Commenting on her TikTok video that went viral with over 400,000 views in response to Red Bull Team Principle Christian Horner’s insinuation of the dangerous narrative that women cannot like a sport for the sport itself, Lissie Mackintosh thinks it is “very harmful to pigeon-hole all the young women interested in F1, and sorely attribute that to, in his opinion, the good-looking drivers.”
“A man in such a position of power, in my opinion, should be more nuanced than that” and should not negate “the group of women who watch F1 because they watched it for years with their parents…or they want to be a race car driver or an engineer.”
Lissie subsequently received backlash in the form of misogynistic comments, “I see you’re in the kitchen, stay there don’t leave,” highlighting the disparagement that women in motorsport continue to face. Other questions she gets as a woman working in this field include, “Are you really a F1 fan? Explain what downforce is then?” These responses showcase the lack of respect given to women interested in motorsport.
“Not being taken seriously, it’s kind of swept under the rug…there a lot of things as a woman in motorsport that you kind of take on the chin.” In light of this reality, Lissie has found herself questioning her wardrobe and her behaviour when working—“Oh maybe I shouldn’t wear pink today…oh maybe I shouldn’t laugh like that.”
Motorsport has historically been a male-dominated sport and as Lissie mentions, “In F1 every driver on the grid is male. I think if you sat down and just watched a F1 race on a Sunday, you would hear two male commentators, see ten male team principles, twenty male drivers, and garages full of male engineers.”
In an attempt to address this imbalance, the W Series was launched in 2018 as an all-women’s, free-to-enter championship. Motorsport is one of the only totally mixed sports in which women can compete against men. The beauty of having a women’s only race is that it gives women the opportunities to race and eliminates some of the financial barriers that have historically prevented women from racing.
However, as Lissie mentions “there needs to be more done in terms of what happens after the W Series. We are still not seeing any women drivers in F3, because F3 is so expensive.” Jamie Chadwick stands as case in point here. Despite winning the W Series title both times since its inception, due to a lack of finances she was unable to advance to the FIA F3 Championship.
In reality, women do not start on an even footing with male drivers because they are under-resourced, under-funded and still not taken as seriously as men in the sport.
“We need to help these women keep going and keep progressing…these conversations need to be followed up by action.”
Having female role models—seeing women break the bias, competing and working at the highest levels—is so important when it comes to challenging gender bias in sport. When asked about her role models in motorsports:
“I look at women like Ruth Buscombe and Hannah Schmitz, amazing female strategists, who for me are people I’ve always looked up to.” Likewise, “Rachel Brookes, Natalie Pinkham, Rosanna Tennant, who are just so incredibly good at what they do. We need more relatable role models. They’re such strong women and we need more of them.”
Lissie commended these women, and others such as Susie Wolff for taking on the role of campaigners for gender equality in motorsport but points out that they almost have to, given the severe lack of representation in the motorsport world.
On top of the names mentioned by Lissie, other women in positions of note include F1’s Head of Communications Ellie Horner, Mercedes' wind tunnel technician Dr Kathryn Richards and Aston Martin’s Jessica Hawkins. While we are definitely seeing more women involved in motorsport, the amount of women remains much smaller compared to the amount of men.
With shows like Netflix’s Drive to Survive the world of motorsport is becoming more accessible. If F1 wishes to increase its fanbase and appeal to a diverse crowd, diversity of representation is surely needed across every area of the sport. If young women can see role models in female drivers, managers, journalists and engineers on-screen, they are given permission to dream and to pursue a career in motorsport.
Lissie aspires to continue to create inclusive content for F1’s young and in particular female, audience. You can find Lissie on TikTok and Instagram at Lissiemackintosh and on her podcast “Going Purple” on Spotify.
@lissiemackintosh Dear Christian Horner… #f1 #formulaone #formula1 #f12022 #f1tiktok #f1girl #foryou #motorsports #f1team #redbull #christianhorner #cargirl #f1meme #cars #formula12022 #carlaunch #maxverstappen ♬ original sound - LISSIE
