(Motorsport) Formula 1 President Stefano Domenicali has claimed that it’s unlikely that a female driver would make it to the grid in the next five years. Only two women in the history of the sport have ever been a part of the Formula 1 grid with Maria Teresa de Filippis competing five times in the 1950’s while Lella Lombardi participated in 12 races in the mid 1970’s. Out of the two, only Lombardi has ever accumulated points, getting half a point for finishing sixth in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. In a bid to get more women involved, F1 is promoting the female-only W Series at Grand Prix’s this season.

Speaking about women being a part of F1, Domenicali said that it was “crucial to give the maximum possibility for women to come to F1 – we are totally dedicated to that. Realistically speaking, unless there is something like a meteorite, I don't see a girl coming into F1 in the next five years. That is very unlikely." The F1 President also said that the organisation were "working to see what we can do to improve the system".

He added “We are very happy with the collaboration with Formula W. But we believe that to be able to give the chance to girls to be at the same level of competition with the guys, they need to be at the same age when they start to fight on the track at the level of Formula 3 and Formula 2. We are working on that to see what we can do to improve the system. And you will see some action soon. We want to build up the right parameters with the right approach for them to start racing against the guys, at the right age, with the right car." 

Jamie Chadwick, two time W Series Champion has previously expressed her desire to compete in Formula 1 but is unsure if women can cope with the physical demands of the sport at the highest level. One of the biggest issues is that Formula 2 and Formula 3 cars don’t have power steering and on that matter Chadwick said “Without power steering and driving big, heavy cars, a lot of women do struggle, even though they have been successful in go-karting." 

Domenicali has also expressed his desire to see Formula 1 in the African continent with South Africa being the most likely destination at the moment. He said “I always said we want to have a race in Africa and today the most likely place to have one is South Africa. Discussions are going on. We are looking for a very solid and clear long-term commitment. It is taking time. I think we will clarify it in the next few days. The commitment to being in Africa is one we want to take, but we want to take it right. The calendar will be defined in the next couple of weeks maximum."

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