Coulthard shatters the myth: Women absolutely can race in F1
Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard is on a mission to dismantle the outdated notion that women lack the physical capacity to compete in the pinnacle of motorsport.
Through his initiative, More than Equal, Coulthard is championing a data-driven approach to developing female talent, fueled by the memory of his late sister, Lynsay
Coulthard, a 13-time Grand Prix winner, isn’t here for excuses. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Scot –
co-founder of the More than Equal initiative – delivers a no-nonsense takedown of the naysayers, armed with data, experience, and the stopwatch’s cold truth.
Busting the Strength Myth
The notion that women lack the muscle to wrestle an F1 car? Coulthard doesn’t mince words: “It’s utter bulls*** that women don’t have the strength to do it.” He’s not guessing—he’s seen the numbers.
Through More than Equal, a science-driven program to unearth the first female F1 world champion, he’s watched young women train and thrive.
“We know what it takes to be physically strong enough to be a racing driver and all of the data shows that women comfortably fit within that category of physical performance,” he asserts, although he insists there’s no free pass.
“Anyone who doesn’t train doesn’t have what it takes to perform in motor racing – whether you’re a man or a woman,” he says. “An untrained person doesn’t have the strength to do anything.”
“I’m 53 and I wouldn’t be able to drive an F1 car quickly for more than 10 laps in my physical condition, now that I’m on the other side of my peak fitness. I had to train like an athlete twice a day, with a trainer, for years to be able to do my job.”
Recalling the W Series, the all-female series which he promoted, Coulthard spotted the gap.
“One of the things I saw with the W series was that we took the best women available to try and qualify to become part of the championship – and some of them just weren’t fit enough.
“I looked at them, going: ‘What’s your excuse for not training? You have to present yourself as being serious as a pro and that means training like an athlete.’”
Talent, Not Gender, Rules the Track
For Coulthard, it’s simple: “Therein lies the issue. There’s no physical reason they can’t do it.”
So why no women in F1 since 1976?
“The main thing is, are the ones driving right now good enough to make it? It’s not an opinion. It will be based on lap times,” he explains. “Ultimately, it’s the stopwatch that dictates things.
“You can either do a fast lap time or you can’t. And, if that is the case, as I say to my son, you can join a long line of people with good excuses as to why they didn’t do a specific lap time – why this, why that. Sport is about delivery.”
The former McLaren and Red Bull driver is nevertheless bullish on the future.
“Of course it will happen. Without question,” he said. “It’s not my opinion that there will be a woman in F1, It’s just a fact, but I can’t tell you right now who that person is.
“I assure you that every single F1 team would sign someone up right now, if they thought they could get that person.”
A Sister’s Legacy Fuels the Fight
Coulthard’s passion is personal. More than Equal honors his sister Lynsay, a talented karter who never got her shot.
“My sister raced karts,” he recalls. “She was fast, talented, won races, but she was six years younger than me and started racing at eight.
When I moved on to cars, I got signed to Paul Stewart racing, and was then tested for Williams at 18, 19 years old.
“We were then off on this magic carpet ride of European racing and, a few years later, I was an F1 driver. So she just never got the support. She eventually stopped racing.”
Lynsay didn’t resent it – “I spoke to her about it a lot and she never resented it at all”—but Coulthard feels the sting.
“I just feel that she wasn’t given the same crack at it. I can’t say she would ever have been a Formula 1 driver—who knows? But I can say, however, that she was talented enough to take that talent to some level of professionalism.”
That fuels his mission: “So, my belief that women can compete in motor racing is based on personal experience – not on some sort of guilt or ideology.
“I’m invested in the growth of women in the sport in memory of my sister – who didn’t get to take the opportunities that I got, because the family couldn’t support us both.”
Building a Data-Driven Revolution
More than Equal isn’t wishful thinking—it’s a system, according to Coulthard.
“I got the momentum, I always think that she never got the chance, so I have invested time, effort and money not in any one individual, but in a new system and science-based programme to have more of a data-driven approach,” he says.
Research shows only 13% of karters are female; Coulthard wants that pool to grow.
“I believe in the ability for women to compete on an equal level in motor racing, but we just haven’t had anyone who has had exceptional talent. It’s this desire to have the exceptional that drives the teams forward.”
Coulthard’s verdict? F1’s next female star isn’t a maybe—it’s a when. And when she arrives, she’ll silence the doubters with one thing: lap times.
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook
The post Coulthard shatters the myth: Women absolutely can race in F1 appeared first on F1i.com.