The F1 2022 season is back with pre-season testing in Barcelona on Wednesday, also marking the return of drama. It did not take much time for the world of motorsport to give first, of undoubtedly many, controversies of the year and the source of same is none other than the Team Principal of Red Bull – Christian Horner.
During his conversation with talkSPORT, where he was giving his views on F1 web series ‘Drive to Survive’, he made a silly remark. “You’ve got to remember they (Netflix) are making a TV show as well, but for what it’s done for the sport it’s phenomenal. F1 is bringing in a young generation. It’s bringing in a lot of young girls because of all these great-looking young drivers,” he said.
Christian Horner lands himself in trouble with his comments
The presenter Laura Woods was expectedly unhappy with what Horner said and she gave a counter comment right back at him. She said, “I think maybe some of those young girls who are watching are not just inspired by the good-looking racers but may be inspired to be drivers themselves?”
Although Horner later clarified that they’re seeing more and more girls getting involved in the sport, not just in a driving perspective but in engineering, management and so on, but it was maybe not enough to cover up for his earlier remark, which did not go down well with fans on social media.
In no time, the netizens had flooded social media with posts, citing their unhappiness on the comments made by someone as influential as Christian Horner.
Check out the reactions:
My face reading Christian Horner’s comments on why women watch F1 pic.twitter.com/fYAVkgE31V
— Rochelle³ (@ricciardotrash) February 23, 2022
Dear Christian Horner,
On behalf of the women that watch and love f1 I wanna say something:WE. WATCH. F1. BECAUSE. WE. LIKE. THE. SPORT.
WE. DON'T. WATCH. F1. BECAUSE. WE. THINK. THAT. THE. DRIVERS. ARE. HOT.Stop saying such bullshit. Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Lara— lara || leclerc 2022 wdc era || essereFerrari (@scuderialara) February 22, 2022
christian horner is genuinely a cunt pic.twitter.com/MNAtxeVI3R
— cess ⁴⁴ (@VARMILT0N) February 21, 2022
Dear people saying girls only watch f1 for the drivers looks (hi Christian Horner) : during a GP we see 20 helmets and 20 cars, not the drivers faces. We enjoy watching GPs for the cars and the drivers talent. For those who agree with him: bye 👋
— Stella (@stella__f1) February 23, 2022
drivers like lewis hamilton fight to make the sport more inclusive to minorities and women and then you have christian horner saying to the press that young women are interested in a sport just because a few 20 something year old men are attractive. you couldn’t write it.
— bia 🪩 (@biazzarro) February 22, 2022
“A lot of young girls watch F1 because all these great-looking young drivers” says Horner. #F1
Listening to the Christian Horner’s opinion : pic.twitter.com/MfpeifwvsV
— 𝐑𝐀𝐘 💜 (@RayyLH44) February 22, 2022
The reactions by fans on social media was a true representation of the unity in F1 community, irrespective of gender. People love the sport because of what it brings to the table and the growing interest among female fans for F1 is indeed a positive sign that the sport is heading towards the right direction.
Talking about the much-waited ‘Drive to Survive’ series, season 4 is all set to be released on March 11 which is going to reveal behind-the-scenes stories of one of the most epic F1 seasons ever, which was eventually won by Max Verstappen.
