Why Susie Wolff is the First Woman I Genuinely Want to Succeed in Formula 1

"Tim (Fractal Footwork)" (fractalfootwork) 02/25/2014 at 18:25 • Filed to: Susie Wolf, Simona de Silvestro, Danica Patrick, Williams F1, Formula 1, OppositeLock

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Susie Wolff will help the Williams F1 team in 2014, expanding her role at the team to a development driver participating in 2 race-weekend practice sessions and a full test day, and I genuinely am rooting for her success in Formula 1, for whatever reason.

"Competing in two FP1 sessions, alongside an additional full test day this season will be a big step and I am looking forward to the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the FW36 on a Grand Prix weekend," said Wolff.

"It's a challenge that I will relish and it will be a great chance for me to continue assisting the team."

Susie Wolff will be the first woman to participate in a Formula 1 race weekend since Giovanna Amati in 1992.

Statistically, I don't like women in motorsport, but the only people to comprise that sample statistic is !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (1/1 = 100% of women). I don't follow IndyCar or Nascar, but unfortunately I know who Danica Patrick is, and she gives women in motorsport a bad name; here is why:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

What I know of Danica Patrick : she has won 1 race, is in a bunch of commercials for products I don't really care about or for products I already hate (DO NOT use GoDaddy.com), flaunts her body in those ads (most likely at the advice of her management), and doesn't really respect or give enough credit to her racing team.

That is the extent of my knowledge of Danica Patrick; i.e. enough bad press to dislike her. I am not trying to say that Danica Patrick is exclusively bad, but what I know of her is, and that in itself is harmful to the advancement of women in motorsport.

What I know of Susie Wolff : she is married to Toto Wolff (lucky bastard), raced in DTM, and currently works for Williams. There seems to be an absence of feminist ideals, which I suspect comes at the advice of Toto (being in a managerial position at Mercedes F1 and having to deal with the political game), or perhaps comes at her own inclination; I enjoy this. She is acting just like any other racing driver attempting to make their way into F1. Yes, Susie Wolff is attractive, but she doesn't flaunt it; I like that too.

I genuinely like Susie Wolff as a person, and hopefully I will like her as a driver. I think we can all agree that she'd be more respected than Pastor Maldonado currently is.

Also !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! with the Sauber F1 team is IndyCar driver Simona de Silvestro.

What I know of Simona de Silvestro : She's raced in IndyCar; that's pretty much it.

So, enough to not have an opinion (still better than Danica Patrick).

Susie Wolff, Simona de Silvestro, and let's not forget !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ; these are the women we, and aspiring women everywhere, need in Formula 1, not Danica Patrick.

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[read more on Susie Wolff's transition to development driver at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ]

For Sweden > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 10:35

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Yeah, we really can't abide by drivers that capitalize on sex appeal

Just wear your damn mask... > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 10:45

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I'm in a harsh mood this morning, but I will try and dial it back while writing this.

- I like Susie Wolff as well, but part of the reason that she is in a position to do anything with Williams is that her husband - in addition to (or prior to) his involvement with Mercedes F1 - he is/was an investor in Williams. In other words, she's buying the ride, just in a different way.

- Danica sold her soul for NASCAR gold.

- GoDaddy sucks as a web and domain host (I have another phrase for it, but lest anyone think my tone is sexist - and those people are out there - I'll refrain)

- Simona is the one to watch. She didn't marry or model her way into anything. She won in Atlantics and would have won that championship if she wasn't taken out of a race late in the season at Laguna Seca. Her IndyCar career was spent with mid to backmarker teams, making her results that much more impressive (only 1 podium, but some strong drives)

Susie may be the first woman to participate in an F1 weekend, and that is a big deal. But I think Simona has the best chance to participate on Sundays.

DUCK-HAMS > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 10:50

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Woah those teeth are white!!!

Dusty Ventures > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 11:03

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What you should know about Simona: She's a badass. Not only because of her skill as a driver but because in 2011 two days after this crash at Indy

in which she severely burned her hands (think oozing blisters) she returned to the the track and, despite being saddled with "Pork Chop" (an eight year old chassis that was at that point the heaviest car in the series) and despite her hands looking like this

she qualified for the Indy 500.

And just because, here is her hand a few months later with the bandages off

Mikeado > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 11:05

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I think I'm right in saying that Susie Wolff has never actually won a race at a high level, and yet she's somewhere that people winning regularly in GP2 would kill to be, but aren't. If she was male we'd dismiss her as another pay driver like Daniil Kvyat or that other Russian at Sauber. Don't get me wrong, she seems nice and is committed, but F1 needs to feature the best racing drivers in the world, not people who know people.

I'm actually more interested in Simona de Silvestro. She's being trained up by Sauber this year so that they can find her a seat in 2015, and she's actually stood on a few podiums in major race series (I don't watch IndyCar, but I read about it on the internet). She's a better bet for a successful female F1 driver if you ask me.

dinobot666 > Dusty Ventures 02/25/2014 at 11:09

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She's never had top level equipment, but still manages a pretty solid pace.

DailyTurismo > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 11:11

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How quickly everyone has forgotten about the success of Nicole Rosberg?!?!?

Axel-Ripper > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 11:21

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I think Simona deserves the shot, and Susie married her way in. Yes, she had the DTM ride, but I don't know if she ever finished better than last. She was literally the female version of Max Chilton in that series, only with more DNFs.

Dusty Ventures > dinobot666 02/25/2014 at 11:22

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Exactly. Three years with HVM (where even E.J. Viso couldn't do better than 18th on a season), then last year with KV Racing (still not top tier if we're honest) where she finished top 10 in nearly half the races, scored her first podium (2nd in Houston), and ended the season just 35 points back of teammate and Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan. I genuinely think if she'd been put in a Penske, Andretti, or Ganassi car she'd be a regular top 5 threat.

yamahog > For Sweden 02/25/2014 at 11:42

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THANK YOU.

