It’s the best way to launch a new beginning, a new era." "I'm here as an ambassador of my country and I hope I did my best today. "It's a beautiful gesture from Renault and F1 to support a beautiful day in Saudi,” she said. After tucking her hair beneath a racing helmet and whatever fears she may have entertained in her pocket, Aseel Al-Hamad struck another blow for women when she added to the celebrations by doing a demonstration lap in Renault’s ex-Kimi Raikkonen Abu Dhabi GP-winning Lotus E20 V8.īy any standard that was a good story, given her lack of experience, but besides the significance of it all what made it even more remarkable was that she acquitted herself honourably, without making any mistakes. Sunday, June 24 was a landmark day for women in Saudi Arabia, when King Salman’s official decree that they could hold driving licences came into effect.īut for an adventurous young woman in Paul Ricard, that date will resonate even more the older she gets. Legendary F1 journalist David Tremayne spoke to the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission member after a ground-breaking day.
REDDIT F1 2018 DEMO DRIVERS
But following the lifting of a ban on women drivers in her native Saudi Arabia, the significance of those laps has reverberated around the world.
Assel Al-Hamad may only have driven a handful of laps of the Paul Ricard circuit in a Formula 1 car over the French Grand Prix weekend.