Do you remember the 2021 Race as One introduction? I do. 

Claire Cottingham at the Lusail International circuit in Qatar. Image taken in October 2023 by Andy Hone. 

‘It’s time we race for equality… It’s time we race for equal access, opportunities, and representation. Because sport can change the world. But it’s up to us to make sure that change is for the better… we have a platform to shift change. Starting little by little. Boy or girl, man or woman.’

Today we are seeing a very different attitude in the Formula One paddock. 

‘It’s got nothing to do with me’ and ‘It’s noise and distraction’ are two driver comments following a women’s suspension after speaking out about the sexual misconduct of her Team Principal, Christian Horner. When the news was released, and information flooded the paddock, many drivers publicly expressed their disinterest towards the allegations. 

Despite the move for inclusion and equality within Formula One, many drivers don’t believe it is their place to comment on social or political issues, says Claire Cottingham. As a Formula One journalist, and one of the few women on the written side, Claire has interviewed many drivers and industry professionals over the past five years. ‘I’m quite a vocal woman,’ commented Claire. ‘I ask lots of questions to the drivers where some of the other women maybe don’t ask as many questions.’ 

‘Is there anything you do to assert yourself in terms of voice or posture?’ I asked, intrigued about her interviewing style. 

‘I always do make sure that I sit opposite the driver or in line where I can’t be missed. I always need to have that eye time, that clear connection with somebody, that I’m here and I mean business.’ 

Claire Cottingham interviewing Formula One driver Daniel Riccardo at Spa Francorchamps in July 2023. Image Credited to XPB. 

Solidifying herself physically as well as vocally, Claire is a fighting force in interviews. ‘There’s a running joke about me asking the questions about women, and that’s not the case. It’s just that nobody else is asking those questions. Everyone’s going to ask about the tire deg, everyone’s going to ask about the new upgrade for the Mercedes but is anyone going to ask about the fact that F1 teams are involved in F1 Academy?… I didn’t see anything about those stories that came out.’ 

Mentioning my observations of derogatory attitudes outside the paddock, I asked Claire if such rude comments were also prominent in the workplace. ‘Not it F1,’ Claire answered immediately. ‘There are some dinosaurs in the paddock, don’t get me wrong, but they are starting to leave a little bit more now. I have heard comments about screechy women on the radio… comments along the lines of W Series being a micky mouse championship.’

‘There’s a new wave where those sorts of comments are not allowed. They are pulled up on, but it is fighting constant battle I find. Because there will be banterish comments that are said around me, that I will pull people up for it. I don’t make friends doing it, but I think it’s important to say.’ 

Claire Cottingham interviewing the current Formula One World Champion Max Verstappen. Taken at Monza in September 2023. Image Credited to XPB.

Discussing the media hate and the professionalism within the paddock, I wondered why some fans were so vocal about their negative opinions. 

‘Women are still getting a lot of social media abuse, like a lot of abuse. I was on the Sky F1 podcast the other day and the amount of abuse I got, ‘she’s fat, she’s got bad teeth, she got bad hair what’s going on? Who is this woman? How dare she have anything to say?’ Blah blah blah. There’s so much out there for women getting abuse on social media.’ Many such comments originate from anonymous hate accounts with cars or blurry images as the profile pictures, as the commenters hide behind the protection of their screens.

When I first started watching motorsport, beyond the Formula One races, I witnessed the rude comments on multiple W Series viral videos. One video featured a six-car collision on Eau Rouge at Spa-Francorchamps. The W Series crash (an all-female racing series in 2021/22), was ridiculed on social media, with the comments bringing the most hate. 

‘Your first mistake was watching W Series’ and ‘unskilled drivers’ were among the comments.

Spa-Francorchamps, specifically the Eau Rouge corner, is one of the trickiest and most accident-prone tracks on the grid, with two drivers being killed there over the past five years and many more crashes from a range of different capabilities occurring. The crash occurred because of incorrect tire selection due to temperamental weather conditions, being no fault of the drivers. 

Regardless of knowledge, experience, or qualifications, it seems that women are consistently regarded as less than by men on social media. Even those who don’t believe women are bad drivers often contribute to the false narrative through jokey comments which do more harm than good. 

Claire Cottingham interviewing Formula One driver Lando Norris Monza in September 2023. Image Credited to XPB. 

‘I’m very aware that I need to show my knowledge more than the men need to show their knowledge,’ Claire admitted. ‘I need to prove what I’m talking about, and that does get to me sometimes. It feels like you’re on fight or flight the whole time.’

Whilst I don’t work in the paddock, the expectations for women to know obscene amounts continues to reach me. On the second day of speaking to a man on social media he sent me a fifty question Formula One quiz with questions dating back to the 60s. When I didn’t know who won the Monaco Grand Prix in 1972, I felt as though I failed a test and had subsequently let down every woman who watched F1. 

Speaking to a range of women from across the UK who compete in the Formula Student competition (a university level motorsport competition), many women mentioned needing to ‘put in extra work and research,’ ‘becoming more knowledgeable’ and ‘researching relentlessly’ to be respected by their team. Noting the unlikeliness of blatant sexism, multiple women mentioned the general atmosphere of the team being inherently sexist, with their male counterparts not realising their actions were complacent to derogatory stereotypes.