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Formula One’s new owners Liberty Media have dragged F1 into the 21st century at last by getting rid of the outdated and unnecessary grid girls.
F1 to stop using grid girls
"Custom does not resonate with our brand values" https://t.co/zKqSwM8EUU
— Formula 1 (@F1) January 31, 2018
There is no need for a model to stand around on the grid in front of a car, or even worse the absurd display of a hallway of women applauding the top three on the way to the podium. They aren’t needed, and I do not understand why so many people seem to be getting so irritated over their removal.
If you’re annoyed at this news, the chances are it doesn’t even affect you. It doesn’t really affect anybody. F1 grid girls are not employed by F1, they are not employed by the teams, they are just models in the country doing three days of work, if the loss of three days work is really going to affect them then they probably need another job as it is anyway. And yes, I’m sure they enjoyed their jobs and nobody makes them do anything they don’t want to, but that simply isn’t the point.
For those of you that disagree with my points, I ask a simple question. Have you ever been to a racetrack with a woman in her late teens or early 20s? Have you seen first-hand the way some racing fans treat them? The way they’re believed to just be dumb, know nothing of the sport and just there because they fancy the drivers? I’ve seen some of it and heard some of it, either in person, through someone else or online.
While getting rid of grid girls won’t fix this overnight, it’s the first step to a better future. WEC has already ditched grid girls, Formula E has replaced them with grid kids, and F1 has finally taken a step in the right direction.
If you don’t want to listen to a straight white male talk about grid girls, one of my friends wrote her dissertation on women in motorsport, here’s her opinion.
“Personally for me, I think it does depend on the individuals views and of those who do work there. But in a contemporary society which has moved on since the inauguration of F1, there’s been so many changes. In my personal view, I think the grid girl idea was outdated and has been for a while, as I’d rather watch the sport for the racing. I’ve always liked the idea of children being on the grid in front of the cars and having a once in a lifetime opportunity. Football does it, so why can’t the pinnacle of motorsport?”
And I can’t not agree, ditch the outdated women, bring in kids, get the youth interested in racing by bringing them up close to the fastest cars around. And honestly, in a month or two, who will even care about the fact grid girls have been dropped? Who cares about the F1 logo now? There was uproar, then it died down as people accepted it, same will likely happen here.
