plain view. Yes they will face hurdles, but they will face them head on and overcome them.
What my recent musings have left heavy on my mind however, is how many drivers have made it to F1, but have never been able to admit to who they really are. It is more than statistically likely that somewhere in the motorsports ladder today there are boys and girls, men and women, who are fighting not just against their rivals on track, but against prejudice off track. Because of their sexuality and a life they have to keep hidden.
While NASCAR’s “Drive for Diversity” is not without its detractors that it will promote diversity for diversity’s sake over and above the most talented out there, to have the reigning champion speak out openly in favour of welcoming homosexual drivers to NASCAR is a huge leap.
In this most masculine of sports, while we must not lose focus on the talented female racers out there struggling to make it to the top, perhaps it is also time to take a closer look at the hundreds of boys and men racing around the world and to realise that they may not fit the 1970s macho mold that this sport seems to exist upon. Perhaps it is time to become more accepting of those who make up our current grids and to allow them the same respect that we are offering to women.
To judge them on their merits as racers, and on these merits alone.
The Buxton Blog 
One of my favorite drivers ever was Denise McCluggage from the 50s at Sebring. Great Gal…
I know some may accuse me of sticking my head in the sand, but I think that we won’t see a color blind world until we stop thinking about the world in terms of color — and we won’t overlook sexual preference until we stop thinking about people’s sexual preferences.
When you’re driving, your gender, color, sexual orientation, religion, and so on have little bearing. Heck, when I’m karting I’ve competed against all sorts of people. Suited up, I can’t tell the demographics of my opponents even if I wanted to, but I’ve gotten out of the kart to find that I’ve been bested by drivers of all sorts — black and white, men and women. Of course, I don’t know what their sexual orientations were, and that’s just as it should be. It’s none of my business, and it has no relevance to the race.
We should be thankful that all these things are irrelevant to the sport, and we should not try to drag that dirt in. A person’s sexual preference is a person’s own business, and of those he chooses to share it with. If they’re not making it part of their drive, neither should we.
Let them be racers, nothing more, and nothing less.
A standing ovation for your response. Bravo.
Exactly!
The problem with this, though it’s a good step in the right direction, is that you DO know the sexual orientations of most drivers.
You know their wives’ names, you know the names of different women who are now standing beside them at every race instead. Even kissing them in public, sometimes on national television without the flicker of a warning for the audience. Holding hands. Showing off their kids. Wearing wedding rings. Talking about celebrity crushes on Twitter.
You do know their sexual orientation. Because it’s not considered “flaunting” anything, it’s just their lives.
People fall in love, maybe get married, maybe have kids, maybe not, sometimes do all of this all over again.
So while you might not think you are able to see any demographics when a driver is fully suited up, you can see them just in the pits. And it would be a better world when that is easily acknowledged and accepted. Then? Then we can say maybe it’s irrelevant.
I enjoy your blog immensely Will – thanks for taking the time to put your thoughts to (virtual) paper for us to debate.
On the subject of “diversity” in motorsports – I think you’ve hit the nail on the head: the promotion to the upper echelons of motorsport needs to be based upon merit. If we push mediocre talent to F1 they’ll face much more disdain than even their pay-driver contemporaries and ultimately do even more of a disservice to their representative gender/sexuality/ethnicity/whatever.
Of course, F1 has had female drivers in the past, and I think their failings have probably somewhat poisoned the well for the newest crop of talented female racing drivers. Count me among the group that’s glad we never shoe-horned Danica into an F1 car – I don’t think she would have fared much better than Giovanna Amati and I suspect the intense glare of the media would have proven too great a distraction for her to ever succeed – even if I’m wrong about her talents. Indy was the perfect place for Danica to “grow-up” before hitting the exponentially bigger spotlight that is NASCAR.