Gee, why would Danica ever want to capitalize on her looks for money? It's almost like we live in a society where women are taught from a young age that their attractiveness is the most important thing about them or something!

For Sweden > yamahog 02/25/2014 at 11:44

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I wouldn't say that Danica's attractiveness is the most important thing about her, but it's definitely what differentiates her from the other drivers/sentient billboards that she races against every weekend. I don't see how anyone can fault her for capitalizing on that uniqueness.

yamahog > For Sweden 02/25/2014 at 12:51

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Most civilized people wouldn't say something like that aloud, and I agree with your statement. It still remains that looks as an indicator of worth is all but beaten into us before we can even comprehend it and it's amazing how many people don't see that connection when discussing Danica and other women in traditionally male fields.

AntMic > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 13:18

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Susie's done a few photo shoots too. Not many though

AntMic > AntMic 02/25/2014 at 13:21

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Damnit

Icemanmaybeirunoutofthetalents > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 16:49

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There are so few women in top level racing that I would welcome every single woman right now in there to race as much as they can. I for one dont see why Susie shouldn't drive when Chilton does. I mean, given that neither of them really are the expected f-1 level, I'd rather have Susie in there than Chilton. It serves an additional purpose to bankrolling a team. Gets more eyeballs, gets girls thinking it isn't a sausagefest that they doubt if they can hack it. Simona on the other hand seems to be the best driver of all three and she herself mentioned that she moved to the us because of a lack of money. If Sauber can get her in somehow then that would be best. But we make do with what we have, as always.

Effef > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 18:40

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There seems to be an absence of feminist ideals, which I suspect comes at the advice of Toto (being in a managerial position at Mercedes F1 and having to deal with the political game), or perhaps comes at her own inclination; I enjoy this.

Id wager she doesn't particularly care what you enjoy. Shes a woman making headway in a sport that is utterly dominated and orchestrated by men like Bernie Ecclestone, id imagine she puts up with a lot of sexist horseshit on a daily basis you never see.

Just because she keeps a low profile in a corporate environment doesn't mean she can't be for gender equality.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > Effef 02/25/2014 at 19:02

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I don't mean gender equality when I say feminism.

They might mean the same thing to some people, but I see feminism as a negative stuck-up point of view from certain women (and sometimes men), though it's not really that common anymore.

I believe that if she truly wants gender equality in motorsport (and in F1, for that matter), that she is doing the right thing by acting just like any other guy.

I am not sure what kind of political and sexist hurdles she has to jump within the F1 circle (some people brought up Chilton's hiring, relative to the pair's skill), but for a fan watching, I think she is approaching entry correctly.

yamahog > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/25/2014 at 19:12

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I don't have enough faces nor palms for your opinion on feminism, so I'll skip to the next bit.

Why do you believe that women can only be successful by either acting like men or in compliance with your views on their roles, as Danica does not? Is this just in F1, or should I expect a memo from you at my office telling me and the other women to "do the right thing and act like a guy" if we want gender equality in automotive engineering?

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > yamahog 02/25/2014 at 19:43

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You are correct, I kinda dug a hole without thinking in my argument; let me rephrase...

I guess I'm trying to illustrate what most people (mainly male F1 viewers) subconsciously see the situation as.

When I said "I enjoy this," I did not mean ( and did not say ) that she has to do what I enjoy. She can do whatever the hell she wants. Of course there is more than one way for a woman to get into F1, but her reserved nature (humbleness) is pleasing to me, but it may be displeasing to someone else (Danica Patrick fans, for instance).

I am not a Danica Patrick fan. I don't want to be a Danica Patrick fan. Why should I be a Danica Patrick fan?

When I said "feminist ideals" I meant it in a negative connotation that is stuck in my mind; clearly we don't share the same view on the definition (not dictionary, but perceived definition though experience/readings with the term) of feminism.

Let me rephrase the Danica Patrick thing: Of course she does the things she does to get in the position that she wants to be in. That's fine for her, and fine for her fans, but I am not a fan of hers because of the things that she does, the way she portrays her team, and the products she supports.

Yes Danica is successful, I never said she wasn't. I am saying that I am not a fan (I have the right to not be a fan, don't I?).

Reverse the gender: I am a huge Lewis Hamilton fan, but he's been acting strange in the past few years, and I'm itching for a swap in support (though not quite yet). It wouldn't matter if he was male or female, his actions will determine how I perceive him, illustrating the point that you bring up about gender roles.

I understand that I used the word 'guy' in my first response. I apologize for not saying 'racing driver' like I did above. There hasn't been a female in a racing weekend in over 20 years, so I hope you can see where my subconscious slipped the words.

Also_Ran > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/27/2014 at 23:06

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Ten or eleven years ago my boss of the time - knowing I'm a motorsport fan - asked me if I'd seen the news the previous night. I had, but didn't remember anything relating to me. He then told me about a female racing driver who had been on the version he watched, who was interviewed and was saying about how hard it was to get on and move up through the different series, having trouble being respected and finding sponsorship, despite being "the best female driver in the world". I was curious who it was, but he couldn't remember, so I reeled off a list of names I knew of at the time, both national (I'm British) and international, present and past, none of which he recognised. The next day he came back to me and told me it was Susie Stoddart, my response to which was "who?".

So that was my first impression of Susie Wolff, as a moaner who had an over-inflated opinion of herself, and nothing she's done since has convinced me I'm wrong.

toyotasupraman > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/28/2014 at 09:54

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Is that a crash-protection in the nose or is the car just happy to see her?