Encouraging Female Racecar Drivers, and Respecting Them
On Tuesday, July 29, 2025, BBC reporter Jasmine Lowe met some female racecar drivers — Katrina, Skye, and Monna — in North Lincolnshire. Females aren’t given the same respect as their male counterparts because males aren’t respecting them, either because of their gender or because of their age. I think female drivers deserve more support because we shouldn’t judge others by their gender, and girls should be able to become female racecar drivers.
First of all, everyone can race, not just men, and they should respect women drivers more. Everyone is a human being, so everyone should feel treated fairly. For this reason, programs are opening up to motivate girls to race. Katrina, age fifteen, said, “There were two or three drivers who were ganging up on me in the race just to purposely push me off.” These solutions will allow many women to pursue their dream of racing.
The second reason is that women should be encouraged to pursue their dreams. Girls have to be recognized and heard, like men — they are still racecar drivers, so they should be respected. When asked about her experience in racecar driving, Monna, age fourteen, said, “There are just people who don’t respect you, either if it’s because you’re younger than them or because you’re a girl.” “There’s this one person, and I get up to them. I overtake them, and they just did not like it — they just did not like it,” said Skye, age fifteen. Girls are all having struggles during races because males are disregarding them.
Thirdly, very few female drivers have competed in the Formula 1 Grand Prix, but numerous programs are being established to encourage more girls to race. As BBC reporter Jasmine Lowe says, “Men and women can compete against each other in this sport, but this hasn’t happened for almost fifty years. There’s only been five women drivers in F1 — ever.” As she said, there is a very small number of female race car drivers who have competed in the Formula 1 Grand Prix — exactly five, and it has been around fifty years since one competed.
Although some people might think racecar driving is a sport made only for boys, that is not true — some girls, like Katrina, Skye, and Monna, want to become Formula 1 drivers. Everyone is equal, so gender won’t stop girls from racing. We all dream of our future accomplishments, so why should women be discouraged from driving?
A way to inspire girls to race is to have lots of programs, like what’s happening now. The programs should inform countries all around the world about female racecar driving, so girls can get to drive. Also, the Formula 1 Grand Prix should state that at least five women will have to compete in each event. That way, girls can be able to become racecar drivers.
SOURCE: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/videos/cgr90y5p0z8o