Category: Features

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Esmee Hawkey Interview – Pit Crew Exclusive

2019 is already shaping up to be a promising year for Esmee Hawkey. The 21 year old successfully made it through the W Series’ tough qualifying rounds to earn one of 18 spots on the grid, and she has also made a strong start to her second season in Porsche Carrera Cup GB.

Hawkey fought back from 14th on the grid to finish sixth in the opening race of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB season this weekend, finishing second in class. While the second race proved tougher, with Hawkey finishing in ninth place, she showed good pace all weekend, running first in class in both FP1 and FP2.

Before the weekend began, Hawkey took the time to tell us about her aims for the busy season ahead of her, as well as giving us an insight into what went on behind the scenes in the W Series qualifying rounds.

Photo credit: Warren S Nel

Alison Finlay: Congratulations for making it to the W Series grid – how tough did you find the qualifying rounds and the level of competition?

Esmee Hawkey: The qualifying rounds were extremely tough. We were out in Almeria for a week, so mentally, it was extremely draining. To be in with the chance of having a free drive in an F3 car is a lot of pressure and you have to perform well. We were being tested on absolutely everything, from when we were in the car driving, to sitting down going through data with the engineers, so you had to have 100% full focus at all times! Aside from that it was great to go from driving Porsche Caymans and Ford Fiestas, being selected as 1 of 28 girls in Melk, and then getting 4 days to drive the all new Tatuus F3 car in Spain. The competition has been really high so it was important to have a positive mindset and not let any of that effect you. It was important to concentrate on solely you and what you were doing and how you could improve and progress every day.

AF: What are your aims for the season ahead in both W Series and Porsche Carrera Cup GB?

EH: I will be pushing for the best possible results. It will be my second year in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB championship in the ProAm category. After a successful year with a few podiums last year, we will be looking to build on that this year and hopefully have some race wins, podiums and ultimately be in with a fighting chance to win the ProAm championship. In regards to W Series the competition is tough, with some of the girls having raced in F3 championships before, therefore having more experience than me. Nonetheless, I will be taking in as much information as possible so that I speed up my rate of progression and I would really like to be finishing in the top 6 for the first year of W Series.

AF: You’ve been racing Porsches for a few years now – can you tell us more about the series and how these cars are to drive?

EH: The cars are amazing. One of my sponsors are Porsche Centre South London, so not only do I get to drive the GT3 Cup Car on track but I also get to drive around in Porsche road cars when I’m not racing which is definitely a nice perk! The GT3 cup car is a great race car but quite a tricky car to drive – it’s very important to drive them with the right braking technique otherwise you can lose a lot of time, and not only that, but you need to always be chasing the throttle but not in a way that you cause the car to understeer.

AF: How was driving the W Series F3 car for the first time?

EH: The car was amazing and I absolutely loved driving it. It’s very different in comparison to the Porsche GT3 Cup Car as there was no power steering and I had to get used to the aerodynamics and downforce of the F3 car. I quickly got to grips with it and it was amazing how much speed you could take through the corners. Such an adrenaline rush!

AF: Does taking part in the W Series and having the opportunity to race a formula car change your ambitions beyond the 2019 season?

EH: My plans have always been to race in GT cars, but not because I didn’t want to race in formula cars – it was mainly the fact our budget could only stretch to racing in GT cars. So my long term goal was to rise up the Porsche pyramid and race in the Le Mans 24hr. Now that W Series has come about and is fully funding 18 girls to race around Europe in F3 cars with a prize pot of $1.5 million dollars at the end of the year, who knows what the future holds for us.

AF: We hear a lot about drivers struggling for funding to help them onto the junior ladder. Could you tell us why funding is so vital for young racing drivers?

EH: Unfortunately funding plays a big part in motorsport, and it’s why we sometimes don’t get to see some really talented drivers make it all the way, or indeed start their journey. I’ve been very fortunate, of course, and now have some great sponsors such as Porsche Centre South London, Landmark Underwriting and others. Motor racing costs money, it’s as simple as that, so we make sure we really work hard with our sponsors and partners to create value and make sure we’re attracting new sponsors along the journey.

AF: When do you think we will see the next woman racing in Formula 1, and what role do you think W Series will play in making this a reality?

EH: I definitely think W Series has created a platform to give 18 women this year the best opportunity to rise up from F3 into either F2, Formula E or even F1, so I really hope that in the next couple of years we will see a woman racing in Formula 1. It all comes down to opportunity and W Series is definitely the start of that journey.

AF: How did you first get involved in motorsport? Did you always want to be a driver, or did you consider other roles within the industry?

