Introducing >= More than Equal: A pathway to women competing
and winning at the pinnacle of motorsport
SILVERSTONE, United Kingdom, July 1, 2022
/PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, Silverstone saw the launch of >= More
than Equal – a new initiative bringing together some of
motorsports' best scouts, physical trainers, psychologists,
nutritionists, racing coaches and drivers…all focused on finding
and developing the first female Formula One World Drivers'
Champion.
A total of 771 drivers from 41 different nationalities have
raced in at least one of the over 1,050 FIA World Championship
races since the first event, the 1950 British Grand Prix. Only 5
women have entered a Grand Prix, with just 2 qualifying and
starting a race. For a sport that has always been open to
women, that's a 99.8% male dominance.
Thirteen-time Grand Prix winner David
Coulthard MBE and entrepreneur Karel Komarek founded and are funding >=
More than Equal, with the ambition to understand and minimise
barriers specific to women racing in Formula One, as well as
providing better scouting and earlier, ongoing support.
The team hears a variety of reasons suggested as to why women
have not achieved more in Formula One; Strength, endurance, racing
aggression…but none have been tested and proven to be an
insurmountable barrier.
A key partner in the >= More than Equal programme is Hintsa
Performance, a global leader in human high-performance
coaching. Formula One drivers supported by the company have
won 16 world championships between them. Hintsa's CEO
Annastiina Hintsa shares her view: "We see our role as
talent identification and development of the mental and physical
strength necessary to win a drivers' championship. VO2 max,
neck and core strength, leg power, heat tolerance… we see and
measure many key contributory factors that make a world champion
and there is not one that cannot be reached by a woman."
So, what's really stopping them? Key partners within >=
More than Equal agree:
- No female driver role models, thus too few girls take up
karting
- A failure to identify and support female talent as early as
male talent
- A lack of early track success, diverting all sponsorship and
support to male drivers
>= More than Equal Advisory Board member and Formula One
veteran Kate Beavan is well
placed to comment. "I joined the Formula One business
in 2003 and have watched women strive and fail for myriad
reasons. I know women can make it and win, we just have to
look harder and support earlier."
Coulthard describes his motivation to found >= More than
Equal: "I always believed my sister Lynsay
Jackson had more natural racing talent than me but I was
given the support towards a Formula One journey and she was not. To
succeed, talent needs early nurturing and I'd like every "Lynsay"
out there to have the same opportunities as men in the fight to
reach Formula One and win."
Co-founder Komarek added: "I know from my experience in business
that there is always much more that needs to be done when it
comes to gender equality. >= More than Equal brings a bold
but achievable ambition that David and I hope will open more
eyes to female potential everywhere – in sports, business and
society."
Formula One presenter and motorsport diversity & inclusion
champion Ariana Bravo hosted
today's launch at Silverstone. "For women, there's a
duality to the word 'drive'. The drive to drown out the noise
of 'why not' by building strength and race craft that creates wins
from a very young age. I'm a huge advocate for women in
motorsport and it's exciting to see a new initiative that I think
will help to clear the way for the development of female racing
talent in reaching its full Formula One potential."
FOUR CORE ELEMENTS TO THE
PROGRAMME:
- Scouting globally for female talent. >= More than
Equal will collaborate with a global network of scouting agents to
search on and off the track for high-potential female karting and
racing talent. The best will join the programme.
- Building physical strength, a winning mindset and mental
resilience. Hintsa Performance coaches will initially bring
empirical measurement to the identification of talent across a wide
age range. It sees wellbeing as central to future performance with
drivers given an early focus on mental strength and confidence. The
team will also spearhead a tailored programme of physical training
and nutrition for >= More than Equal's young and developing
female drivers, mirroring services provided to athletes and current
Formula One drivers.
- Enhancing speed through coached race craft. David Coulthard will join forces with top race
coaches to create racing strategies that play to female strengths.
Added to this will be time on track, the vital ingredient for
racing talent to develop and to be seen to prove success. >=
More than Equal will partner with teams and a fast-developing
ecosystem of female driving opportunity to deliver maximum time on
track.
- Connecting proven talent with teams and sponsorship. As
talent proves itself competitively, so >= More than Equal team
members will leverage their extensive business and motorsport
contacts to connect that talent with potential teams and
sponsorship.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
- About >= More than Equal. >= More than
Equal is a new, not-for-profit global initiative that takes a
long-term view on return on investment toward its objective of
participation in - and ultimately victory for - female drivers in
the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. >= More than Equal
will seek charitable status in England and Wales and will operate along charitable
objectives.
- About David Coulthard MBE. David is a 13-time Formula
One Grand Prix winner, finishing second in the 2001 Drivers' World
Championship. David founded and co-funds >= More than Equal
together with Komarek and will join the board of the initiative. He
brings his racing experience and contacts to bear when playing an
active role in the development of the programme.
- About Karel Komarek.
Karel is the founder of global investment group KKCG with over €9
billion in asset value, and operations spanning 38 countries. >=
More than Equal was founded and is co-funded by Karel, who also
joins the >= More than Equal board.
More information about the initiative is available on the
website www.MoreThanEqual.com and updates will also be available on
the Instagram profile @more.thanequal.
For any media enquiries, please contact Maddy Coe: E:
Maddy.coe@rightformula.com. M: +44 (0) 7384 547 656
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SOURCE More than Equal