Mattia Binotto Says Women To Be Included In Ferrari Driver Academy

The push to have a more representative lineup of female F1 drivers for the Ferrari Driver Academy is receiving the attention of Ferrari Team Principal, Mattia Binotto. He came out recently to talk about how women drivers should be included in the driver development program at Ferrari.

Since the Ferrari Driver Academy started back in 2009, there has yet to be a debut of a female driver, even as seven male drivers currently occupy the roaster lineup for the non-Esports section in the academy.

This lineup of male drivers boasts the sons of legendary Ferrari icons, Jean Alesi and Michael Schumacher. Binotto, though, was also keen on addressing the issue of diversity in the driver lineup for Ferrari.

The Ferrari's Team Principal talked about the future generation of talent as a significant piece in the success of Ferrari. He also added a focus at present for the Ferrari Driver Academy was on how to include more women drivers in the lineup.

He said Ferrari was and is currently looking towards investing in female drivers as a long term strategic move that would shore up Ferrari's performance. It would provide diversity points for the team, and it is evident they were working towards this goal.

Tatiana Calderon, the driver for Alfa Romeo's, Sauber C32, tested at Paul Ricard last year in August. She has also been used to test other F1 cars.

Susie Wolff, the current team principal for Venturi, also drove for Williams as a test driver 2015.

These are some of the recent examples of female drivers, and they contribute toward the changing attitudes in F1 when it comes to the inclusion of more female drivers.

Binotto's drive to include female drivers in E-sports as well comes at a time when the team is enjoying the win by driver David Tonizza in the New Balance Esports Pro Series 2019.

He said that Ferrari's inaugural participation in this championship and its win in its first season showed that Ferrari had selected the best driver, and they were pleased with the results.

Binotto claimed that Ferrari understood how significant Esports was to the driver academy program. It is part and parcel of Ferrari and essential to the new generation.

Ferrari's current lead driver, Charles Leclerc, performed exceptionally at Spa in 2019 and lifted the benchmark of performance for all drivers and Ferrari alumni.

He will be joined by fellow driver Sebastian Vettel this year on February 11th in Maranello to showcase the Ferrari's 2020 iteration.