This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/24/saudi-arabia-aseel-al-hamad-formula-one-car-le-castellet
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Saudi woman to drive Formula One car to mark end of ban | Saudi woman to drive Formula One car to mark end of ban |
(35 minutes later) | |
Aseel Al Hamad is to make a further breakthrough for Saudi Arabian women by driving a Formula One car ahead of the French Grand Prix. | |
The lap of the Le Castellet circuit comes on the day a ban ended on women driving on the Gulf kingdom’s roads. | The lap of the Le Castellet circuit comes on the day a ban ended on women driving on the Gulf kingdom’s roads. |
Renault said Hamad would drive a 2012 car as part of a parade of the French manufacturer’s vehicles to mark the return of the race after a 10-year absence. The same Lotus Renault E20 car took Finland’s 2007 world champion, Kimi Raikkonen, to victory in Abu Dhabi in 2012. | |
Hamad is the first female member of the Saudi Arabian Motorsport Federation and on the Women in Motorsport Commission (WMC) set up by Formula One’s governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA). | Hamad is the first female member of the Saudi Arabian Motorsport Federation and on the Women in Motorsport Commission (WMC) set up by Formula One’s governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA). |
She first drove the E20 on a training day on 5 June at the circuit as part of a familiarisation programme involving a range of cars. | |
“I have loved racing and motorsport from a very young age and to drive a Formula One car goes even beyond my dreams and what I thought was possible,” she said. “I hope doing so on the day when women can drive on the roads in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia shows what you can do if you have the passion and spirit to dream.” | “I have loved racing and motorsport from a very young age and to drive a Formula One car goes even beyond my dreams and what I thought was possible,” she said. “I hope doing so on the day when women can drive on the roads in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia shows what you can do if you have the passion and spirit to dream.” |
Michèle Mouton, a former rally driver and president of the WMC, said she hoped Hamad’s example would help pave the way for more women to embrace careers in motor sport. | Michèle Mouton, a former rally driver and president of the WMC, said she hoped Hamad’s example would help pave the way for more women to embrace careers in motor sport. |
Women in Saudi Arabia were able to take to the roads at midnight on Saturday, ending the world’s last ban on female drivers, long seen as an emblem of women’s repression in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom. | Women in Saudi Arabia were able to take to the roads at midnight on Saturday, ending the world’s last ban on female drivers, long seen as an emblem of women’s repression in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom. |
The lifting of the ban, ordered last September by King Salman, is part of sweeping reforms pushed by his powerful young son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in a bid to transform the economy of the world’s top oil exporter and open up its cloistered society. | |
Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia |
Women | Women |
Formula One | Formula One |
France | France |
Europe | Europe |
Formula One 2018 | Formula One 2018 |
news | news |
Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
Share via Email | Share via Email |
Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
Reuse this content | Reuse this content |