I don’t think we’ll have to wait much longer for the next female F1 driver. Every argument against women in racing cars I’ve ever heard no longer applies to F1 in 2013, if it was ever valid. I’m sure that even now the machine that created the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton is honing female race talent, preparing them for the corporate engagements, and polishing their rough edges to make them most palatable for sponsors. I don’t think it will be Vicky or Alice – if they make it to the top, it will be on pure merit and raw ambition – but somewhere out there today is a 12-14 year old girl that will hit F1 at age 19 or 20. She will be matched to the ideal teammate in a smaller team – a respected driver that never got a crack at one of the better seats – and she will destroy him. Then move on to one of the front running teams within 2 years. People will compare her to Vettel, and they’ll be right.
Or I could be completely wrong and no woman will ever race successfully in F1, endlessly massaging the aging egos of Sir Moss and Bernie.
While watching the Susie Stoddart documentary on BBC4 and also reading one of your closing statements “But women are making their way and forging their paths in plain view. Yes they will face hurdles, but they will face them head on and overcome them.” reminded me of a theme running through Jackie Stewerts book and career. He was told how “stupid” he was at school so often, that he never really believed he was the best (early on in his career at least) and so he over compensated with hard work which you can’t help think
I have a feeling that the struggle against a macho dominated sport will produce (or maybe has already?) a breed of super hard working racers, not only talented, but also driven to succeed where mere mortals like me (talentless and lazy!) just watch on TV and dream. And good luck to them!
A great article, thought provoking and well considered as always. Keep it up!
Very interesting, but with woman coming through all formulas now, open and closed wheel racing we will soon see out first woman driver taking part in a F1 race. But I don’t think it will be at the top end of the grid, more like a bottom team using her like a marketing tool at first to get much needed funds. And that’s another question, woman don’t get the same money as men in sport, do they or will the get the same sponsorship deal and get the funds needed to complete at the top in F1? And on the issue of gay drivers. This may sound Strange but I don’t know how gay men and woman would be treated in Islamic and Muslim countries..can someone help me. Is it an offence?
Homosexual acts are considered criminal in many Muslim-majority countries, but I don’t think most of those countries’ authorities will do anything, especially to a visiting driver, simply for having that orientation. And if they do I’d say F1’s image will be much tarnished if they don’t respond by boycotting the country in question (though the example of Bahrain shows that money will sadly be a more influential factor…)
Hopefully we’ll never see a race in a country like Saudi Arabia, where, forget about homosexuality, you can even be expelled for being too good looking! *rolls eyes*
I fully agree with Will and @MoebiusStreet’s comments. We need to look at racing drivers as racing drivers. It will be their achievements that will give them a seat. Ma Qinghua and Rodolfo Gonzalez clearly have no business being near F1. But you look at Tio Ellinas, talented and from Cyprus-a country with little racing history. If he comes to F1, it will be on merit and not on his nationality. Similarly, I hope when a female driver comes to the sport she will come on the basis of her achievements on junior formulae and not as a marketable commodity. Which is exactly why I am dead set against Susie Wolff coming to F1. She has not driven an F1 car in several years. Anybody in her place would struggle infinitely in a Formula One car. If she does make it to F1, it would be a poor advertisement for the sport, and might lead to the formation of a ‘gender quota’. Not that there aren’t talented female drivers. As we speak, Alice Powell is stomping the opposition in the MSV F3 Cup. Dutch girl Beitske Visser, a Red Bull Junior Team product, did very well last year in the ADAC Formel Masters, and could be one of the title=protagonists this year as well. If they continue to perform in this level, obviously they should come to F1, and they will have the same standing as the other drivers.
A quota is the last thing this sport needs. Let’s hope that idea doesn’t pop into Bernie Ecclestone’s head. First things first, grid girls must be banned. I don’t think today’s F1 fans(maybe apart from David Coulthard) explicitly wath F1 for the grid girls. So I don’t think that there is any need to continue with this aspect of motorsport which portrays women as objects..because in this era, they belong in the cockpit, or on the pitwall(Monisha Kaltenborn), like their male counterparts, not outside, scantily-clad.
