Formula E | Female Racer Powell To Test For Envision Virgin Racing In Marrakesh

[Paul Jeffrey]

The mid-season Marrakesh Formula E test session will include 'Dare to be Different' ambassador and current W Series competitor Alice Powell.

Envision Virgin Racing have confirmed high profile female racer Alice Powell is set to spend time with the Gen2 Formula E car during the first in--season test session of the season for the series. Powell is no stranger to the Formula E paddock, having already made a guest appearance in the category supporting Jaguar I-Pace Trophy championship last year, where the 27-year-old British racer rounded out the podium in both events.

“Firstly, I’d like to thank the team for the opportunity to test their Formula E car – it’s an amazing experience and I can’t wait to jump into the car now, especially having spent time on the team’s simulator," said Powell.​

"My work as an ambassador for D2BD allows me to inspire young female drivers and this test will really help further that. I’m also looking forward to working with the team and helping them to extract as much data as possible from the test to help them this season.”​

The test is schedule for March 1st, the day after the upcoming Marrakesh E-Prix, and gives the various teams of the series an opportunity to assess up-and-coming talent on an active Formula E street circuit location. The test will be the first time Powell has sampled a Formula E car, having recently made her return to open wheel racing with a third place overall in last seasons debut W Series championship.

Original Source: Formula E

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[Paul Jeffrey]

Edit:

Since preparing this article it has been announced that 2019 W Series champion Jamie Chadwick has also been confirmed for the test, taking part with the Jaguar team.

 

[chili pepper]

I'm sure they'll do fine...and I hope they will as well. Never quite understood the W Series, there is no reason men and women can't run in the same series. Biggest issue I have with FE is the lack of on-track etiquette and I don't link that directly to the sex of the driver. Way too much contact between the cars, some of which might be down to the mickey mouse circuits they're running on, but the point stands. I'd like to see this series run on proper circuits, particularly as the power plants continue to evolve.

 

[Momperface]

ok, can't understand how the sex of the driver makes any difference and is news worthy

is she fast? is she slow? these are the important factors, not what is between her legs

 

[Nevini]

Just google her driving stats very poor.

 

[LeSunTzu]

Formula PC

 

[dave kirk]

I fear this will only confirm what many have already said

 

[PickABetterUsername01]

I'm sure they'll do fine...and I hope they will as well. Never quite understood the W Series, there is no reason men and women can't run in the same series. Biggest issue I have with FE is the lack of on-track etiquette and I don't link that directly to the sex of the driver. Way too much contact between the cars, some of which might be down to the mickey mouse circuits they're running on, but the point stands. I'd like to see this series run on proper circuits, particularly as the power plants continue to evolve.

Depends on the series, woman can't compete against man in F1 for example. I'm not sure about other series though.

 

[Mike Smith]

woman can't compete against man in F1 for example

Why, exactly?

Jamie Chadwick and a number of other female drivers could outdrive 99.9% of humans, so I think it's only a matter of time before an outlier of F1 caliber who happens to be female gets an F1 seat.

I can't see why you would say that "woman can't compete against man". Just because it hasn't happened, doesn't mean it can't happen.

 

[PickABetterUsername01]

Why, exactly?

Jamie Chadwick and a number of other female drivers could outdrive 99.9% of humans, so I think it's only a matter of time before an outlier of F1 caliber who happens to be female gets an F1 seat.

I can't see why you would say that "woman can't compete against man". Just because it hasn't happened, doesn't mean it can't happen.

F1 requires physical strength, and you have to be in shape to be competitive, it's not a sport for anyone. We already had woman driving F1 cars.

There's a reason sports are separated, man and woman are different, get over it.

 

[Mike Smith]

you have to be in shape to be competitive, it's not a sport for anyone

To confirm, you're saying female race drivers are not in shape, yes?

man and woman are different

That's a very deep and original thought, wow. Thank you for shedding light on the fact that there are two sexes.

