A woman as a test driver?!

[OpenToSuggestions]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17682392

A woman will be a test driver for Williams.
She isn't the first woman in F1 but is certainly the first I have ever come across.

I will be first to say, I would!

 

[arknor]

already discussed in the off topic thread.

married to a share holder
is a female
her best result in a DTM race is 7th

seems like an ideal test driver...... if your teams desperate for attention maybe

 

[Indy500]

already discussed in the off topic thread.

married to a share holder
is a female
her best result in a DTM race is 7th

seems like an ideal test driver...... if your teams desperate for attention maybe

Ralf Schumacher, Hakkinen and Coulthard also looked poor in DTM. The series doesn't have car parity...

That said, I agree this is a PR move - I haven't seen anything to suggest Stoddart could put out a competitive lap time in an F1 car.

 

[Guerrilla]

Don't Marussia have a female test driver this year too?

Edit: Just seen it's linked on that page even ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17293023

 

[FrankJH]

new fad is to have a reasonably hot female test driver lol

 

[Skeeter]

Positive press for a team looking for funding.

Faaaaar from the first female F1 driver though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_Formula_One_drivers

Looks like a bit of a Williams trend, 3 of the 7 have driven for them.

 

[HummuH1]

Susie's from the same home town as me, knew her back in the day when she and her family would go off every weekend with the kart in tow.

She deserves the chance, no matter what the circumstances, and I'm delighted she's got the development drive.

 

[Skeeter]

Unfortunately being a 3rd driver for an F1 team isn't the chance it used to be

Your better off driving for a GP2 or GP3 team affiliated with an F1 team than you are being a 3rd driver for the team itself.

The ban on testing has really affected young/new driver development.

 

[dannyjo22]

Ralf Schumacher, Hakkinen and Coulthard also looked poor in DTM. The series doesn't have car parity...

That said, I agree this is a PR move - I haven't seen anything to suggest Stoddart could put out a competitive lap time in an F1 car.

I don't imagine the same hunger is there for those drivers as a driver desparate to break through. I have not ever seen her in dtm so I don't know if she has shone despite lack of car parity.

Well she can do a few straight line tests and the Williams director can get laid regularly, every one wins!

 

[HummuH1]

Well she can do a few straight line tests and the Williams director can get laid regularly, every one wins!

I think her husband, Toto Wolff, an investor in Williams F1 may have something to say about that

 

[DBT85]

The best part of this was Bernies response. "if shes as fast in a car as she looks good out of it then she'll be an asset to any team. And shes very intelligent too." Well done bernie

In theory women should have a good chance in F1 as the designers want small light drivers which will help with CoG, weight distribution etc.

 

[Skeeter]

Didn't the IndyCar drivers try to complain about Danica Patrick somehow getting an advantage by being smaller and lighter than some of the male drivers?

 

[floatindolphin]

Gah, she'll leave the seat pulled all the way forward, the mirrors all wonky, bananna skins on the floor.....

 

[ShakenNstirred]

Didn't the IndyCar drivers try to complain about Danica Patrick somehow getting an advantage by being smaller and lighter than some of the male drivers?

thats because most of the indy drivers are old n fat lol

 

[4T5]

How do they fit the sink in the cockpit ???

 

[dannyjo22]

Didn't the IndyCar drivers try to complain about Danica Patrick somehow getting an advantage by being smaller and lighter than some of the male drivers?

Rightly so really, back then she had a 50 to 100lb weight advantage. Back then 2005 (not sure if it still stands) the cars all weighed in the same and the driver wasn't taken into account.

The Indy Racing League does not consider the weight of the driver in its race specifications. The car has to weigh at least 1,525 pounds before the fuel and driver are added.

Imagine Lewis being able to effectively run 50 kilos lighter than Jenson.

CS nuts once said on here there was a large difference between webber and vettel because webber had far less ballast to play with and that's on a car where the driver weight is taken into consideration.

That's a serious advantage Patrick had and she still sucked monkey balls. What was it, 14 years in all formula to even win a race in any category?

 

[dannyjo22]

I think her husband, Toto Wolff, an investor in Williams F1 may have something to say about that

He's a director according to the bbc report I saw yesterday, which is why I suggested a Williams director would be getting some daily

 

[arknor]

That's a serious advantage Patrick had and she still sucked monkey balls. What was it, 14 years in all formula to even win a race in any category?

as far as i can find out sussie stoddart/wolf never won any race even in karting

if it were a man i doubt he would even be in dtm

 

[DBT85]

Michèle Mouton won a few rallies but only came second in the Championship in the end of '82.

Also won the 2.0 litre Prototype '75 Le Man 24 hrs with an all female team.

Went on to co found the Race of Champions.

Only heard about her thanks to BBC documentary that was on the iPlayer the other day about the madness that was Group B Rally caled "Madness on Wheels: Rallying's Craziest Years". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_B

 

[Skeeter]

IIRC Mouton came within half a day of winning the 1982 WRC.