I’d like to bring up something that Tom Gaymor said. He said on his blog(when speaking about Danica Patrick) the following: “Danica is very astute; do not be fooled by the petite frame and pretty exterior. Personally I cannot understand why others begrudge Danica for using all her attributes and her astuteness to maximum effect in order to progress her career. She has been diligent and smart and I’d certainly do the same if I were her and so would a lot of others.:”
I did not agree with this part. By doing all this, Danica is increasing her marketable value, nothing more. She is stepping down to the level of objectifying herself. I cannot accept that. She is a racing driver, first and last, and that should be it. We need to break out of that mould.
RANT OVER
Does anyone take notice of the grid girls anymore. You hardly see them anymore and they get lost in all the people on the grid.
wsrgo, Thank you for your reply. I must just pull you up one one thing. Susie has driven an F1 car… quite recently in fact, and is likely to take part in the rookie test later this year for Williams. If you can listen to the BBC 5 Live piece on women racers tonight, I would do so. I believe Susie knows that she will never race in F1, but understands how important her role could be for young female racers. She can show them that getting to F1 is achievable. I don’t believe she has any delusions of grandeur.
Ohsorry, I forgot about that test she did in the Williams. I don’t live in Britain, so it won’t be possible for me to catch the BBC 5 Live piece.
It is true that her presence in and around motorsport will inspire other female drivers too. It’s just that Williams generally have a reserve driver(Nico Huelkenberg, Valtteri Bottas) ready. At the moment, they really don’t have anyone apart from Wolff. Now I don’t think that Williams will/should replace Bottas and/or Maldonado for 2014, but they will need a backup eventually..some young talent to nurture. They haven’t done that yet, which brought me to think that they might be lining her up for the seat. I’m probably wrong, though.
The best female road racer out there today is Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro, who is achieving far more this year in the same IndyCar seat that Rubens Barrichello occupied last year. She is amicable, hard working, and fast. She is consistently running in the top ten so far in a very deep IndyCar field that includes its share of F1 veterans. She kept her head down last year while suffering with the dreadful Lotus engine, and now with a more competitive car, her true talent is showing. For the moment, de Silvestro is the only female driver who, if given an F1 test tomorrow, has the talent and experience to make it to F1 on merit. I would love to see an F1 team give her a shot.
I’ve always been impressed with Simona. Ever since her rarely reported GP2 test. Fast, hard working, amicable. She was and is the real deal.
I saw Simona win a Laguna Seca (Formula Atlantic) the day before Danica won in Japan(IRL). She was VERY fast and competitive all weekend. Have been watching her since then and know for certain that wins in IRL or a ride in F1 will be in her future. Agree… the REAL DEAL.
Drivers haven’t made a name for themselves in “Indy car” since the CART series ended years ago, It’s getting rather late for her, but in order to determine whether or not Simona has the skill, she needs to get the hell out of that series and come back to Europe. Continuing to drive an underpowered, heavy downforce spec car on poorly designed street courses isn’t going to prepare her for any success in higher level formulas running on proper road courses. She may very well be able to develop the skills to do well, but they aren’t being tested to the degree necessary to make such a huge leap to Formula 1.
I’d like to see her contest a season in GP2 to see how she does. If she shows promise, then continue towards the F1 path. If not, head back to America and try to make some sort of career over there. Maybe she could strike a NASCAR deal like Danica Patrick.
Agree with your points. However, currently Simona is further in the career progression than any other female at the moment. Simona would indeed need to successfully stopover at GP2 or WSR post IndyCar. Unless of course IndyCar wises up and adds 150 – 200 HP to the cars for road courses and allows modified aero kits, which would bring us nicely back to the good old CART days.
I saw Susie Stoddart / Wolff in F3 a few times and she looked the real deal. To say she has no place in F1 on the back of her DTM results is not really fair. In DTM she was run in the “B” team which consists of a car 1-2 seasons out of date, and little development work. Just ask the ex-F1 stars who’ve struggled to make an impression in DTM how close it is. When the car is half a second off the pace and the grid’s covered by half a second, it doesn’t take a genius to do the maths.