So your argument boils down to the fact that women (plural of woman, look it up) and men (plural of man, look it up) are different, and women are physically unable to perform the required actions to be competitive in F1. It's a pervasive argument, but it falls short, not least by a fact your brought up, which is that women have done it before. Also, there are countless high level female racers in the world, more now than ever before. So it stands to reason that a female could certainly make it as an F1 driver.

 

[Ether]

I'm sure they'll do fine...and I hope they will as well. Never quite understood the W Series, there is no reason men and women can't run in the same series. Biggest issue I have with FE is the lack of on-track etiquette and I don't link that directly to the sex of the driver. Way too much contact between the cars, some of which might be down to the mickey mouse circuits they're running on, but the point stands. I'd like to see this series run on proper circuits, particularly as the power plants continue to evolve.

Personally I think part of the appeal of Formula E, at least to me, is the unique circuits. If they ran on regular race circuits they would just be slow formula cars.

 

[PickABetterUsername01]

To confirm, you're saying female race drivers are not in shape, yes?


That's a very deep and original thought, wow. Thank you for shedding light on the fact that there are two sexes.

So your argument boils down to the fact that women (plural of woman, look it up) and men (plural of man, look it up) are different, and women are physically unable to perform the required actions to be competitive in F1. It's a pervasive argument, but it falls short, not least by a fact your brought up, which is that women have done it before. Also, there are countless high level female racers in the world, more now than ever before. So it stands to reason that a female could certainly make it as an F1 driver.

Yes, a lot of high level female drivers in the world, not a single one of them in F1 though.

I'm sorry, forgot we are in 2020, there's nothing a man can do that woman can't! Leave the wahmen alone!

 

[chili pepper]

F1 requires physical strength, and you have to be in shape to be competitive, it's not a sport for anyone.

True, it is not just for anyone. And it does require physical strength, but certainly not as much as it used to. Yes, they must be athletic but overt strength is not a factor in many forms of racing anymore, including F1. In fact, they can't carry too much bulk muscle, it weighs more and they won't fit in the car, either. As well, I know a few ladies that could whip most guys in just about any physical competition, surely a Lewis Hamilton and the like.

I would submit that reaction times and specific aspects of mental capacity are a bigger factor nowadays, particularly in F1. The cars are quite a bit easier to drive than they were 20-30 years ago (or more).

If you look at other professions like piloting fighter aircraft, there is evidence to suggest that women are physiologically better suited to certain aspects of the physical demands placed on the pilot. Do some research, you might be surprised and enlightened. Or don't and be ignorant to reality, your choice.

man and woman are different

Really? News to me, I never noticed...

But seriously, I'm glad they are as I like women for their many differences.

Don't be such a "rectal ostrich", times have changed and so has the machinery. Women aren't here to cook your dinner and clean up after you, contrary to what some may believe.

 

[chili pepper]

Personally I think part of the appeal of Formula E, at least to me, is the unique circuits. If they ran on regular race circuits they would just be slow formula cars.

Well, one of the attractions of FE is that the racing comes to the people, more or less, and I believe this was not an accident in the development of the series. That said, we have a lot of existing, legendary racing venues and the more they're used, the less likely it is they'll disappear in the future. This has already happened to some great, though lesser known venues in the name of progress and development. I'd much rather we still have a Riverside or Bridgehampton over a strip mall, golf course or some crappy tract housing....but I am definitely biased.

The cars are pretty quick, getting quicker and will continue to do so and be able to race for longer as the power plants evolve, which is why i mentioned them.

 

[PickABetterUsername01]

True, it is not just for anyone. And it does require physical strength, but certainly not as much as it used to. Yes, they must be athletic but overt strength is not a factor in many forms of racing anymore, including F1. In fact, they can't carry too much bulk muscle, it weighs more and they won't fit in the car, either As well, I know a few ladies that could whip most guys in just any physical competition, surely a Lewis Hamilton and the like.

