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F1 News & Discussions => General F1 Discussion => Topic started by: Robem64 on December 14, 2017, 01:37:50 PM

Title: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Robem64 on December 14, 2017, 01:37:50 PM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/42346331 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/42346331)

I'd rather they reviewed grid penalty use as a priority over whether to use grid girls.

At the end of the day nobody is forcing these girls against their will.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Dare on December 14, 2017, 02:02:29 PM
In the new world we live in you have to be aware of what
you think or say as people get their feeling hurt so easy.
Before long there won't be any actors left on tv.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Jericoke on December 14, 2017, 02:59:58 PM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/42346331 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/42346331)

I'd rather they reviewed grid penalty use as a priority over whether to use grid girls.

At the end of the day nobody is forcing these girls against their will.

A few years ago they added some 'grid dudes' into the mix.  I think that's the better solution.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Jericoke on December 14, 2017, 03:02:26 PM
In the new world we live in you have to be aware of what
you think or say as people get their feeling hurt so easy.
Before long there won't be any actors left on tv.

While there are plenty of people who whine about their feelings being hurt, the actors/producers etc. getting erased from the entertainment world are people who got physical without consent (or worse, forced 'consent'). 

We can debate where the line should be drawn, but when these people vanish with a vague apology and no fight, they know they've crossed it.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Ian on December 14, 2017, 09:46:23 PM
I am sick and tired of all the PC and gender awareness, even worse is kids a young as 4 or 5 being asked if they're happy in their gender, let them be kids for heavens sake, they learn soon enough now that the world is not always as friendly as it should be.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: sprite on December 15, 2017, 01:58:09 AM
If a driver can't find his grid spot without someone holding a sign with their name on it, should he be on the grid?
Wouldn't miss them..
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: John S on December 15, 2017, 11:17:26 AM
For me F1 drivers, teams and especially the new FOG have become way to serious about all aspects of the sport/circus that is F1. Grid girls or boys are just part of the pageant atmosphere on race day. Sure it"s frivolous and may not be really necessary but IMHO it adds to the whole trackside show.

The teams and management seem unwilling to let us have, or even see, big and crazy personalities as standard amongst the drivers so extra Showtime sparkly bits help with the general razzmataz.

I note that Brawn would also like female F1 drivers. - Yeah like that's really gonna happen with the tighter and tighter Super Licence points rules.

With almost no representation in the qualifying series we are many years off any woman getting even half the points required to be in F1. Perhaps Ross needs to address that issue more proactively rather than fiddling with the window dressing. 





Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Jericoke on December 15, 2017, 03:39:55 PM
If a driver can't find his grid spot without someone holding a sign with their name on it, should he be on the grid?
Wouldn't miss them..

I presume the signs aren't for the drivers, but the people paying for paddock club access and want to seem knowledgeable about which drivers are 'good'
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: cosworth151 on December 15, 2017, 08:09:23 PM
A couple of quotes:

Max Verstappen: "The grid girls must stay."

Nico Hulkenberg: "It would be a pity if they took the eye jewelry from the grid. What will come next year instead? Halo? Oh dear."
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Dare on December 15, 2017, 09:13:28 PM
Give us halos and no passing and cars with no sound
but taking away the grid girls is more than a true fan can
stand. But please no trans grid girls what ever they do
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Scott on December 15, 2017, 10:15:33 PM
Too many tangents in this thread to make a reasonable comment, but as for Grid Girls, I couldn't care a less.  Stick the car numbers on a post and have the team haul it away when they run off the grid.  Maybe they can save a bit of money and stop trying to reduce the number of engines.  ;) 
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: lkjohnson1950 on December 16, 2017, 04:04:12 AM
A literate view from a woman who loves racing.

https://racingrecap.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/372/ (https://racingrecap.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/372/)
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: cosworth151 on December 16, 2017, 01:47:04 PM
But that's just the problem. The cars and the circuits aren't sexy anymore. They're minivan V-6's on over gimmicked cookie cutter Tilke-dromes. The engines don't moan & purr. They emit a sad, pathetic whimper. The drivers don't go all-out to win. They can't They have to go easy on their engines to make them last or face ridiculously large grid penalties. There are no truly innovative designs. Why bother? Every time one comes along, the FIA springs into action to outlaw it. The sport is still being run by people who think that having pretty buildings in the background is far more important than putting on a good race.

In spite of all this, F1 still has fans that will get up at ridiculous hours of the night and search the internet to find feeds to watch the races. That's because the powers-that-be don't think we're worth a decent, affordable feed.

Worrying about issues like grid girls at a time like this is about as useful as rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Alianora La Canta on December 16, 2017, 05:14:37 PM
If a driver can't find his grid spot without someone holding a sign with their name on it, should he be on the grid?
Wouldn't miss them..

