Just thought I'd share this article about another Brazilian hope. This one female.

I hope people do not get the wrong end of the stick if she is sponsored by Petrobras...

Anyone know anything more? Is this meaningless hype or does she show promise?

If she wasnt female would that article have been written and would this thread have been started? No. Lots more wins are neccessary before this kind of attention is deserved.

I for one would love to see a female driver in F1 asap. Would shake the old boys up a bit and evolve the sport better than a move to V8s

anyone else out there share this view?

No. because unless she runs at the front, it doesnt change the series. This isnt NASCAR where your personality keeps you in the game. Either you go fast, or you dont.

Bia was excellent while karting. I have been to some 20 or more races. The best woman i have seen driving a kart.
I do not rank her that high in formulas. She needs more time than we can judge her.

Or have a good and solid sponsors behind you. I think that could be a way for woman into F1 these days, regardless of her ability has a driver.

Don't know about you but for me she is more than welcome.... It is far better than look to Schummi or Kimi....arrrrghhh

Specially she.... it shouldn't be difficult for her to have sponsors behind her And if you consider Baumargarten ability you shouldn't focus your quote on women only...chauvinist...

Yeah but what im saying is, put her in Kimi's seat; the way the Mclaren is running this year it doesnt matter who's in it, we arent going to see them. It wont add anything to the race

The fact is: she was as good as anyone of the top brazilian kartists of her time, last year was the best rookie of brazilian F-Renault, and this year she is second in the same championship. Surely she deserves attention.

Bia (photo)

But no more attention than Mike Conway or Pastor Maldano or Kohei Hirate

Agree. A woman in F1 would go totally unnoticed.

As the first woman to compete(and win) in equal conditons with any other top driver of her generation, she deserves attention.

Only if you beleive women are inferior to men in a race car. If anything the attention women get in sports is insulting to their ability.

I believe women's results in a race car, until now, are inferior to men. So a woman who proves she can compete with anyone, in any formula, deserves attention, as a recognition of women abilities.

I've seen the 2 F-Renault races this year, both very competitive and exciting. Bia did very well against the other drivers, including a dump track race in Curitiba. So, if she makes it to F1, even in mid-field, good for her and the sport.

Ross, in what world do you live in?

A world of caring about a driver's ability, not their ass.

"But she's pretty good for a girl" is such an unbelievably patronising recommendation that I'd rather be genuinely crap than that.

So you can only judge a woman based on her body? Your a looser RS and I don't mean Ralf Well..... on second thought, include Ralf...... but not this time!

If she is good then the fact that she is a woman is just a PR bonus for her team/ sponsers.

So you're out of this world!


If the world you live in right now has a Capitalist system, the driver's ass is more important than her abilities, cause it sells better. It's a patriarcal world, unfortunatelly.

Have a look at

I think I understand where Ross is coming from. Just putting a woman in a F-1 car for the sake of it wont help a thing. Uness you know she can go toe to toe in a grand prix car with the rest of them, Im not sure I'd bother. If she doesnt succeed that put the cause even more years behind. I'm not saying woman cant do it, or she cant do it, but you really have to make sure the first time around I think. I'm not sure sponsors would fall over themselves to possibly be linked with the woman who didnt succeed very well.

quote:
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Originally posted by SlateGray


So you can only judge a woman based on her body?
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Have a look at



quote:
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Originally posted by speedmaster


Don't know about you but for me she is more than welcome.... It is far better than look to Schummi or Kimi....arrrrghhh
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Question of taste... I like the "powerplant"......

C'mon Ross, I'm just kidding... Of course it would be great to have her just for a change but she is farrrrrrr from anything called F1.... Cheers man... and look better...don't you think?

alright. lets see some pics of her. Are there any naked or bikini shots of her on the car?
























okay, I'm kidding. I can see both arguments.
A great driver gets recognition, gender is of no relevance
vs
In reality a woman driver presents new marketing opportunities in our capitalist world.

A winning female yes, in a winning car.

She wont be in a Ferrari any time soon, at best she'll be Sarah Fisher Part 2. A novelty people grow tired of after 2 seasons

BS. Now Bia will be another 'Sarah Fisher' just because she is a woman...while the 'novelty' ( ) began many years ago and isn't close to an end, as the girl(who people thought wouldn't last more than 2 seasons ) kept winning races for more than 5 years, against top brazilian kartists. And now the girl cannot succeed and isn't talented because she is a woman. Curious...

Well, that was really my point...

I saw all the Brazilian formula Renault races this year and she shows very very promise.

Actually she is fighting with all the others drivers in the same level, maybe in a higher level, specially with Daniel Serra, son of Chico Serra a former F1 driver.

I´m starting being a big fan of Bia. She is very fast, very agressive and a beaultifull lady.

I supose, being a woman, certainly a lot of sponsor will help his carreer. I would like to see her in F1 soon.

Go Bia Go

Good god, she looks like Tony Kanaan in a heavy metal band

Believe me...this picture is bad but she is really a beaultifull lady....I saw her, personally, here in Curitiba, my city....

I m her diehard fan....

Done deal... you keep Tony and I keep her....

Geez,
i was going to say this. Bia Kanaan
But to be honest (Like MS) she is a beautifull and very simpatic girl.

You guys saying she is beautiful are crazy!

If I didn't know she was girl I would be sure it was a boy in that picture.

"


She has "Parreira´s look " , a pitty one, but she is beautifull , beleive me.

I put a link to a photo, but as nobody saw it...



http://www.zaz.com.br/istoegente/243/repor..._figueiredo.htm


(edit if it's wrong...)

Guess we'll see her in Italian Renaults next year. Maybe a combined Euro/Italian schedule with someone like Cram Competition?

Maybe, if she keeps doing well this year...

Most of the South Americans end up in Italian Renaults, and a lot of them at Cram (its a very good team), especially the ones that have TIM sponsorship.

BTW,

Brazilian F-Renault - results & live timing: http://www.cronomap.com.br/resultados/renault/index.html

2004 Standings: http://www.cronomap.com.br/resultados/rena.../renault-04.asp




curious . avatar

(LOL!)

A question to Ross: how heavy is a hidraulic race steering wheel compared with its everyday heavy duty version?
Is seems to me that the main technical obstacle that keep women of top formula racing is the weight of the steering wheel. Is that correct?

Polar

Until you get into F1 there's no power steering. Before F3000 its not that difficult really (drivers have said F3000 are more physical/harder to drive than F1)

These drivers are very very tiny. Michael Schumacher is only like 5 foot 6 or 5 foot 7. Sato and Fisichella are much smaller. Racing drivers arent that muscular in their torsos or arms actually. Granted a female of the same height will have less muscle tone than a man of the same height, but thats assuming two random people off the street. There's no reason a female cant train to the same level as the male. Just look at the Williams sisters

oooops... dad should have told you some facts of life....

Mine always said... the important is the performance and to be sincere, not a beautiful face but, what the heck, turn off the lights

Thanks Ross. But anyway, said that it should means that the reason for the lack of female champs is simply on the small numbers of girls that get into auto racing? A quality in numbers thing?

Polar

Exactly. 99% of male drivers arent good enough, and there's hundreds of them. There are only 5 women drivers that I can think of in any sort of professional open wheel series.

Sorry 6, 4 of them in Renaults heh

You seem to be envy about BIa. She won Sudamerican Go-Kart races (the first woman ever) and among the drivers we shall have - at least - a minor formula/touring champion.
That's much more you ever made.

But I will retire what I said if you tell us you were actually kiding.

Either she's good or she's not, it has nothing to do with what you or I have or havent done.

Go Ross