EH: I got into motorsport through my dad. As a young girl I remember going to watch him race at the Monaco Kart Cup and at the time I was doing Ballet and Tap dancing and I asked him if I could get into racing. To my surprise, for my 8th Birthday I got given a kart and that’s where it all started! I’ve wanted to succeed as a professional racing driver ever since.

AF: Finally, what advice would you give for young women hoping to pursue a career in motorsport, either as drivers or in any other capacity?

EH: I think it’s important that we get more women into motorsport whether it be as a driver, mechanic, engineer or on the media side, so my advice to any young women hoping to pursue a career in motorsport would be go for it, as there are so many opportunities that come up and it can be such a rewarding job.

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An Enduring Respect – Pierre Gasly On Racing With Red Bull Teammate Max Verstappen In 2019 | M1TG

Check out the latest Mobil 1 The Grid video featuring Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly talking about his approach to 2019, and his thoughts on racing with teammate Max Verstappen.

Pierre on Max Verstappen:
“I’m really looking forward to racing alongside Max. We’ve know each other for many years now because we raced together in karting. I think we have a lot of respect. We are friends as we have known each other for a lot of time, and he is one of the most talented guys on the grid at the moment. It’s always important to be next to someone who is really fast. I think that’s how you manage to push yourself and extract everything from yourself. I think it’s gonna be great.”

Pierre on his approach and his education in junior categories and at Toro Rosso:
“It’s not [a case of] just following all the things you’ve learnt in the lower series. You don’t reset the way you drive; you don’t reset the way you work. I think it’s important to keep a similar approach, because if you get to F1, it means what you’ve done before worked out well. It’s just following your development as a driver, developing the experience you get with the car and trying to develop your feedback as well, to be more precise and be a leader inside the team, give the right directions and try to extract the best potential of the car. They give you experience and develop you as a driver to be more complete and more consistent over the season. It’s super exciting as a driver. I’m a competitive guy and, for sure, what I want is to fight for the top positions and, with this team, it’s gonna take me one step closer to my goal.”

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Phil Hall’s Junior WRC Rally Sweden Diary

It might sound obvious, but Rally Sweden is cold!

I know this year there has been a lot of talk about ‘the conditions’ in the stages, how temperatures were quite warm and there was a fair amount of gravel in places, but that doesn’t mean the event was what you’d call tropical.

Everything you do has to take into account the environment in which you are competing – the low sun of the Scandinavian winter, finding an ice-free spot to jack the car up to change the wheels around (so you can stand up!), or even just not bringing snow into the car on your boots (which then melts and turns the footwell into a swimming pool).

Recce on Sweden is logistically quite straight forward, however the days are quite short because of the day light. You have to get a lot done in a reasonably short amount of time – you aren’t pushed for time but you need to remain focussed. We had a good recce and really saw the work we had put into our pacenotes over the winter start to show.

The event starts with a long drive down to Karlstad for the opening super-special, which is always packed with fans. I really enjoy the whole atmosphere at Rally Sweden, and this is where it all starts – live acts, lots of entertainment, and hugely enthusiastic crowds.

The Rally itself was not only a test of speed, but also of tyre strategy. There was quite a lot of gravel in the stages, and this meant the tyre preservation was absolutely key. We were moving tyres around on the car after every stage to maximise the studs we had between each service. It also meant we had to plan where we pushed and where we saved our tyres.

Phil Hall and Tom Williams tackle the amazing Colins Crest! Photo credit M-Sport

A characteristic of Sweden which is not always noted is that it has some very long days. On most competition days we would be up for 6.00am to go to get the car from Parc Ferme, and we might not be back to our hotel until around 11.00pm in the evening. It’s a physically and mentally demanding rally, and it’s one I remember for a lack of sleep.

We came away from the event with our first top 3 time in the JWRC, and 4th overall in the JWRC – which we are really happy with. It’s been a great start to our season and hopefully we can keep building and improving throughout the year – next stop, Corsica!

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ThePitCrewOnline Exclusive: Susie Wolff for International Women’s Day 2019

Ask any motorsport fan to name a successful woman within the sport, and usually, Susie Wolff will be amongst the names they provide. The first woman to take part in an F1 weekend in 22 years, Susie is now the team principal of the Venturi Formula E who scored their first podium of the seasion in the Mexican ePrix a few weeks ago, as well as the co-founder of the Dare to Be Different initiative, a non-profit organisation committed to change viewpoints and inspiring young girls and women to participate within the motorsport industry.