While we have had F1 race winners fail to do so on the start grid (I've supported one who managed it twice at the same track), the boards with names on haven't have helped that bit as they leave, with the grid girls, before the formation lap. The post-installation lap grid has been guided using race numbers since at least 2015, and even then Pascal Wehrlein managed to miss his grid slot (he went on to score a point for Manor in the very same race, largely because of some extremely quick reversing!)

When the grid girls are on the grid, they get from the line equivalent to the start of the pit lane restricted area to their grid slot by mechanics pushing them. If every single one of them forgets which grid slot they're going to... ...the entire team has a big problem. Though the name sign, in fairness, doesn't help then either as it is facing the wrong way. (In reality, the signs are there for rookie fans attending the race - celebrity or otherwise).

As for the news item, I think it's a "slow news day" story. Liberty, last I heard, were reviewing literally everything within their power.

Female drivers? I agree. This is one more failing of a system that heavily rewards success in the most expensive series - women don't get the sponsorship to do well in expensive series very often. The only time it's happened is Carmen Jorda, who took a F3 car in a team where the other driver won the championship to 0 points. That's because big sponsors don't want to sponsor speedy women; they only want to sponsor women who look like grid girls, who can be supporting characters on male-targeted adverts.

Unfortunately, Liberty can't change the Superlicence system to reward cheaper series. They can't even force the FIA to award points for the horrible women-only scam-resembling subseries that some businessmen whose names I can't be bothered to remember keep toting where it's not wanted. All they can do is cheerlead.

Big, bright personalities are a function of team restrictions, media saturation and possibly overlong (in calendar months) scheduling. Liberty can't influence the first one except indirectly, and the other two would probably work against Liberty's short-term bottom line if it did anything about them. Depending on its long-term goals, it may still be worth its doing so financially (and it certainly is from the angle of interest).

Scott, what you describe is what WEC does. The change occurred at the beginning of last year and has been received well. Admittedly, F1 has had grid girls for a lot longer, so it's natural there'd be more resistance in F1 than WEC.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: cosworth151 on January 13, 2018, 07:32:57 PM
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."
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Jericoke on January 14, 2018, 05:07:03 PM
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:
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Monty on January 15, 2018, 09:23:44 AM
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.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: lkjohnson1950 on January 15, 2018, 05:59:54 PM
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 (https://racingrecap.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/372/comment-page-1/#comment-3)
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Monty on January 16, 2018, 11:01:42 AM
Quote
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.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Alianora La Canta on January 16, 2018, 03:22:15 PM
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).
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: lkjohnson1950 on January 16, 2018, 05:53:46 PM
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.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Ian on January 16, 2018, 08:22:17 PM
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.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Dare on January 31, 2018, 02:04:58 PM
Their gone

http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/11230563/grid-girls-will-not-feature-in-formula-1-from-2018-season
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Ian on January 31, 2018, 04:16:03 PM
I sincerely wish that all the snowflake pc brigade would melt and flow down the drains where they belong.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Robem64 on January 31, 2018, 05:06:38 PM
I sincerely wish that all the snowflake pc brigade would melt and flow down the drains where they belong.

Agreed :good:
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Andy B on January 31, 2018, 08:17:26 PM
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?
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Ian on January 31, 2018, 08:39:31 PM
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.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: cosworth151 on January 31, 2018, 10:01:50 PM
I'll be interested to see if they bring back the
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in Austin next year.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Dare on January 31, 2018, 10:24:05 PM
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.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Jericoke on February 01, 2018, 03:13:04 PM
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.

Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Ian on February 01, 2018, 06:31:13 PM
What puzzles me about these 'feminist's' Jeri is that they are so fond of saying that it's a woman's body to do with as they wish, but now they're saying the opposite through which they've got the big business's taking away these women's incomes, seems a bit hypocritical to me.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Jericoke on February 01, 2018, 08:25:58 PM
What puzzles me about these 'feminist's' Jeri is that they are so fond of saying that it's a woman's body to do with as they wish, but now they're saying the opposite through which they've got the big business's taking away these women's incomes, seems a bit hypocritical to me.

I agree that the mixed messages are confusing at best.  The grid girls in F1 are going to be treated fairly, in terms of pay and security.  I'm sure that hasn't always been true, but I would be it is (was) true for the last decade or so.

