Alpine will prepare girls for Formula 1

Alpine has launched an eight-year “Rac(H)er” equal opportunities program to prepare girls for a full-fledged debut in Formula 1.

The French carmaker hopes to dispel the myth that women cannot drive a Formula 1 car to compete at a competitive level. The recruitment is for children of ten years old, who are to become strong athletes by the age of eighteen.

Laurent RossicAlpine CEO: “We are announcing the start of an eight-year program, there is still a long way to go, but the participants will start with kart lessons in the coming weeks.

It is often said, “Women are physically incapable of driving a Formula 1 car”, “Women shouldn’t be doing this” – we want to debunk this myth. We decided to start from scratch and build a career and training the same way we build for men. I am convinced that this will significantly increase the chance of success.

Women pilot jet planes and fly into space, overcoming all limitations. It’s just a matter of creating around the right environment. It is necessary to get rid of prejudices and prejudices. I think 99% of women now believe it’s impossible for them. We have to open the doors for our sport – and then a much larger number of people who want to take their chance.

Formula 1 does not require unique physical conditions. Look at today’s riders – they are all built differently. They train according to different programs, they are all very different. Look at Fernando Alonso, who at the age of forty is an excellent pilot. Fernando is in incredible shape, but he doesn’t look like an Olympic athlete. And if he is driving excellent in Formula 1 at the age of 40, why can’t a strong 30-year-old woman handle that?

I believe the W series is a form of segregation. There is no need to run parallel series to showcase the talents of women, you just need to open doors for them.

Formula 1 is just the tip of the iceberg. For me as an executive, cynically, it’s about increasing the talent pool I can use.
Right now I’m using 50% of the talent pool because women don’t see the car industry in general or Formula 1 in particular as a career opportunity. And this is wrong. I am depriving myself, Alpine and the Renault group of half of the talent. We want to resolve this.”