“Who wrote this frankly atrocious thing?”: Fans barely mask their anger as Joe Saward’s comment on “females in F1” gets called out
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Ever since the start of the Formula One franchise, it had mostly been seen as a white-dominated sport, exclusive to the European elite, and unreachable for the others. But now, with the change in the ownership and several other factors, Formula 1 has taken huge strides to become more inclusive and accepting towards the various social issues that plague today’s world. But one thing that F1 has still not been able to improve, is the abysmal female representation in motorsports.
In an attempt to encourage more and more female participation in racing, the W Series was inaugurated in 2019, and it was believed to be a huge win for the FIA in terms to ensuring gender equality in motorsports. Now, three seasons later, the W Series had to be closed down due to lack of funding, and it feels like female representation in F1 is back to where it all started from. And in the middle of all this, fans tore apart journalist Joe Saward’s misogynistic comments in one of his articles after F1 presenter Laura Winter publicly called him out on Twitter.
https://youtu.be/XEr5RVapwRw
Laura Winter did not hold back while criticizing Joe Saward’s narrow-minded description of the “females in F1”. In response to the post, fans claimed remarks like Saward’s are the reason why the FIA is not being able to improve female representation in motorsports.
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“It’s so hurtful”: Fans react to Joe Saward’s misogynistic remark about women watching the US GP for Brad Pitt
In a recent news piece on the United States Grand Prix, penned by celebrated F1 journalist Joe Saward, he wrote, “The big news for the females in F1, of which these days there are a large number, was that Brad Pitt was [wandering] around.” It was clear from the text that he meant to say that the female audience who follow Formula One, are mostly interested in the looks of the male celebrities who frequently visit the paddocks during the Grand Prix weekends.
This remark has been utterly hurtful to the huge number of female fans who are passionate about motorsports. They took to Twitter to express how they feel about such a comment from Joe Saward, and here are their reactions–
I’m so tired of being told I must fancy one of the drivers to be interested.
— L for Laura (@FlossieJamSam) October 26, 2022
It's so hurtful. Also I like how apparently all "females of f1" are interested in men. ?
— Shannon ?? (@inadarkhallway) October 26, 2022
If I didn't care one ounce that Brad Pitt was there and would've preferred NOT to have him (or any celeb) on the grid, why should a woman care?WeI watch F1 for F1.
— RustySprings (@Visser8Ev) October 26, 2022
So infuriating to constantly battle against such toxicity. We appreciate strong women who stand up at times like these!
— Becca Girl Prix (@BeccaGirlPrix) October 26, 2022
I’m so frustrated and angry about this . Every time I feel like we are making progress someone makes a comment along this vein . It’s so tiresome.
— Lis(a) (@Sunshine_Lis) October 26, 2022
Who wrote this frankly atrocious thing? Appalling! How can people talk like that? ??
— Vencolini Fella ?????? (@veeencooo) October 26, 2022
In other news, Lewis Hamilton has been especially vocal about how the FIA should pool funds to revive the W Series in order to maintain female representation in Formula 1. As of now, the situation is quite tense for the W Series since it has been cancelled on monetary grounds, but there is news that the series will be back for next season as it has managed to put together sufficient funds for the same.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)