In environments traditionally reserved for men such as the motor world, claiming the female presence is still necessary, especially to show the new generations the paths that can be followed. Today the presence of women is perceived much more naturally thanks to examples such as the professional driver Laia Sanz, the racing director Neus Santamaría and the journalist specialized in Formula 1 Nira Juanco. Three pioneers who have opened doors and broken down all existing barriers in motorsports, whether on or off the track, and who invite us to reflect on the space that women occupy in our sport and in our society.
In a meeting organized by La Vanguardia, with the encouragement of Acciona, these three forerunners debated at length about the difficult road they have traveled to become the recognized professionals they are today, and about the challenges they continue to encounter. In parallel, they also reflected on another of the challenges facing this sector, such as the fight against climate change. In a world that is increasingly aware of this cause, motor sport is no stranger to it and there is an increasing commitment to hybrid vehicles, or 100% electric vehicles, and to competitions such as Extreme E, in which the pilot Laia participates. Sanz with the Acciona|Sainz XE team.
The Corbera de Llobregat rider acknowledges that, although there is still a lot to be done, more and more women are choosing this path: “Since I started 30 years ago, a lot has changed. I felt like a weirdo. Now, thank God, things have changed and it is much more normalized. When I started I was the only girl, now it’s always full of girls at the races. Having helped make this happen is something I feel proud of”, says Laia Sanz.
She has participated in more than a dozen editions of the toughest rally in the world, the Dakar Rally, in which the female presence has gone from just ten women, to more than 50 in this latest edition. But for the driver, the real change is not behind the wheel: “More than in the participants, I see it in the roles in the teams. At first there were only female physios. Now there are female engineers, mechanics… Luckily the change is being seen”. A point on which Neus Santamaría, international racing director at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, agrees: “The challenge is for the people around us to start normalizing it. It is true that there are many more female drivers, but behind it it is more difficult to imagine who is in charge of the race, for example”. Something that was even more unthinkable when I was little: “When I came to watch the races with my friends, I told them that when I grew up I would be like my father, the race director, and one of them answered me: ‘Do you see the grid? Do you see that there are girls holding the numbers? This is what girls do at the races.”
Years later she would become the youngest racing director. Her youth, and being the daughter of the current director of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Josep Lluís Santamaría, were two more handicaps added to the fact of being a woman in a world dominated by men: “When I did my first race I was 22 years old and my father was a name. I was questioned a lot at the beginning and you did doubt yourself more and wondered if maybe they had chosen you for who you were, and not for your worth. But as the years go by, you relativize everything.
The journalist Nira Juanco has also felt that she had to demonstrate twice as much to make a place for herself. “In my first experience I had a lot of pressure. Because she was a woman, she took it for granted that she did not know what a gearbox was, or that a car had four wheels. I had to continually prove, any mistake I made, they would draw the sword and throw it at you. But if the same mistake was made by Antonio Lobato, nothing would happen”.
She was the first woman to be part of a Formula 1 broadcast team in Spain and had to experience fierce criticism firsthand: “I always felt the support of my teammates, the criticism was more from the public. It’s hard to stay away from these attacks because when you start you have insecurities, you have to gain confidence and at that moment the criticism hurts a lot. Good thing there was no Twitter! Now that I have confidence and I am more sure of my work, everything is assumed in a different way”.
In the case of Laia Sanz, she acknowledges that she has experienced many unpleasant situations and that she has even had to deal with difficult team leaders: “At first it affected me more, but over time I have learned to transform all these comments into motivation to shut up . I have learned that many comments, more than because of machismo, are out of envy, jealousy and lack of self-esteem”.
The path has not been easy at all and he confesses that throughout his career there have been situations in which he has come to consider throwing in the towel, but he is clear about it: “There are moments that make you suffer, but in the end the passion It’s so big that it pays off.” Neus Santamaría nods next to him: “It is a profession to which we dedicate many hours. If we didn’t feel this passion, we wouldn’t be in a job where you start at six in the morning and leave at eleven at night, and the next day you want to come back again”. Although he admits that what he did consider was whether he could dedicate himself to it professionally: “There was a time when I thought that motor racing might not be a professional opportunity, that I would have to study something and dedicate myself to this as a hobby. But with perseverance and a lot of sacrifice you can achieve it”, he assures.
Times are changing and examples such as those of Laia Sanz, Neus Santamaría or Nira Juanco are paving the way for new generations. “It’s something I feel very proud of,” says the pilot. “When I started I had no references for women. I have been a pioneer and I am glad to have helped the girls who have started later and had me as a reference, and I am also glad that they do not have to suffer as much as I have suffered ”, confesses Sanz. “We are changing the mentality, but it costs a lot,” answers Santamaría, who assures that in some meeting they have come to confuse her with the person in charge of the press or marketing, roles traditionally more associated with women. “If you have a problem and you go into a career direction, the person you look for is always a white male, in his 50s. When they point to me, they always make the same face at the beginning, because my image breaks with the stereotype they have of this position, ”she explains.
“Until recently, many positions were vetoed for women,” adds Nira Juanco, now deputy director of Formula 1 at Dazn. “It didn’t matter what you showed, if there was a man running for the same position, he would take it. Today we do have this equal opportunity, I notice that this is very normalized in my sector. My opinion is valued in the same way as that of a fellow man and I think we have taken a giant step forward”, says the journalist.
The future is also promising for Santamaría, who believes that “there are more and more young women who have lost their fear of it, who no longer see it as a men’s sport in which they cannot participate.” A normality that Laia Sanz also highlights: “I no longer feel like a weirdo. Now we are seen as something more normal and those who come after see that it is possible to achieve it”.
Without a doubt, one of the competitions that has contributed the most to promoting the role of female pilots is Extreme E. A test that is carried out in mixed teams and that is also firmly committed to sustainability through 100% electric vehicles and rolling in landscapes affected by climate change. “It’s a super special competition”, acknowledges Laia Sanz, who will participate for the third year with the Acciona|Sainz XE team. The one from Corbera de Llobregat especially values ??the fact that the couples are made up of a man and a woman: “That is very important, because we have the same role, we ride the same kilometers,” she says.
The Extreme E is a clear example of what happens when the same possibilities are offered to men and women: “We are showing that we can be competitive. The first year it is true that our level was much lower, but this year we have made a great leap simply because we have been given the opportunity to do kilometers, to train, to run ”, he explains. And he adds that he believes that female pilots can be decisive in this competition: “There are more differences between women than between men, so we can decide a lot in the races.”
It is also the first 100% electric off road championship. And it is that the future of the sector, the three agree, is to look for alternatives that make motor sport more sustainable, be it through hybrid vehicles, new fuels or modifying calendars to reduce the displacement of the huge competition teams as much as possible. “For years we have been seen as the bad guys, but the world of motorsports is completely changing its mentality and, if we want motorsport to have a future, that is where we have to go”, says Laia Sanz. “I don’t think we will see a fully electric Formula 1, but they are aware of the need for a change, to make a more sustainable competition,” agrees Nira Juanco, who points out that the goal of Formula 1 for 2030 is to be zero polluting.
But “it is a change that cannot be made overnight,” warns Neus Santamaría, who is experiencing this transformation from the other side of the barrier. “It takes time to adapt the facilities, train the officials, see how you adapt your materials and protocols… We still have a lot to learn, but yes or yes the future of this sport will go through this and we will have to adapt,” he predicts.
