‘I don’t see a woman in F1 in next five years unless a meteorite hits the earth’ says F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says that while the right steps are being put in place to introduce a female driver onto the grid, we will not see one in the near future.

Only two women have ever started an F1 race in the sport’s 72-year history, the most recent being Lella Lombardi in 1976.

Motorsport as a whole has tried to become more diverse in recent years, most notably with the W Series, an all-female single-seater championship which runs as a support series to F1.

British driver Jamie Chadwick won the first two championships and looks set to make it a hattrick this season, yet the 24-year-old nor anyone else on the grid are any closer to getting a seat in F1.

Many think that the problem lies at the grassroots level of racing and that if girls are given the same opportunities as boys at karting and at junior formula series, they will have a better chance of making it to the top.

‘We believe that it is crucial in this moment to try to give the maximum possibility to women to come to Formula One,’ Domenicali said ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.

‘We believe that for girls to be at the same level of competition with the guys they need to be at the same, or more or less the same, age when they can start to fight on the track at the level of Formula Two or Formula Three.

‘So we are working on that to see what we can do to improve the system. And you will see soon some action.

‘Realistically speaking, I don’t see a girl in Formula One in the next five years unless something like a sort of meteorite comes into the earth. That is very unlikely.

‘But we want to build up the right parameters with the right approach, step by step, for them to start to race against the guys at the right age and in the right car. That’s what