Now her time has probably passed. She’s older than the average driver (even Bruno Senna struggled to get into F1 at his age even with significant backing, a famous name and a decent run of results in GP2) and although her assiciation with her husband at Williams might have got her foot in the door, I think alot of people make the mistake of thinking it was the only reason she got the Williams role, but it speaks volumes that she’s still there even though he’s moved on to Mercedes.
I completely agree Will. I will never understand how people think that sexual preference or gender has any affect on making a car go fast around a track. If people were as set in their ways in other areas, like technology, the world would still be stuck in the stone ages.
Funny, but I’ve never thought of automobile racing as a macho sport. Especially Formula One. It’s always seemed a bit “camp”, with all of the exclusivity, waif-like drivers, rich posers, etc. I’m sure a top-level female driver will happen, but the risk is bringing up someone who doesn’t have talent (like Susie Wolff) who will set women back another 10 years. It has to be on merit.
Interesting,but I guess 1. true racing fans wouldn’t care about drivers’ sexuality 2. a driver doesn’t HAVE to reveal anything.
I mean… There have also been heterosexual drivers who didn’t ever bring their girls in the paddocks or didn’t allow the press to get much glimpse into their personal lives.
Still, the important thing is: has any driver ever been denied opportunities in F1 because of his sexual orientation? If that’s the case, that’s unacceptable. But as long as we don’t have such information, “trying” to overstress the matter might just work otherwise, promoting drivers because of their sexual orientation, so as not to be considered disriminated against.
As you said, should always be chosen by merit.
Yes. I think this question is indeed more a question of where rather than what sport we are talking about. Sweden has openly gay footballers, but that works since we have a very secularized and forward thinking society. Sexual orientation isn’t a big deal in sports here – any longer, that is.
But in the case of F1 it is a vast desert of social evolution that needs to take place in order to rectify all this, as well as a few brave fellows who take the lead and raise consciousness for the situation by coming out first. F1 has had more than one gay driver in the modern era – but the world has simply not been ready for them to be open about it. Within the sport I believe everything is fine, the problems are connected to external factors. Sponsors, media, fans etc.
But really, who gives a shit about the drivers sexual preferences? Sebastian Vettel has the sexual aura of a broom, and it’s not like we question him for that.
Aren’t we just all being so “politically correct” here… If a female – or male – or other – gender driver shows up and displays all the potential talents of the truly great drivers, don’t worry, they’ll be hired. They’ll be driving…
But so far anyway, where are they? Don’t see ’em. Is it because of the gender or is it because of the talent?
Will Buxton. A man after my own heart.
I have always wondered which, if any of the drivers on the grid are gay… but it is because I am gay. I don’t think it has any relavance to that individual and their ability to drive and win, but I think it has a major impact of the folks in the gay community. It gives them hope, aspiration, desire, a goal to see another homosexual doing what they want to do. The fact that a gay man/woman can drive a car just as quick or faster than a straight man/woman can be lost on some young potentials because they dont know of anyone else in the racing community who is gay… and it is scary to be the first. Many people will say “well just don’t make it a point to tell people you’re gay”… but that right there is the problem. You should not have to hide it. You don’t need to flaunt it, but you shouldn’t have to hide it.
It’s something that is very hard to explain to someone who is not actually gay. There are a lot of basic aspects of life that are completely different to a homosexual that straight people just don’t get. For instance… dating. Perfect example. You go out to a bar, and you see a girl. You think she is pretty… so you go an offer a her a drink and conversation. But a gay male goes out to a bar and sees a handsome man… and has to try to decipher if the guy is actually gay or not, otherwise it can be a disaster trying to buy him a drink. The default assumption for ages has been that any given individual is straight because straight is “normal” and gay is “abnormal”. Up until recently there would be few reasons to doubt anyones sexuality. But LUCKILY we are coming to a point where people are beginning to realize that homosexuals come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. Gone is the sterotypical effiminate male image. The macho dude who rides a chopper down the road could be gay. The guy you swore for ages was straight may be gay.
