Diversity in Motorsport! 🌈

[heavy quail]

🎉

[jade timber]

Diversity in Motorsport! 🌈

[torpid harbor]

Hooray!

[jade timber]

Diversity in Motorsport! 🌈

Pinned message - writing channel description now.

** Diversity in Motorsport!** 🌈

A thread dedicated to discussing diversity and inclusion in motorsport.

Including, but not limited to:

• Women in motorsport.
• LGBTQ+ representation in motorsport.
• Racial equality in motorsport.
• Socioeconomic issues in motorsport.
• Any other diversity and inclusion-related topics in the context of motorsport.

Please be respectful and act in good faith. Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

A reminder of Rule 12:

12. Everyone is welcome. Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, casteism, and any other kind of intolerant behavior is completely unacceptable, and will result in an immediate ban. Suggesting or implying that this behavior is (or should be) acceptable will also be considered to be intolerant behavior.

[jade timber]

Tagging interested users:

@heavy quail @sick herald @arctic cloud @torpid harbor

[torpid harbor]

This is very lovely. Thank you!

[sick herald]

Thank you!

[torpid harbor]

I'm not involved in F1 activities but I've helped with representation at my local track for both drag racing and drifting.

[sick herald]

I’ve been on the sub for over a year but because I don’t use reddit for anything else, I didn’t have enough karma to post on anything other than the daily sub. This is so nice.

[jade timber]

I’m involved in race engineering in junior single-seaters. I only got into motorsport two years ago, but this community’s support and that of organisations like Mission 44, Girls on Track, and Racing Pride has been fantastic

[torpid harbor]

I'm very jealous of Racing Pride's flags. They look so damn good.

I just have a normal Pride flag lol

[sick herald]

I’m hoping we end up with some neurodiversity representation in F1 one day.

[arctic cloud]

There is! I personally know some

[sick herald]

I’m neurodiverse and so many of the kids that love the work of F1 are as well.

[fierce verge]

thanks!

[astral badge]

remind me is neurodiverse like autism and stuff like that

[sick herald]

I am sure there are many neurodiverse people in F1. There would be heaps of autistic people.

[astral badge]

if so there's probably quite a few in the aero parts of f1 i would imagine

[sick herald]

It covers lots of brain types but it does include adhd and autism.

Yep. The F1 in schools comp is pretty much a autism convention.

[heavy quail]

I’m fairly sure Lando’s spoken about being dyslexic before as well

[sick herald]

Lots undiagnosed. Lol.

[jade timber]

I’ve never been able to get a diagnosis myself, but it’s something I’d like to do

[sick herald]

I got mine at 43.

Didn’t have a clue until I started teaching at 40. Then everything made sense.

[jade timber]

I’m really sensitive to certain sounds, so being at the track often means earplugs and having some hidden fidget items in my pockets to stimulate me

I play with my pop socket on my phone a lot - it helps a lot!

[sick herald]

Heaps of women are diagnosed later in life. We don’t look like typical autism.

[fierce verge]

omg you too?! i really want to see a race live, but i have quite bad sound sensitivity from anxiety

[sick herald]

I find loops work well. The F1 cars are not super loud. It’s the other formula that are louder.

[jade timber]

I’m an synesthete (audio-tactile and audio-visual) as well so that doesn’t help.

[sick herald]

Wow. That’s amazing.

[torpid harbor]

Ear covers like for drag race events can turn anything into a dull hum. Highly recommended at any track event! Or when hungover...

[fierce verge]

will definitely look into those!

[arctic cloud]

I know I’ve mentioned him before but have you heard of Devin Townsend?

[sick herald]

Noise is hard for me but I manage ok. I have to as a teacher. But when I get home. It’s a dark room and usually F1.

[fierce verge]

gives me a bit of hope that i'll get to see something i really love despite my issues

[sick herald]

You will, Thea.

[torpid harbor]

Absolutely you can!

[jade timber]

My team have been really supportive of me though. Especially coming from a difficult background growing up and having to deal with recovering from some mental health issues, they’ve helped me work through them and give me confidence going forward

I’ve never been treated like a girl, or the only girl - I’m just like everyone else on that team, and that’s what I value a lot

[astral badge]

i remember being told autism is less common in women but i don't think that's true

[sick herald]

Look at this. We came here as diverse for other reasons and we have other things in common.

