VisaCashAppRB, the sister team of Red Bull Racing, found a unique way to celebrate International Women’s Day. Before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, VCARB decided to honor their female employees by inscribing their names on the car. This gesture caught the attention of rival drivers who also joined in celebrating International Women’s Day.
The celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) has its roots in early 20th-century movements aimed at promoting women’s rights. Mercedes was the first team to recognize IWD in 2021. Formula 1 introduced its first female driver, Maria, in 1950. Throughout its history, Formula 1 has had a total of four female drivers, with the most recent being a driver for Braham. However, in recent years, Formula 1 has made efforts to include more women in the sport.
Formula 1 established the F1 Academy, a racing competition exclusively for women, with the aim of training and encouraging young drivers to compete at higher levels. This exclusive women’s racing series was designed to facilitate the transition from karting to single-seater racing. The series will consist of five teams with previous experience in Formula 2 and Formula 3.
After the Bahrain Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda had a heated discussion behind closed doors after nearly colliding on the cool-down lap. Tsunoda was frustrated when asked to let Ricciardo pass him so that his teammate, who was on soft tires, could try to overtake Kevin Magnussen for 12th place.
Although Ricciardo was unable to overtake the Haas, he was not instructed to give back the position to Tsunoda. After the race, Tsunoda aggressively overtook Ricciardo under braking and almost collided with him when returning to the track. According to Ricciardo, there is no animosity between the two drivers as they addressed the issue immediately after the race.
Ricciardo acknowledged that incidents like these can happen during races. He also mentioned that drivers generally do not like receiving team orders, so it is not uncommon for a driver to not react immediately. It will be interesting to see which driver, Ricciardo or Tsunoda, will achieve a higher position in the drivers’ standings.