It's not about protecting the women who can take care of themselves, and you're right, these women are victims of this decision.  It's about protecting women further down the foodchain. For every grid girl at an F1 race there are thousands of women hanging around race tracks trying to find self worth from the attention of fans and drivers.  They're not always going to be treated fairly and safely.  As long as people associate beautiful women with racing, women will try to associate themselves with racing to feel beautiful. 
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Andy B on February 02, 2018, 05:10:29 AM
Its interesting what the girls themselves say.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11986870
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Scott on February 02, 2018, 07:33:12 AM
The only politically correct thing to do is to bring in Grid Old Guys.  Where do I sign up?
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Monty on February 02, 2018, 11:18:51 AM
I know I am a dinosaur but I will miss 'grid-girls'. All through my motor racing 'career' there were always promotion girls involved. Even when I first started Karting my girlfriend would act as a 'brolly dolly' - this being what she called herself.
In later years, when I tried my hand at Superbike racing, there were always 'grid girls'. Some were girlfriends & wives, some were sisters, others were professionals. They all seemed to love what they did, they definitely helped pushing the sponsors messages and nothing seemed to be remotely sexist. Indeed, there were a couple of lady racers who also chose to have their own grid girls.
The loss of 'grid girls' will not improve or detract from F1 but I can't help thinking the decision was made for the wrong reasons and without due consideration of the damage it will do to the long term and lucrative employment of many ladies that have been doing this job for several years.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Jericoke on February 02, 2018, 03:13:43 PM
I know I am a dinosaur but I will miss 'grid-girls'. All through my motor racing 'career' there were always promotion girls involved. Even when I first started Karting my girlfriend would act as a 'brolly dolly' - this being what she called herself.
In later years, when I tried my hand at Superbike racing, there were always 'grid girls'. Some were girlfriends & wives, some were sisters, others were professionals. They all seemed to love what they did, they definitely helped pushing the sponsors messages and nothing seemed to be remotely sexist. Indeed, there were a couple of lady racers who also chose to have their own grid girls.
The loss of 'grid girls' will not improve or detract from F1 but I can't help thinking the decision was made for the wrong reasons and without due consideration of the damage it will do to the long term and lucrative employment of many ladies that have been doing this job for several years.

Family and friends will still show up on the grid/garages, and I'm guessing that 'grid girls' who are good at the job beyond wearing tight clothes will find themselves working with the hospitality suites. 

It's not as though the sport will eliminate 'glamour' entirely, just stop paying for it openly.  In retrospect, surely it's a better cost cutting measure than limiting the number of engine blocks a driver can use? (After all, the 'savings' made when a team cuts the number of engines is still in the cost of firing engineers/technicians who were doing very well and cut without consideration)


Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Ian on February 02, 2018, 04:42:14 PM
I think the money saved will go in somebodies pocket rather than the teams. Family and friends, yeah, I can go with that, I always went to my sons rugby training and matches. Same as Monty I will miss them.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: cosworth151 on February 02, 2018, 06:46:06 PM
After the arrival of the minivan engines, the "dictator derby" venues and such, the Grid Girls were pretty much the final vestige of glamor left in F1.

I'm torn on the subject. Yes, the sport did have Grid Girls. Some viewed the idea as sexist. From what many of the women themselves have said, they saw it as a really, really good job. Don't forget that the past few years have brought also brought women like Monisha Kaltenborn, Claire Williams & Susie Wolff to F1. Too bad we couldn't have had a top flight driver like Katherine Legge or Sarah Fisher this.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Ian on February 02, 2018, 07:08:38 PM
Wonder how Sabine Shmitz would perform in an F1 car ?
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Andy B on February 02, 2018, 08:40:48 PM
I was just reading that the BTCC are to continue using Grid Girls but they are employed by the teams and do a whole season including promotional work and appearing on stage with drivers and team principles for presentations and prize giving maybe "rri" should have gone down the same road rather than remove employment and take away these girls opportunity to work?
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Ian on February 03, 2018, 10:51:43 AM
Good old Niki Lauda, he said, "How stupid can they be ? This is a decision against women, this is not doing any favours for F1 or women, I hope it can be reversed."
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Ian on February 03, 2018, 11:03:45 AM
I reckon the snowflakes and pc brigade would have apoplexy over this. Might not want your kids to watch it though.

http://www.csfights.com/20180114-2move-lfl-lingerie-fighting-championship/
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Alianora La Canta on February 03, 2018, 11:39:47 AM
From the way this was phrased, I think this looks like a commercial decision. The bosses did the calculation and decided that the grid girls were doing more harm than good to their bottom line. I seriously doubt Liberty would remove grid girls just to make a statement, am not sure whether they are yet convinced of the argument that "men do, women adorn" harms the overall employment prospects of women, and for that matter they haven't struck me as political crusaders of any description.

Remember, Liberty also owns the Atlanta Braves, and they have an entire scantily-clad cheerleading team. As far as I know, it will continue to work ther for the foreseeable future, possibly in part because it's possible to book them for other events (https://www.mlb.com/braves/fans/entertainment-teams/tomahawk-team) and therefore make more profit out of them (the grid girls in F1 were paid by the race organisers, so no opportunity for Liberty to make additional income from their services). It would be difficult to argue that a company that has a cheerleading team that has not only skimpily-clad but is full of Native American appropriation would have much of a basis for banning grid girls on the basis of morality (as distinct from commerce). While I agree with the ban, I cannot take the excuse given at face value.

