F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'

[Jericoke]

Now, Liberty wants to "reform" them, make them "more relevant." Murray Barnett, Liberty's sponsorship and marketing chief, said, "We're 100 percent committed to looking into grid girls and making them a more relevant part of the competition rather than just holding a board and standing next to a car. We haven't quite cracked what this will look like, but we've recognized we need to become more progressive there."

A more relevant part of the competition?  Of course they haven't 'quite cracked it' because... there's nothing to crack!

Just for fun though... let's help liberty out:

• Grid girls are also the ones with the starter
• Grid girls are the drivers wives/girlfriends (not unlike valets in professional wrestling)  Single drivers get a hookup from Tinder
• Instead of 'grid girls', we get the team principles to stand there.  Much easier for them to be interviewed on the grid walk
• The pit boards are carried by the grid girls along a cat-walk, they hold them high like round cards in boxing

[Monty]

I have mixed feelings about this. Just referring to 'grid girls' is mildly insulting and I am concerned that the whole concept might be a big problem for a lot of people. On the other hand, I assume these young ladies enjoy what they do and make a viable living. Personally I just accept the use of attractive women as one part of a marketing strategy for the F1 brand and it is hardly a uniquely motor racing issue (there are promotional 'girls' and cheerleaders working at many family based sporting events). I just hope Liberty do not ban grid girls just to be Politically Correct if in fact nobody was actually being offended by their presence.

[lkjohnson1950]

I think I've linked this before, but here is a woman who has been an F1 journalist who is offended.

https://racingrecap.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/372/comment-page-1/#comment-3

[Monty]

I think I've linked this before, but here is a woman who has been an F1 journalist who is offended.

https://racingrecap.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/372/comment-page-1/#comment-3

Thanks for this. I think it may confirm my worst fears; a narrow minded view protecting people that didn't ask to be protected. The additional link:-
http://www.girlracer.co.uk/index.php/motorsport/motorsport-news/21048-btcc-grid-girls-tell-us-the-truth
seems to suggest a completely different view from people that are actually involved.
I think that some 'tacky' publicity can be seen in the light hearted way that it is intended and doesn't really offend anyone. I remember visiting Hooters in Miami and being amazed by the happy family environment despite the 'uniforms' being worn by the servers - in the heat of Miami it was 'tongue-in-cheek'. In Slough it would just be gross! I think 'grid girls' add something to motorsport and unless there is evidence that they are suffering from the experience I hope they stay.

[Alianora La Canta]

There are starting to be legality issues with grid girls consisting purely of women, and on the occasions where F1 has tried allowing grid boys to serve, there's been protesting among certain parts of the paddock. I think this is an attempt to balance everything without actually getting rid of the role altogether (as WEC has done - that went down well, but the audience has different expectations there).

[lkjohnson1950]

F1 is trying to expand it's audience and the fact is a large group of people are offended by women being used in a way that could be considered exploitation. I don't think Victoria Reid is narrow minded, she is expressing a view that is held by a large number of women. In the end it will come down to economics; which is larger the group of people offended by grid girls or the group that won't watch if they're not there.

[Ian]

I'm not sure about exploitation Lonny, they're getting paid to just stand there holding a board, it's the same as in some daily newspapers over here, complaints about exploiting women showing their boobs and bums on page three, noone forced them to do it and they were also getting paid, it's about choice, if you don't want to do it, don't do it.

[Dare]

Their gone

http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/11230563/grid-girls-will-not-feature-in-formula-1-from-2018-season

[Ian]

I sincerely wish that all the snowflake pc brigade would melt and flow down the drains where they belong.

[Robem64]

I sincerely wish that all the snowflake pc brigade would melt and flow down the drains where they belong.

Agreed

[Andy B]

F1 girls have changed from the scantily clad to quite sophisticatedly dressed and I'm sure they are were well paid for what they did and ironically its an American company that bans the use of Grid Girls when out of them all last season the US GP girls had the least on as the cheerleaders do at football games. Have they, will they be banned too?

[Ian]

Kelly Brook(an English model and tv presenter) said being an F1 grid girl was one of the best jobs she ever had, well paid and staying in the best hotels, was never harassed and treated with respect. By what right do these people think they have the right to take away their employment.

[cosworth151]

I'll be interested to see if they bring back the
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in Austin next year.

[Dare]

I sincerely wish that all the snowflake pc brigade would melt and flow down the drains where they belong.

Agreed,I worry that I might have said something or looked at somebody
wrong in the past 40 years. It's getting to be a joke and not a very funny one.

[Jericoke]

I sincerely wish that all the snowflake pc brigade would melt and flow down the drains where they belong.

Agreed,I worry that I might have said something or looked at somebody
wrong in the past 40 years. It's getting to be a joke and not a very funny one.

If you wish to find attractive women to ogle, the Internet offers plenty of opportunities. (Don't get me wrong, I think a healthy human being should be expected to ogle members of their preferred gender.) 

I've stated I'm not particularly offended by it, but I'm not sad to see it go either.

The issue isn't how F1 grid girls are treated, but rather the knock on effect:  that lower series have an expectation to copy the big boys, and those women certainly won't have the best accommodations or security.  There should be no expectation of beautiful women each time you see a race car, and that has to start at the top. 

It certainly was a tough decision, and I'm honestly surprised they did so.