FIA Girls on Track races into Berlin
The second FIA Girls on Track event of 2021 took place at the Berlin E-Prix last weekend (August 13-15) and welcomed more than 150 young women to experience the exciting world of motor sport and the diverse range of potential career opportunities open to them.
The programme is a unique opportunity for girls between the ages of 8 and 18 years old to get behind the scenes of a world-class motor sport event, as well as take part in a range of fun but educational activities aimed at opening young eyes to new and thought-provoking opportunities in the sport. With support from the FIA Innovation Fund since Girls on Track was launched in 2019, and with partners Formula E and the Championship’s title sponsor ABB, the programme is integral to the FIA’s #PurposeDriven movement and its mission to increase diversity and female inclusion within the sport.
In support of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission’s flagship grassroots programme, FIA President Jean Todt joined the girls and was a keen observer of the activities during his visit to the final and decisive round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. He, along with Susie Wolff, FIA Women in Motorsport Ambassador and Team Principal of Venturi Racing, and Theodor Swedjemark, Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer for ABB, also took part in the family photo to commemorate another stimulating Girl on Track activity at the Berlin E-Prix.
After an introduction to the Girls on Track programme, representatives from Deutscher Motor Sport Bund (DMSB) - Germany’s national sporting authority - outlined the many different ways of entering motor sport and the variety of careers and opportunities on offer. In a sport that can be viewed by some as male-oriented, Girls on Track aims to shed any of these preconceptions and demonstrate it is all-inclusive by encouraging young women to experience it themselves.
In a technical STEM challenge designed to stimulate curiosity in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the youngsters were charged with building a miniature car from building blocks and powering it with air from a balloon. A media workshop then put them through their paces in the role of a journalist and television presenter, while road safety activities demonstrated the dangers associated with distraction behind the wheel, as well as the consequences of walking – and therefore driving – while under the influence of alcohol, drugs and tiredness.
There was also the opportunity to experience electric kart racing first-hand on the purpose-built slalom course, and the young women also entered the virtual world behind the wheel of a simulator, learning essential driving techniques along the way.
Friday’s Girls on Track programme – ahead of the race weekend – also saw the girls head into the Formula E pit lane and paddock for tours around many of the team’s garages, as well as race control and the media centre. They also met many of the drivers, including newly crowned Champion Nyck de Vries, as well as Hannah Brown, the Chief Strategist and Business Development Officer of Formula E, who took time out to discuss many of the facets of the series. And, on Saturday and Sunday, the girls and their accompanying adults were invited to watch the race live from one of the grandstands.