Alice Powell is Britain’s leading female racing driver
having won the Formula BARC championship aged 18, and last year becoming the
first female to score a point in GP3. Now aged 20, she’s racing in
the F3 Cup this season and is deciding to thrash everyone – at the time of
writing, her results so far this season total three wins and a second place. Not bad, eh? Who
better then to ask a few questions about females in motorsport, F1 and Sir
Stirling Moss?
Normally I wouldn’t put an interview in a question and
answer format (like the feature I did with Natalie Pinkham), but this was done
over an email, which makes things a lot harder. It is also worth noting that
the questions were sent after the first weekend of the F3 and answered after
the second weekend. Enjoy!
This year you took a
sidestep into the F3 Cup from GP3 and won the first two races of the
championship. Does this set you up for a good season, and can you see yourself
competing in back in GP3 or GP2 next season?
Yes, it has set the season up very well! I just have to make
sure that I am consistently up there, getting good results. I wanted to stay in
GP3 this year, but the budget wouldn't allow me to do so. However, I have set
my sights on racing in either GP3 or GP2 for 2014.
You've had quite a diverse career with both
tin-tops and single seaters. Would you ever consider racing at Le Mans for
instance, or is Formula One your single goal?
Formula One is my goal. Some drivers who are racing in F1, I
have beaten, so I know that I am good enough to compete in F1. If, for whatever
reason, I didn't get to F1, then yes, I would consider Le Mans or even going to
the USA.
What are your thoughts
on Sir Stirling Moss's recent comments?
Well I have a lot of respect for Sir Stirling. I have met
him on a couple of occasions and he was very nice and supportive. However, I don't
agree with his comments! I know women can compete in F1 against men, it is just
a female needs the opportunity to do so.
If you could drive for any team in Formula
One, regardless of budget, which one would it be and who would your ideal
team-mate be and why?
Ah that's a tough one! To be honest, F1 is F1 and I would not
mind who I drove for! But that is a rubbish answer, so if I had to pick one it
would be Lotus F1. They are only 15mins from my house and I am on their fitness
training programme and the trainers and team there have helped me so much. The
members of the team are also lovely people, plus they have a quick car! As for
my team mate, I would say Sir Stirling, so I can race against him and show him
what us females can do!
What do you make of
this season in Formula One, and what are your thoughts on the 2014 regulations?
A good change or a change for the worse?
I think this season is going to be so, so exciting! I really
do think the championship will go down to the wire this year. Regarding the
regulations, we will just have to wait and see what it is like.
Do you have any tips and advice for any young
female racing drivers (or even any females wanting to work in motorsport in
general), and do you think that the recent success of Danica in the US and yourself
in the opening rounds will inspire a new generation to be more interested in
motorsport?
Just keep pushing for your goal, whatever it is in life. I
go by that if a door closes, another one opens! Females are starting to get
noticed in Motorsport now, which is fantastic!
Danica has done a superb job in the US. When she moved to
NASCAR, the viewing figures increased by 15%, so imagine the viewer increase if
a female were to race in F1. Saying that, I feel that females should be in F1
on merit (ie, a good driver), not just to help TV increase media. F1 needs a
female role model to help bring more young female drivers into the sport.
And finally: your favourite
racing circuit and why?
Wow, I have a few, but Monaco has to be near the top, if not
at the top. Racing round a circuit which has such character, no room for error
and travelling over 140mph out of a tunnel and an inch from the barriers is
mind blowing. I am so fortunate to have raced there.
Thanks to Alice for taking the time out to answer my
questions. You can follow her progress in the F3 Cup this season by following
her on Twitter here, taking a look at
her website here and finding out more about the championship here. She also writes a piece each month for my friend Jack Leslie which you can find here.
I urge you
to go to at least one meeting this year; for peanuts you can watch some
wonderful racing and witness one of the UK’s hottest talents doing her thing:
winning.
