Formula E targets female drivers at championship level in 2-3 years

Formula E hopes to have women racing at championship level within the next two to three years, CEO Jeff Dodds said on Friday. Speaking before a weekend marking 50 years since a woman last raced in Formula One, Dodds said the all-electric series will soon announce a major expansion of its women's programme. "We have a hypothesis which is that men and women can compete equally in motorsport but the conditions definitely are not equal," he said.

Since 2014, Formula E has featured three female competitors, one more than Formula One in 76 years. The most recent was Simona de Silvestro in 2016. The series has run a "women's test" for the past two years to give female drivers experience in current cars. Dodds said teams are responding favourably and most already have a female driver in their development programmes. The next step will require "a big investment" from teams, he added.