Sarah Jarvis: You’ve had time to become much more comfortable within your new role as team principal. Was the transition period as challenging as you thought it would be?
Susie Wolff: Yes, it’s definitely been challenging with plenty of changes and improvements to make, but to be honest I’ve relished the opportunity to get stuck in. We’ve made really great progress after a difficult start to the season. In motorsport, ultimately all that matters is performance and, with our first podium of the season in Mexico, I think we’ve demonstrated that we’re on the right track.

SJ: The FE in-season test featured nine female drivers competing in cars as part of the FIA Women into Motorsports Initiative. Did that feel like a significant step forward in promoting the movement of women into motorsport?
SW: Yes, I do feel like it was a significant step forward. I also think it clearly demonstrated Formula E’s commitments both to the promotion of women in the sport and also their desire for diversity within the series. The all female in-season test also served as a fantastic reminder of the female talent out there – that’s an incredibly positive thing in my book.

Image credit: Sam Bloxham

SJ: With your increased involvement in Formula E, there is an intensity of D2BD initiatives at these events. How important are these events to display at such a vastly popular sport? Are they changing the opinions and viewpoints of young girls?
SW: The D2BD events are really important and now that we have the official collaboration with the FIA’s Girls On Track initiative, we’re widening our reach even further to a bigger, global audience. Having our launch event in Mexico at the ePrix was a major milestone for the initiative, it also clearly demonstrated Formula E’s commitment to the promotion of grassroots activity for young women. The launch was met with great enthusiasm, not just from the motorsport community but also the local fans who came and participated in the activity, there’s simply no substitute for hands on experience. One of the major additional benefits of teaming up with Formula E in this way is that we have the benefit of some incredible city centre race locations, this goes a long way towards helping raise awareness and generate interest in the activity.

SJ: Is it imperative to gradually add more racing events to the D2BD calendar for exposure? Are there certain avenues such as F1 and MotoGP that you want to pursue further?
SW: Now that we are a joint venture with the FIA, we’re not focused on volume of events or trying to be the biggest. What we want to do is foster strong and lasting relationships with the ASNs (the local motorsport authorities) to ensure that the activation is strategic, meaningful and leaves a lasting impression on the young ladies who participate. The impact we have from an inspiration and education perspective is the most important thing to me.

SJ: With the introduction of the W Series aimed strictly at a female demographic, do you feel it is a positive step towards better representation of women in motorsport?

SW: Any championship that gives the opportunity to young women to compete is a positive thing. In my view though to become a truly world class professional driver and earn a living in motorsport, you need to compete with the best in the world regardless of gender. Ultimately, motorsport isn’t segregated so I think in the long term, we need to really focus our efforts on bringing more female talent in to the sport across the board so that the best can rise to the top.

SJ: What advice would you give any young girls or women wanting to break into motorsport, whether it be driving or engineering?
SW: My advice would be the same whichever field they were looking at: believe in yourself. Find out what it is that you feel passionate about and go for it. Don’t be scared to stand up for yourself and be seen and heard. Work hard, push yourself and never, ever lose the belief in your abilities. Use initiatives like Dare to be Different to connect and widen your network. We have an incredible line-up of ambassadors who provide mentoring and education to the next generation. But above all else, don’t wait for doors to open for you, knock them down.

For more information on the Dare to be Different initiative: https://www.daretobedifferent.org/

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ThePitCrewOnline Exclusive: Bia Figueiredo for International Women’s Day 2019

Bia Figueiredo has had a glittering career in motorsports that spans from Indy Lights to Brazilian Stock Cars. As the first woman to win an Indy Lights series race and the first woman to win at a race car event at the Iowa Speedway, she defined motorsport history and inspired women around the world with her positive attitude and impressive racing. For this International Women’s Day, Bia answered a few of our questions on her career and what it’s like to kick the trend in motorsports. Because this girl can!

 

Jade du Preez: How did you get into karting when you were young?
Bia Figueiredo: Since 3 years old I’ve shown passion for cars and speed. I would stay in my dad’s car turning the wheel for hours. I would ask for mini cars together with dolls. My parents decided to take me to a go-kart track and I loved it. I was lucky enough that they had an open mind by that time and supported me in the sport.

JdP: When did you start to think that you could make a career out of racing?
BF: When you are a kid you are sure you will make it easily to the top. Growing up I’ve realized that it wouldn’t be that easy. Because of that I started to focus on racing and left to the side my teen life with friends, boyfriends and parties. So, by 16 I decided to do that and put all my energy into racing and finishing school.

