In a world that is seeing greater female participation in all forms of motorsport, Formula 1 is conducting a “strong review” on its use of female promotional models or grid girls, according to BBC Sport.
In an interview with BBC Radio 5, F1 managing director Ross Brawn said that it was a “delicate topic,” adding, “We’re trying to respect all parties. There’s a lot of people [who] respect the tradition of the grid girls and there’s people who feel that it has become a bit dated, so we’re addressing that.”
Chief executive officer Chase Carey, who took over from Bernie Ecclestone when American corporation Liberty Media bought the sport early this year, added, “What we need to do is get as many points of view as possible and make a decision right for the future of the sport.”
Carey said that the matter wasn’t high on the priority list when he took on his job. “On the list of things I have been dealing with, grid girls wasn’t really up there on top, with all respect,” he said. Even so, he said that he wanted the sport to “engage everybody” regarding the matter, adding that he would “love” to see a female Formula 1 driver.
“Is it something from the past, or is it something distinct that should be part of the future?” he said. “I don’t think it will be a personal decision for me. I may have a point of view but, when you have a sport, you are dealing with teams and a large ecosystem and a large fanbase that is very passionate. There is never going to be a consensus, but a set of views.”
The usage of grid girls has been debated as social attitudes have changed, and certain venues have begun to experiment with other alternatives, such as using male models instead of female, as well as children as mascots. In a poll conducted by BBC Sport, 60% of voters said that grid girls should remain in Formula 1.
This follows a greater trend that has already seen other top racing series scale down or completely end their use of grid girls. The World Endurance Championship (WEC) stopped having female promotional models on the grid since the 2015 season, a move that has been followed by a number of MotoGP teams and venues.
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To be honest i look at the F1 cars more than the models. Thats just me.
Can’t blame U. Some prefer the F1 car over a model. That is why F1 have cars & babes. Cheers.
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to much temptation then can take No 2, No 3 and No 4
First they take out the “noise” than say no more refueling, than say cannot simply change tyre than followed with all sort of stupid restriction.Now they wanted to take out the girls? Oh shi* whats next?…a car without a driver?
The excitement is at the first and last 5 minutes,in between go fap better.
Nooooo… leave the girls alone.
Fancy some grid boyz… meoww
Ha ha ha. This is a HOT topic for Red blooded male species. What is F1 without Grid girls !! They are like sunshine in a cloudy afternoon.
It is bad enuff when F1 lost its soul, the roaring glorious sound of F1 during Michael Shumacher era. Cheers… to Grid Girls.
The organisers can retain the girls. Just use fat ugly girls…….Surely no one will make issues out of it.
They should remain but maybe introduce more girls….just a suggestion
Why not ask the girls if they like the job before you put more people out of work. To them it is a modeling job they get paid. Some look like they enjoy the opportunity some look as if they dont.
Girls love the lime light attention they get else they wont be posing on intsagram either.. Let them have it I say
Let beauty be appreciated
Krik krik krik krik… just focus on cars please..
Then how come Nascar has not problem with the car noise & gals. hmm. I guess its that certain set of views.
Liberty Media should learn from Japan GT race queens…