"If you have talent, then, of course, it is possible": Max Verstappen gives his view on women making it to F1

Max Verstappen believes women can be on a Formula 1 grid if they’re competitive enough. Speaking in the press conference ahead of the 2023 Abu Dhabi GP, the Dutchman stated that the ratio of drivers entering the sport, in general, has been low leading to an even lower ratio for women.

With his mother Sophie Kumpen being one of the world’s best karters in her heyday, Verstappen has seen women in motorsport story in his own household.

Unlike his counterpart, Lewis Hamilton, who has come out and shown support to women in motorsport, the reigning champion has been silent on the matter. However, his opinion as a racing champion becomes important, as he is one of those drivers who plans to leave a legacy in the sport by contributing towards it.

Asked by Sportskeeda what it will take to see a female F1 driver on the grid, Max Verstappen said:

“I think if you look at the percentage of men and women in racing, I think already for men the percentage is of course very low to get into Formula 1, so naturally, of course, for women, it's even harder because there are less women. Of course, I do think, physically, driving F1 in some places is quite tough. But I do think that it's all trainable if you work hard for it, but it is, of course, naturally a little bit harder for a woman.

"But if you have enough talent, then, of course, it is possible because I don't think team bosses are people who make decisions to choose their drivers: look at it like ‘Oh, no, we only go for men’. If there's a woman who is beating everyone else, then naturally they will have the opportunity to get to Formula 1, but it's just that there are less women in the sport and naturally, of course, the percentage to make it to the top is lower."

Asked if he has ever raced his mother in a kart, the Dutchman replied:

“Yeah, but of course, she was over her peak and I was up-and-coming, so it's not really a fair comparison."

Rated higher than Jos Verstappen, Sophie Kumpen has raced Christian Horner, Marc Gene, and even former champion Jenson Button in her day. Both Max Verstappen's mother and sister Victoria were karters.

Answering Sportskeeda’s question, the Dutchman said that gender is not a barrier in being hired by an F1 team and was positive that a female driver could make it to the grid.

When it comes to the physical limitations of driving, he felt training could help women develop the physique.

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Max Verstappen believes that 2023 has been a ‘crazy’ year

Max Verstappen feels achieving 54 victories to overtake Sebastian Vettel’s record will be special. If the Dutchman wins again in Abu Dhabi, he will surpass the German for third place in the list of the highest number of wins in a driver’s career.

The only two he will have left to surpass on the list would be his father’s former teammate Michael Schumacher and former title rival Lewis Hamilton.

“Yeah, of course it's quite a crazy number. But we've also, of course, had a crazy year, so it would, of course, be very nice. But, at the same time, also I'm very focused on what's ahead of me and hopefully also next year we have a competitive car again, we can really continue that momentum that we can win more races.”

Asked if there were any special moments in the season, the Dutchman said:

“Well, I think winning the comeback race in Miami, I think, was great. I think that was an important one. Winning at home in Zandvoort was a very nice one and I think winning in Suzuka after the tough weekend we had in Singapore [was great too].”

Having to fight for some of his wins this season, the reigning champion has put in a flawless performance with a total of 18 races won out of the 22 on the calendar.

The 25-year-old has tumbled records and earned his place in the all time greats of the sport. With one race left on the calendar, he has gathered a total points tally of 549 points edging his own teammate Sergio Perez by a margin of 276 points.