So going back to F1…
Let’s say Driver X is gay. Driver X just won the United States Grand Prix. He is doing his interviews and some personal questions come up:
Do you have any girlfriends? Is there a Mrs. Driver X? What do you have to say to the beautiful ladies swooning over you?
How akward! And how liberating it would be if they already KNEW that driver was gay and they could ask more appropriate questions: Is there a Mr. Driver X? Or if the driver could just say “Well, I have never really been interested in the ladies”.
Granted, that line of questioning has nothing to do with driving or F1… but let’s not pretend that drivers don’t get asked personal questions. Let’s not pretend that fans don’t care… because many do. And let’s not pretend that while straight people may not care about whether or not a driver is gay or straight… gay people do. And those fans deserve to have a role model for their own. I’m not saying all homosexuals expect to have homosexual role models… but some would certainly prefer it.
And even more critical is the road to F1. That is where you start forming an identity as a driver that will follow you all the way up the ladder to F1. How nice would it for a gay rookie to start climbing that ladder as an individual with nothing to hide instead of stuck in the closet, out of a fear that they will not be accepted or have the same opportunites. And how nice would it be if there was already someone at the top of that ladder with an outstretched hand saying “come on up… the weather’s great” Someone to look up to.
Thanks for bringing this up Will. You are truly awesome.
Anyway… it was a long rant. Much easier to discuss these topics in person than to put it into a post.
I’m so glad you feel that way. That was precisely the reason I posted the article. Thank you.
Dale D – thanks for the fantastic response. You saved me the trouble of trying to craft something intelligent on my own. As a gay fan, and a former amateur racer myself, I can’t express how much difference it might have made if I’d had a similar role model back in the 90’s. Ultimately, though, it should be about the talent, and it was there I was probably let down…
And thank you Will for the thoughtful commentary. Your enthusiasm is infectious, and I’m thrilled to have you at F1 races on behalf of America, and so happy that you’re really getting into the American open-wheel scene when time allows as well. Cheers all!
Will, I must say that I love your piece here almost as much as I loved your commentary over the last two days at Indy. You bring passion, emotion, and youthful exuberance to what you cover. Yet, I feel you do it in a very professional way, allowing the sport to talk for itself, and just adding to the event. It is hard to do, but I think you do it well.
And, I’ll be honest…I don’t care who you take to bed at night. I like “you” (the TV/writer you, I don’t know you as a person, but you seem to be a good dude with a good personality) for what you do and the way you do your job. It is the same way with F1/IndyCar/NASCAR/Football/etc. folks… I don’t care whom they bed at night. It isn’t my business, unless I am the person in the bed…or the one in a relationship with them (know anyone you’d like to refer to me? That is a joke)…and that right now isn’t happening.
What is upsetting to me is that, speaking as a gay man, folks feel the need to hide who they are. It is 2013, not 1953. I don’t see Lewis Hamilton as a black driver… I don’t see Danica Patrick or Simona as female drivers … I see them as competitors in “equal” equipment trying to win. And, I think that is all anyone can ask for.
However, the problem is being the “first” in anything means people look at you differently for a bit. After the newness wears off, no one cares, and it is back to normal. And, at the end of the day, unless you are doing something illegal and/or morally repulsive, LIVE YOUR LIFE! I bet the first race driver who didn’t have to hid behind his or her sexual orientation would be a better racer and if they drive for a team I like and/or have a good personality, I will cheer for them.
Reblogged this on The Flying Vegetarian.
[…] much about LGBT-related issues but there are a few encouraging exceptions. Will Buxton had a nice article about diversity last year, RichardsF1 published an in-depth analysis of the career of the only known gay F1 driver, […]