F1 chief makes female driver prediction

Stefano Domenicali commented on the chances of a woman driving in the elite motor racing championship

Formula One should not expect to see a female driver in its ranks in the next five years, according to its president, Stefano Domenicali.

The Italian said that though it is "crucial to give the maximum possibility for women to come" to the elite motorsport championship, which it is "totally dedicated to," he added that "realistically speaking, unless there is something like a meteorite, I don't see a girl coming into F1 in the next five years".

"That is very unlikely," Domenicali added, while claiming that F1 is "working to see what we can do to improve the system."

F1 has shown a desire to do this by promoting the W Series at its Grands Prix this season which has only female racers.

"We are very happy with the collaboration with Formula W," Domenicali said on this.

"But we believe that to be able to give the chance to girls to be at the same level of competition with the guys, they need to be at the same age when they start to fight on the track at the level of Formula 3 and Formula 2.

An all-female team on the grid.