JdP: How do you think motorsports has changed for women since your breakthrough season in 2009?
BF: Actually I believe 2008 was THE year for women in Racing as I won in Indy Lights, Simona da Silvestro won in Atlantic and Danica Patrick won in IndyCar. On 2010 I made it to Indy 500 with the record of 5 women. So I believe it brought attention to other female drivers working hard to get to a top series.

JdP: You’ve had a few issues with funding over the years, and as a result had to miss races, do you think this would be an issue if you were a man? 
BF: Funding is the biggest problem in racing for male or female racers. At the beginning of my career in karting people wouldn’t support me because they thought a girl would never reach Indy Car. But after winning so many races it has changed a lot.

JdP: And how do you think the issue of female drivers struggling to get funding can be solved?
BF: There are not many women around the globe that are passionate for racing and speed. And not all of them have the support to move up. I believe if you start winning, things will start to change. Funding was always a problem when I struggled to get good results. So I started to work harder to do things different from guys like working better with social media , TV and others. And kept working hard to win races.

JdP: You’ve had such an incredible career, what is the highlight for you?
BF: The highlight is to be able to live from racing. I had support from so many people that believed in me and it is good to know that winning so many races, reaching the top and live from what I love to do make them all proud.

JP: And looking forward, what goals do you still want to reach?
BF: I moved from open wheel to V8 Cars in 2014 and feel that adapting wasn’t  easy. In Brazilian Stock Car where 30 cars can be in the same second I was able to reach a top 5 and many top 10. But for me the target still is a podium and a win. The same in IMSA where I should run a few races with Heinricher Racing/ Michael Shank with amazing drivers like Katherine Legge and Christina Nielsen. I can’t thank Jackie Heinricher and Michael Shank enough for giving me a new chance in the USA.

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ThePitCrewOnline Exclusive: Noemí de Miguel for International Women’s Day 2019

As part of our celebration of International Women’s Day, we spoke to Spanish F1 journalist Noemí de Miguel about her love of sports, her work for Spanish broadcaster Movistar and more.

Emily Inganni: Where did your love of sports first start?
Noemí de Miguel: From my childhood. I grew up in my grandparents’ house and my grandfather and my uncle (still single then) loved sports and we didn’t watch another thing on TV. You only have to choices: love it or hate it. And seems that I felt in love with sports.

EI: Was it always your aim to become a sports journalist?
NM: Indeed. I have been always focused on being a sports journalist and guided my studies and my career to get it from the very beginning.

EI: Why did you decide to switch from football to Formula 1? How did the opportunity with Movistar come about?
NM: I felt stuck. I had been working hard to be the best football journalist possible but my position on the company, my contract and opportunities to raise better conditions weren’t what I expected. I felt frustrated working on my dreamed job and at the beginning, I thought that the situation would change in some moment. But nobody changes anything for you. You must do your way. Then, they offered an opportunity working on F1 and I accepted the challenge because you can watch F1 and follow the races but developing yourself as a journalist following the Great Circus is very demanding. I was studying for months to prepare myself.

EI: How did you feel when you first came into F1? Were you intimidated at all?
NM: In Melbourne in my very first grand prix I was nervous and the jet lag didn’t help at all. I had been studying, reading and researching all kinds of information, speaking and asking some specialists, but it was my time to prove I was capable of doing a good job; as good as I considered I did working for 10 years on football. And many people tried to pressure me and criticised me for being there coming from football and doubting about my knowledge. But I overcame all those circumstances and my confidence grew quickly. I was very welcomed on the paddock for the main F1 representatives, drivers and colleagues. And soon people on social media changed their minds. It’s a good learning experience to leave your comfort zone, face the difficulties, localise your weaknesses and work hard to fix it.

Source: Noemí de Miguel Instagram

EI: F1 is still very male-dominated, what do you think needs to happen to get more women into the series, in roles both on and off the track?
NM: Fortunately, off the track, there are more and more women coming to play important roles. And the opportunities for a driver is about to happen soon, Tatiana Calderon is in pole position. The problem is the culture of motorsport in women, something in which FIA is working on and also Dare to be Different. As the girls would be educated in the culture of everything is possible for them and every single job is appropriated for them and get away the idea of male and female jobs the number of girls aspiring to be F1 driver will increase, the options of talented drivers also.

EI: Do you think there has been much progress for women since you started working in F1?
NM: It’s been a long way but there are more projects running to help the development of female drivers and more women working on F1 teams.

EI: What would be your advice for anyone trying to get into sports journalism?
NM: Respect sports and athletes because they are who play the main role. Work hard, you never know everything, be focused, openminded, a good teammate and enjoy the opportunity. And if you are not happy just change yourself and move on for the next challenge.

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