Lando Norris gives his take on the lack of female presence on the F1 grid: "The chance for a girl to get in is miles less"

Lando Norris recently explained why it is more difficult for females to enter F1 as drivers than males. As the sport moves forward, the organization are promoting a more inclusive and diverse environment.

The F1 Academy was also launched in 2023, allowing aspiring female drivers to race and easily promote themselves to higher levels of single-seater series.

However, Lando Norris explained how the ratio between males and females getting into the sport is massively disproportionate.

Speaking on Lissie Mackintosh's YouTube channel, Norris started off by addressing the huge influx of new fans and aspiring drivers in F1. He emphasized the fact that there are only 20 spots on the grid to highlight how difficult it can be to enter the sport and said:

"So everything starts with the amount of people that we can get interested in Formula 1, which is more and more. You know, with Netflix, with more of this stuff, there is more and more people that are interested in Formula 1."

"And with girls coming into Formula 1 for instance, it is generally a male-dominated sport, but because we have so many guys that want to get into it, there are only 20 drivers at the end of the day... and they are all male."

Lando Norris pointed out the disproportionate ratio between males and females who want to get into F1, proving how females still have less chance of getting into it. He concluded:

"So you have a million guys who want to be a Formula 1 driver and you have a thousand girls who want to be a Formula 1 driver. So the ratio of guys getting in with only 20 spots on the grid is, whatever percentage. So the chance for a girl, in that case, to get in is miles less just because less girls enter racing, less girls get into motorsports."

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Lando Norris wants McLaren to follow Aston Martin and Ferrari's progression curve

Lando Norris recently explained how every midfield team, including McLaren, wants to move up the grid as quickly and efficiently as possible. He mentioned how Aston Martin and Ferrari propelled themselves to the top, and how McLaren should also follow the same progression curve and said (via PlanetF1):

“Where did I want to be? It’s clear, but where we all want to be is clear: we want to be towards the top. I think that’s everyone’s dream, it’s every team’s dream in the whole grid but when you’re realistic, it’s between where we are now and those top four teams currently.”

He added:

"So I think what Aston have done is this clear example and what Ferrari did between ’21 and ‘22 was a clear example of what we need to achieve and want to achieve. And it’s clear that it’s achievable. So we just got to go out and do it.”

It will be quite difficult for the orange British team to even reach the top four in 2023, as they have taken a huge step backward after 2022 when it comes to aerodynamic efficiency.