[jade timber]

I think you mentioned him before but you may need to jog my memory

[sick herald]

It’s not. It’s just the DSM is shit and women mask well.

[astral badge]

dsm?

[sick herald]

The diagnostic manual psychologists use to diagnose.

[fierce verge]

i have really bad health anxiety and dealing with psychologists about it has been incredibly frustrating

[sick herald]

Most of them have no idea about female presentation and they get diagnosed with depression, anxiety and every thing else.

[fierce verge]

can't imagine how much worse it is for something more difficult to diagnose

[sick herald]

You just need to find the right one. It took me years.

I suspected autism but was surprised about the adhd.

It all makes sense now.

I see so many girl’s struggling at school and they have all the traits but it never gets picked up. It’s sad.

[astral badge]

autism is why i used to only talk in #f1tv-broadcast for a year or two

[jade timber]

I had a bad experience getting diagnosed with anxiety and depression, I was referred to children’s mental health services who proceeded to do nothing for the next 7-8 years. Ended up being diagnosed as an adult and only being able to get medication then.

I requested diagnoses for autism and ADHD but I think they’ve fallen through the cracks

I’m doing a lot better now though and the racing has helped

[astral badge]

i could go on for ages about that topic

[sick herald]

We don’t always look autistic, either. I am social and I can do all the ‘normal’ things. So it gets missed.

[sick herald]

Having clarity about why things are hard is good. To know it not about you not trying hard enough. Then you start to see the strengths and you find your people. It gets better. I just wish I wasn’t so tired all of the time.

[arctic cloud]

He’s a musician (I think one of the most talented there is, genuinely) and he has synesthesia so he has a really unique sound that only he can create. It’s a real emotional, visceral experience listening to his music.

[sick herald]

Kandinsky was a synesthete (sp?) as well. He saw music as colour.

[burnt forge]

[median totem]

Just curious but what kind of teacher? My wife is a high school math teacher

[sick herald]

lol. This isn’t easy to answer. I teach lots of things. Thanks adhd. I am a visual arts teacher, photography teacher, stem and robotics teacher.

Oh. And in my previous life I was a graphic designer and web developer.

[proven swan]

I just want to acknowledge how awesome the Iron Dame team at Le Mans was 🔥

[sick herald]

I started teaching at 40.

[jade timber]

I see audio as colours, but I also feel it as textures at the same time. Some sounds sound smoother than others, others have this sort of crispy, crunchy texture to them. It’s like I’m running my hands over the music

[sick herald]

That is beautiful. What do F1 cars feel like?

I meant the sound of them.

[torpid harbor]

That seems like it'd be a killer ability for diagnosing things that are out of balance or making unusual tones.

[sick herald]

If you haven’t already, Oliver sacks wrote some beautiful books about different minds. That’s how I learnt about synesthesia

[jade timber]

I do have perfect pitch

Race car engines sound like crisp, cold air rushing past. Sometimes it feels slightly metallic as well

[sick herald]

It reminds me of how some drivers can feel what might be wrong with the car just by how it sounds or feels.

[arctic cloud]

That’s exactly what Devin is like!

[sick herald]

Things like a crack is the chassis that isn’t visible.

I don’t have anything crazy like that happening in my brain. The thing I do is pick up any device or computer and figure out how it works without thinking. I don’t know how I do it, I have just always been able to do it.

[torpid harbor]

That's super cool

[arctic cloud]

“I function from a place of synesthesia,” where “notes are colors and shapes,”

the musical note C is blue, B is orange, A is red, D is dark blue, G is green, F is a different type of green. C is also a circle and G is a triangle.

[sick herald]

Kandinsky would do the same thing.

I can’t post images or I would show you.

[sick herald]

He used to teach at the Bauhaus. His writing was really interesting as well

[arctic cloud]

For Wassily Kandinsky, music and color were inextricably tied to one another. So clear was this relationship that Kandinsky associated each note with an exact hue. He once said, “the sound of colors is so definite that it would be hard to find anyone who would express bright yellow with bass notes or dark lake with treble.”
In fact, it was after having an unusually visual response to a performance of Wagner’s composition Lohengrin at the Bolshoi Theatre that he abandoned his law career to study painting at the prestigious Munich Academy of Fine Arts. He later described the life-changing experience: “I saw all my colors in spirit, before my eyes. Wild, almost crazy lines were sketched in front of me.”

