Formula 1: When will female drivers realistically return to the grid?

A golden question that has been asked many times over the years is, when will we see female drivers return to Formula 1?

At this moment in time, it’s almost impossible to say, but the idea has gone from a pipe dream to a goal many genuinely believe will unfold in the coming years.

Let’s take a look at the history of women in F1 and how close we are to seeing a new era dawn on motorsport.

Since the inception of the World Championship for Drivers in 1950, five women have entered at least one Grand Prix but only two ever made it to the grid.

Lella Lombardi qualified for 12 races during her career and her appearance at the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix was the last time a woman competed in F1.

Maria Teresa de Filippis was the only other woman to qualify for an F1 Grand Prix, making three starts in 1958.

The last time a woman attempted to qualify for an F1 Grand Prix was Giovanna Amati in 1992. Since then, the top flight of single-seater racing has been dominated by male drivers.

Women will undoubtedly return to F1 in the future, it’s just a matter of when that may be.

Recently, comments from F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali about the likelihood of women competing in the top echelon did the rounds.

The Italian said: “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.”

While his comments certainly could have been worded better, it does not reflect F1’s overall stance on welcoming women back onto the grid.

Domenicali himself is eager to start the process of integrating female drivers back into the top level of single-seater racing and even said earlier this year that he hopes to see this process come to fruition in the next ten years.

“We