Susie Wolff confident F1 will get a female race driver one day

By Jan 16, 2016, 2:00 PM EST
© Getty Images
2 Comments

BIRMINGHAM – Former Williams test driver Susie Wolff is confident that a female driver will race in Formula 1 during her lifetime.

Wolff ended F1’s 22-year wait for a female driver at a grand prix weekend in 2014 when she took part in practice for the British Grand Prix.

After taking part in a further three FP1 sessions for Williams, Wolff announced at the end of 2015 that she would be retiring from motorsport and turning her attention to a new project.

Wolff unveiled said project at the Autosport International show in Birmingham, England on Thursday, launching the ‘Dare 2 Be Different’ campaign that looks to aid and connect women in motorsport and also inspire future generations.

“Dare 2 Be Different is made up of three factors,” Wolff said. “The first factor is building a community, globally we want to connect women. We want to make role models out of successful women who are in the sport and inspire the next generation, and we want to keep track of the successful women racing and competing and working in motorsport worldwide.

“The second tier is our five headline events. We’re going to get little girls to the race track who probably have never tried karting and possibly have never been to a racing track before.

“The third is networking events, bringing together women in the sport who are already successful to those who need some inspiration, bringing them together and learning off each other.

“Motorsport and many other environments and professions are performance based. You’ve got to be good enough to get the opportunity. That’s why we focus on the performance side of things. Don’t worry about your gender. It becomes secondary when you got out there and perform.”

Last week, F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone said that he does not believe a woman will ever race again in the series, but Wolff is confident that she will see a female driver hit the grid.

“It’s time for it,” Wolff said. “I think it’s going to happen in my lifetime without a doubt.”

Wolff’s Dare 2 Be Different campaign was already making an impact at the Autosport International show as she met a number of women and girls interested in pursuing careers in motorsport both on and off track.

“I met some amazing women just this morning,” Wolff said. “One is the new head of strategy at Haas, she’s moved from Ferrari. There’s one who’s going to be a race engineer in BTCC.

“There are many inspirational women at all levels of the sport and not just engineers but from engineers to physios to data engineers to mechanics, so there are lots of different spheres and for us it’s about tapping into all of that because ultimately motorsport isn’t just a driving part. There’s a lot more to it.

“It’s been really nice to see so many real fans of motorsport, not just F1 but every different level, and I’ve met lots of different girls who have come up to me and said they want to be the next female Formula 1 driver, they want to do karting, they want to be the next engineers.

“It’s been really inspiring for me to meet so many nice people.”

Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
1 Comment

LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).