So interesting

[sick herald]

Lots of people don’t bother to spent the time to understand what certain art is about if they can’t immediately understand it. When you know what he was expressing with his work, it makes all the difference.

Art history and theory is my other love.

Piastri is still arguing over in the other channel. Lol.

[torpid harbor]

Well at least something useful spawned from the nonsense.

[sick herald]

❤️

Seriously. It the kid you have in class who just doesn’t get it even though you’ve used diagrams, videos, the other kids have tried explaining it to them. Nothing works.

[torpid harbor]

Visibility for more minorities in motorsports helps a ton. I happily rep for the rainbow mafia because even if others aren't comfortable being out, they can at least be a little more comfortable existing at local events if I'm running around.

Plus drifters are like birds and love bright colors on everything haha

[sick herald]

It’s so important. Representation is everything. I’ve very openly neurodiverse at school. Mainly for the kids who feel so ‘other’ to their peers.

[arctic cloud]

There are lots!

This is Mercedes

[sick herald]

Yas!

[torpid harbor]

Those are the awesome flags I want!

[arctic cloud]

5th from the right is the aerodynamics resource manager, there are important people!

[sick herald]

I’d totally put one up in my classroom.

[torpid harbor]

We're allowed to run flags off the backs of cars as long as they're secured. Hate flags have been banned at our events.

Drag racing has made a lot less progress than drifting, unfortunately.

[sick herald]

I had no idea about drag racing and drifting but I saw some last year at a car show and I was blown away.

[torpid harbor]

The demographics are very different and the drag racing crowd leans much older, much less friendly to others. Up here the sport is dying.

Meanwhile drifters trade stickers like kids at recess.

[sick herald]

People don’t go where they don’t feel welcome. That’s exactly the reason why I support what the mods are doing re. Reddit. It felt like a place I could go to.

[torpid harbor]

("Up here" being in the Midwest of the US for the record - I should've specified)

I run the timing system and sensors for the local drag strip, which is at the same facility as the drift track. I see both sides. The more hostile sport is the one who doesn't get to race this year because it's dying and there's a ton of fighting. The welcoming sport has expanded and added more events and classes!

[sick herald]

I am hoping the popularity of F1 will rub off on other motorsports. I would never in a million years have thought I go to a car show. Never. But I went and I have an appreciation for motorsports.

[torpid harbor]

Behind the wheel, you're not you. You're the car. The car has no gender, orientation, etc. It's a Z or a Miata or a whatever machine. Out on the track everyone is treated equally.

...and if you're a dick off the track, we throw you out 😁

[torpid harbor]

I hope so too. Younger generations are doing well, I think.

[astral badge]

it's hard sometimes being different to normals but you have to accept who you are and roll with it

once i started to do that it makes life a lot better

[sick herald]

We find our people. Change is happening. Slowly. So much more work to do.

People complain about Hamilton all the time and say he is ingenuous. That he does it for the likes. It makes me furious. I see it on the sub all of the time.

[torpid harbor]

Shift Up had a great shirt a while back that said "If she can see her, she can be her" referring to young women seeing representation within motorsports. It applies to all types of rep. Great group too btw.

[sick herald]

Ooh. I have to look them up.

[torpid harbor]

https://shiftupnow.com/

[sick herald]

We had zero girls in the F1 teams at school until I got involved. Now we have more girls than boys. It’s just because they saw me there. Then it snowballed.

[torpid harbor]

They sponsor and advocate for women in motorsports from road racing to drifting. Two of their drivers did a short documentary about their progression recently, I'll see if I can find the link. Your girls might dig it.

[sick herald]

They would love it.

[torpid harbor]

Found it! Kelsey Rowlings and Sally McNulty. https://youtu.be/xvHr2d5OKVo

[arctic cloud]

Me too, but you can prove it’s bs, fifth most generous person in Britain to charity last year

[jade timber]

You’ll love this… https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e8CrqdQTGeg

Demolition derby on a figure 8 track with school buses (empty of course!)

