Susie Wolff will be the first woman to take part in an official Formula 1 session this weekend since Giovanna Amati in 1992, when she gets behind the wheel of Valtteri Bottas’s FW36 during practice.
Whilst it’s unlikely, at the age of 31, that she will progress much further in the sport, she says her main aim is to get more women involved.
“If there are just a handful of little girls who are there on Friday and see me driving and suddenly realise they could do the same, that is the biggest positive to come out of it,” said the Scottish driver.
“It’s not a man’s world any more. It just needs to be shown that women can compete at that level and then you’ll get more and more entering.”
The Williams development driver is often criticised, with many believing she only got the chance through husband Toto Wolff’s involvement in the Grove team. She insist that isn’t the case.
“I am well aware there are always going to be those for you and against you,” she added. “But my husband is not in the car changing gear for me. When I leave that pit lane, I’m on my own.
“Nobody says Nico Rosberg is only in F1 because his dad was a famous racing driver who funded his karting career and helped him get into F1.
“It’s a bit unfair just to focus on the fact that my husband is in F1 and it’s the only reason I’m in an F1 car.”
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