Equal opportunity and not special treatment: India’s co-ed grids are trying to end a longstanding debate

Lily-May Watkins, who drives for Godspeed Kochi, lifted the week’s Best Female Driver trophy after her F4 round. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

As racecars zoomed through the Madras International Circuit as the first round of the Indian Racing League and the third round of the Formula 4 Indian Championship went underway on Friday, one could not tell who was sitting inside which car, or what they looked like.

“I always say that when you’re wearing a helmet, the racecar doesn’t know if you’re a male or a female,” said Fabienne Wohlwend, who has been racing in the Indian Racing League since its inaugural edition in 2022, and is currently driving for Goa Aces.

Fabienne praises the league for mandating a female driver in each of the six teams, explaining that she often finds herself as one of the very few female drivers on the karting track when competing in Europe.

“When competing in a co-ed championship, you’ve got that reference data. You can see me against the women, you can see me against the men, you can see where I am in terms of everything and not have to use other data sources,” affirmed Lily-May Watkins, a driver for Godspeed Kochi, after lifting the week’s Best Female Driver trophy after her F4 round.

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“We want equal opportunity, not special treatment,” said Fabienne, referring to all-female championships like the F1 Academy and previously the W Series. But it is rarely that simple for women to break into the mainstream championships. She highlights that while equal chances are needed for female drivers to be taken seriously in a male-dominated ecosystem, opportunities for women come via all-female championships. “It just gives you a platform to actually present yourself, to be better known and have better opportunities with race teams and sponsors,” she stated.

Physical strength is often cited as a barrier to women competing on equal terms in motorsport. But the question, as Fabienne and Lily see it, is not whether every driver has the same physical attributes, but whether every driver gets the same opportunity to prepare, develop and compete.

Fabienne Wohlwend has been racing in the Indian Racing League since its inaugural edition in 2022 and is currently driving for Goa Aces. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

“I probably have to spend some more time at the gym to be as strong as a male driver. But that’s on me. So why should that stop us from getting equal chances?,” Fabienne stated.

She explains how the real gap lies in the testing time. She believes that equal opportunity does not just mean getting to drive the same car as a male driver but also getting to participate in pre-season testing as well as better track time to get the pace.

In this male-dominated sport that is making noise all over the world, Indian racing is trying to bring in female drivers and give them a chance to compete against male drivers. For Fabienne and Lily, the Indian championships might just be a pit stop amidst their busy racing calendars, but in it lies a small beacon of hope for female drivers all over the world, who keep on searching for the equal opportunity on the track.