[sick herald]

My resources list is loving all of this.

[jade timber]

This was a reply to @sick herald’s comment about drag racing, my internet connection is just awful

[torpid harbor]

Personal nomination for super cool badass driver and LGBT representation: https://www.zandarakennedy.com/

[jade timber]

I’ve been obsessed with banger racing recently. It’s so over the top and ridiculous, funny too

[sick herald]

Reminds me of Maclaren. Lol.

[torpid harbor]

If a sport or hobby is approachable it's easier to get others into it. And more people means more fun!

Some of my buddies can't pick out a Corvette from a Silvia, but by goodness they'll hoot and holler and cheer for them on the track.

It's much better than sitting there solo.

[sick herald]

It’s past 1am here. It’s time for me to sleep.

[fierce verge]

nighty night BossLady 😄

[sick herald]

It’s been so great chatting to you all.

[torpid harbor]

Absolutely!

[sick herald]

❤️

[astral badge]

I've said this before but I got into F1 when it was a sport for middle aged white guys and it's changed so much since then

there's a reason why everyone was shit scared when sky got exclusive rights

If it hadn't been for dts, social media etc F1 wouldnt be too popular in the UK now

[torpid harbor]

I'm really glad the audience is getting more diverse. It makes having watch parties a lot easier to set up 😄

The only trouble I had with getting into F1 was learning the "cast of characters". Like yes, this car passed that car but why did that pass mean so much? What was the beef between those two teams? Why are some of them passing the same color? Etc.

Stuff like that helps bring in folks who may not be super into the cars themselves but enjoy the politics and drama.

[astral badge]

F1 is a sport with a really interesting history so if you ever wanted to look at that it does help understand GP racing today imo

that's a good way to getting into the sport is learn the big moments in it's history

[torpid harbor]

DTS does decently well with showing a cast of characters. I've never been interested in previous eras. Wish other sports like WRC had something similar, even an overview of who's who to get rolling.

[sick herald]

I’ve been watching and reading all the things I can find about it’s history and it’s really interesting to follow it’s development. I think it also helps with understanding what is happening in the sport today and why it matters.

[arctic cloud]

@sick herald this is XFOIL https://web.mit.edu/drela/Public/web/xfoil/

It’s a relatively simple aerofoil selection software

Here’s a tutorial https://engineering.purdue.edu/~aerodyn/AAE333/FALL09/HOMEWORKS/FinalProject/tutorial.doc

A good thing for you to do with your girls

[sick herald]

Thanks so much of thinking about us. They are actually current working on the front and rear wings. There are new tech regs this year for the comp which is great. It evens out the playing field.

[arctic cloud]

If you have a cad file you can send it to me and I’ll put it through openfoam so they can get an idea of what wings do to the air (just as a demo). I don’t know if you already have that capability!

[sick herald]

They are using Ansys as they have a sponsorship. My colleague works with them on that aspect of the comp. I think the link you’ve provided seems to give them other info but I’ve messaged them to see if they want to give it a go. It’s late night here in Aus, so they won’t get back to me until the morning.

They were development class earlier this year, so the pro worlds comp is a big step up for them.

[sick herald]

When/if the Sub fully reopens, will there be a place for us there?

[heavy quail]

The mods there aren’t the same as the mods here, so I don’t think so

[sick herald]

I keep forgetting this place existed before this week. Makes sense.

[glacial wyvern]

https://twitter.com/redbullracing/status/1670809075490103300?t=LVFha1rgB-dE5HxmTbJ6jg&s=19

Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing)

Passionate about engineering? Join us virtually on International Women In Engineering Day, Friday 23rd June 2023 from 15:00 BST, for a unique opportunity to delve into engineering by hearing from engineers, racing drivers, and Esports personalities! https://t.co/s9C9ZbqFJv

Twitter · Jun 19, 2023, 3:01 PM

[torpid harbor]

I wonder if there's anything that can be done on here to make F1 watching/discussion more welcoming to minorities. I got into it because I like cars, my friends got into it because I'm into it and we all enjoy yelling at the TV.

We do cheer for Lewis because of his helmet.