It would probably be fairer to say that the bosses of F1 have decided to make grid girls redundant (expect the replacement to be some sort of volunteers as per Formula E, or else make the teams themselves do the job as per WEC) rather than this being an action intended to be either pro- or anti-feminist. Also remember: it's easier to make people redundant if you never directly employed them in the first place (I think Formula E did directly employ their FanBoost models, unlike F1's race-promoter-based employment model).

It's a shame that the women are losing their jobs at the front of cars, but I think it is likely to (eventually) expand employers' minds enough to employ people more meritocratically if they don't get the "men do, women adorn" thing thrust into their faces every race. So I don't think we'll get less women overall. They will, however, be different women. I also seriously doubt the sport will stop paying for women to adorn - this decision only directly affects the grid girls, not team choices about who gets garage passes or how their teams are promoted. If someone wanted to be the next Eddie Jordan and stuff their PR team full of glamour models and the most attractive skilled press people they can find, it would be seen as hopelessly cheesy (and unless there was gender equality in how it was done, there'd start to be legality problems too - at least for the EU-based teams) but there's nothing in the rules to stop it. For that matter, it doesn't affect the Paddock Club staff - which Liberty, may I remind you, owns.

Finally... ...what's the betting that Liberty will try to take the amount the promoters saved on paying the grid girls as additional hosting fee, next time the circuits go to the negotiating table?

Edit: not wishing to double-post, but another data point: PDC banned walk-on girls last week (who did an equivalent job to grid girls). It turns out broadcaster pressure was the primary reason (https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opinion/f1/how-f1-was-overtaken-darts) for their change. Make of that what you will...
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: lkjohnson1950 on February 05, 2018, 06:53:09 PM
The solution has been found: Grid Kids!!

https://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2018/02/05/f1-announces-new-grid-kids-scheme-replace-grid-girls/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+f1fanatic+%28F1+Fanatic+-+The+Formula+1+Blog%29 (https://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2018/02/05/f1-announces-new-grid-kids-scheme-replace-grid-girls/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+f1fanatic+%28F1+Fanatic+-+The+Formula+1+Blog%29)
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: cosworth151 on February 05, 2018, 07:50:38 PM
Kind of like replacing the Super Bowl with Puppy Bowl.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Jericoke on February 05, 2018, 07:53:19 PM
The solution has been found: Grid Kids!!

https://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2018/02/05/f1-announces-new-grid-kids-scheme-replace-grid-girls/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+f1fanatic+%28F1+Fanatic+-+The+Formula+1+Blog%29 (https://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2018/02/05/f1-announces-new-grid-kids-scheme-replace-grid-girls/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+f1fanatic+%28F1+Fanatic+-+The+Formula+1+Blog%29)

The National Hockey League has been doing this for years.  Engaging at the 'grass roots' level seems like a great way to grow the sport. (Of course, some NHL teams still employ cheerleaders and scantily clad women who clean the ice during stoppages)
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Scott on February 05, 2018, 09:39:23 PM
Not fair!  I still say Grid Geezers would be the most political correct way to go.
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Ian on February 05, 2018, 10:05:05 PM
I suppose the next thing will be nursery rhymes over the tannoy.  >:D
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Dare on February 06, 2018, 01:44:50 AM
I suppose the next thing will be nursery rhymes over the tannoy.  >:D

Your not far off
Title: Re: F1 'grid girls' under 'strong review'
Post by: Monty on February 06, 2018, 08:45:52 AM
http://www.planetf1.com/news/stewart-excuse-for-banning-grid-girls-is-baloney/

So Sir Jackie has seen my comments and feels he needs to support my view (or something like that). The decision doesn't really matter but the stated reasons for the decision just do not add up.
I rarely agree with what Sir Jackie says (he is normally deliberately contentious) but what he says about females making it to the top of Motor Sport is correct. It certainly isn't due to lack of ability. Britanny Force just won the Top Fuel Dragster Championship (and I think her sister Courtney was third in the Funny Car Championship?) which shows females do not lack guts or skill. The problem is that not enough of them start at grass roots level. Even those that do start often do not stick with it. Both my son and daughter were karting with Lewis Hamilton. There is two years between my kids but they had equal talent and both beat Hamilton in Cadets and TKM100 -not often but you have to push the positives :) But at around 14years old my daughter found horses (and boys) more interesting and drifted away from motor racing. I saw this happen a lot with the few females I saw in the various forms of motor sport that I was involved with.
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