I would submit that reaction times and specific types mental capacity are a bigger factor nowadays, particularly in F1. The cars are quite a bit easier to drive than they were 20-30 years ago (or more).

If you look at other professions like piloting fighter aircraft, there is evidence to suggest that women are physiologically better suited to certain aspects of the physical demands placed on the pilot. Do some research, you might be surprised and enlightened. Or don't and be ignorant to reality, your choice.


Really? News to me, I never noticed...

But seriously, I'm glad they are as I like women for their many differences.

Don't be such a "rectal ostrich", times have changed and so has the machinery. Women aren't here to cook your dinner and clean up after you, contrary to what some may believe.

Well it seems you didn't notice the difference, so be careful. Maybe we gonna see woman trying tennis against man, wonder how will that work out ehm? Wonder why we still have 0 female drivers in F1, maybe because the sport is... MISOGYNIST! LOL.

I don't know why you think woman is only for cooking and cleaning, we all know that's not the case.

 

[Dr. Death]

Formula 1 already has female test drivers that do great. Why not get them to do Formula E?

 

[chili pepper]

Well it seems you didn't notice the difference, so be careful. Maybe we gonna see woman trying tennis against man, wonder how will that work out ehm? Wonder why we still have 0 female drivers in F1, maybe because the sport is... MISOGYNIST! LOL.

I don't know why you think woman is only for cooking and cleaning, we all know that's not the case.

Not even sure where to go with this other than to say you might want to work on your reading comprehension.

As for women in F1, there have been, albeit not many. I suspect they had little to no support and I think we can all agree you don't get to F1 and stay there long without it in almost any era of the sport.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_Formula_One_drivers

While not F1, you might want to look up Michele Mouton as well...

I realize what I'm about to say will not be very popular for many here but...I honestly don't know why anyone, man or woman would bother with F1 anymore. While the payday and fame might not be as big, for a true driver who loves to race there are much more competitive series to be involved in that would do well at feeding the fire and desire to win. I've gone on record with this before but to my eyes F1 has to be one of the most boring series to watch as it lacks serious competition, it's sanitized, overly corporate and the personalities are pretty bland as well. The latter is not a slag on the drivers personally, I suspect they have no choice as they have to play the corporate game and can't speak their minds lest they be admonished for it. Don't want to piss of the engine supplier even though they've dropped the ball, right?

 

[PickABetterUsername01]

Not even sure where to go with this other than to say you might want to work on your reading comprehension.

As for women in F1, there have been, albeit not many. I suspect they had little to no support and I think we can all agree you don't get to F1 and stay there long without it in almost any era of the sport.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_Formula_One_drivers

While not F1, you might want to look up Michele Mouton as well...

I realize what I'm about to say will not be very popular for many here but...I honestly don't know why anyone, man or woman would bother with F1 anymore. While the payday and fame might not be as big, for a true driver who loves to race there are much more competitive series to be involved in that would do well at feeding the fire and desire to win. I've gone on record with this before but to my eyes F1 has to be one of the most boring series to watch as it lacks serious competition, it's sanitized, overly corporate and the personalities are pretty bland as well. The latter is not a slag on the drivers personally, I suspect they have no choice as they have play the corporate game and can't speak their minds lest they be admonished for it. Don't want to piss of the engine supplier even though they've dropped the ball, right?

Nobody said a thing about woman being only for cleaning and cooking, you are the only one that mentioned that, it shows how it's engraved in your mind.

Well, like it or not, F1 is where the top drivers in the world are and to get there you have to be pretty good, even for the ones with money like Stroll. He's very average but not as bad as people say, he actually won F3.

We had a female F2 driver in 2019(Tatiana Calderón) and the results speak for itself.

There are other female drivers in different categories, but it's not the same thing. Just because there's a female driver in Stock Car doesn't mean they can suddenly compete in F1.

 

[Marlonracer]

This is sad news.