[arctic cloud]

https://twitter.com/mercedesamgf1/status/1671161725914320900

Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1)

To mark #INWED23 this Friday, we're putting your questions to Rosie Wait - our Head of Strategy - in an exclusive website Q&A. 👏

Share your questions below and we'll put as many of them to Rosie as we can. Stay tuned on our website to see her answers. 👀

Likes

647

Twitter · Jun 20, 2023, 2:22 PM

[arctic cloud]

And this

https://stemettes.org/events/meet-the-stemettes-mercedes-amg-petronas-f1/

[jade timber]

This has already closed I think?

Unless I’m wrong

[arctic cloud]

in person it has, online no

[sick herald]

Yes! Thanks so much for these links. Passing them on to my students. The timing might be tough but I am sure some will be happy to wake up/stay up to participate.

I will be.

[sick herald]

This looks like it is worth watching. I've put it on my playlist for the drive home from work today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6FEOhsTHBA&t=14s

[jade timber]

Happy International Women in Engineering Day!

[arctic cloud]

https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/news/inwed-2023-how-were-inspiring-female-engineers-of-the-future

[jade timber]

Female/non-binary engineers here - do you ever get the feeling that you’re often not taken seriously by those closest to you?

I was trying to relate my experiences as an engineer to a family member, only for them to tell me that apparently I wasn’t an ‘engineer’ until I finished my studies at university. I had to do a double take and tell them that not only was I doing engineering work for a single-seater team, but that I was about to start professional design engineering work in a few weeks.

Even then I got the sense that I wasn’t being taken seriously, and that they view my engineering work as just typical ‘intern’ tasks and shadowing, when in reality it’s far from that (as those of you in the loop will know).

It got me thinking about why this is the case. Perhaps it’s due to the relatively unconventional career path that I’ve taken, or perhaps it’s because it’s just not an ‘expected’ pathway for someone from my background to pursue.

I get the sense that I would be treated differently if I were male, perhaps taken more seriously. It’s not something that’s going to stop me from pushing on in my work and proving people wrong, but it’s something I wanted to share.

“You’re not an engineer because you’ve not graduated yet.” I’m in quite a demanding trackside engineering role…?

“You’re not an engineer because you’re not doing this professionally.” I’m literally about to start a paid design engineering role…?

“You’re not an engineer because you’re not doing serious engineering work.” When that’s clearly not true…

I always feel like the goalposts are moving, at least for some people who aren’t prepared to accept that I do what I do because I love it (and I’m pretty good at it too!)

[heavy quail]

I think in this situation it’s more of an age thing, like you’ve worked so hard to get to where you are, but the overarching perception is that those roles are held by people who are older and have more qualifications, so there’s a sense of disbelief around it

As a female fan I’ve experienced a bit of it though, assuming things about how I got into sport or why I watch it

[jade timber]

I guess so, particularly as I’m literally 18 years old and a race engineer, and up until this Tuesday I was balancing professional trackside engineering work (!) with school

[heavy quail]

Exactly. I’m not saying it’s not a gendered thing because it also might be, but there would likely be a whole lot of “I didn’t think they’d let someone that age have that role” or that they may not understand how you’d have time for it balancing school and your engineering role- the perception of the role being something like a full time job where it physically can’t be done alongside school which is also full time would lead people to assume it’s a lesser role than it actually is. And if they don’t know much about motorsport in general, it’s hard to get context as well, I guess

[jade timber]

Yeah. My role does feel like a full-time one despite me primarily working during race weekends (with a few workshop days here and there), and I think it's hard for most people to grasp how demanding it is

Most people assume I'm in university when I first introduce myself and my role. I'm not a uni student at all. Up until Tuesday, I was still in school

[heavy quail]

plus people may assume “race engineer” would involve working weekdays as a 9-5 as well as race weekends, which would conflict with the education thing

[jade timber]

There’s lots of work I need to do outside of race weekends, but for the most part I can do this remotely

[heavy quail]

yeah exactly, a layperson wouldn’t necessarily know that, especially if they don’t know the difference between race engineer and like, physical car engineer (mentally equated to mechanic), where you’d have to be there physically touching the car (and honestly that might be more of a gendered assumption with preconceptions around strength and physical capacity)

[jade timber]

https://www.fia.com/news/fia-girls-track-rising-stars-2023-edition-launched