Lotus development driver Carmen Jorda has backed Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone’s proposal for a women’s championship, saying it made perfect sense.
Jorda, who this year became only the second woman to earn a back-up position with an F1 team after Susie Wolff at Williams, told AFP on Friday that women deserved a fair crack at a world title.
“I think Bernie has a good idea,” the Spaniard said in an interview before the Chinese Grand Prix. “It will be great for us. They have men’s and women’s in other sports so why not us? It’s not fair to say we need to race against men. Why? To be behind them?”
Wolff herself has voiced opposition to a women’s Formula One series, insisting she wanted to continue racing as a “normal competitor” and questioning whether it would be possible to find a full grid of drivers.
Sipping on chamomile tea, Jorda questioned her British rival’s stance.
“At the moment she’s not competing,” shrugged the 26-year-old. “She’s just testing, so if she wants to compete (a women-only championship) will be really good.
“To be honest I don’t know why she’s against it because she could become a world champion,” added Jorda. “I’ve been racing since I was 12 and have seen so many women trying to make it. No one made it to the top. It’s worth it to give us a try as Bernie suggested.”
Like Wolff, former world champion Jenson Button also rejected Ecclestone’s idea, arguing women could compete with the men — a view quickly shot down by Jorda, daughter of former racing driver Jose Miguel Jorda.
– ‘Serena against Roger’ –
“What about Serena Williams against (Roger) Federer — what’s going to happen?” she sniffed, pointing at tennis and dismissing Button’s claim that women were physically as capable of matching their male counterparts at the very highest level of sport. “Ask (Button) this next time!
“It’s not fair, for sure. Women can race, yes, but for what? To be at the back, to be 15th place? We deserve a place to win, you know. If there is a women’s championship, I will definitely be in a good position.
“I would be well prepared because I’m already in a Formula One team. I don’t know about Susie but most of the women would love to do that so definitely I support the idea. I saw a few women racers who support it — it would be great for us.”
Ecclestone floated the idea of a women’s championship as a way to spice up Formula One with television audiences falling in key markets.
“Since I was little my dream was to be one day in Formula One,” said Jorda, who began karting in Valencia before her teens. “It would be a dream come true to make it. The speed, the adrenalin you have in the car. I just love it.
“But (Formula One) has to be a little bit more open. In society women are getting better jobs and in sport, if we want a women’s world champion, we need to have a world championship. It just really makes sense.”