Being the first woman in Formula 1 is challenging, being signed to Ferrari as a rookie thats unheard of.
Florence struggles with having to prove herself in formula 1, constantly being pitted against her male colleagues and media criticizing her at e...
Ferrari signs F1 rookie to complete their 2021 lineup
Ferrari have made a highly controversial move in signing Florence DeRose to race along side Charles Leclerc in the Scuderia for 2021.
This move was made controversial by not only signing a driver who is yet to sit in a Formula 1 car but also by signing Formula 1's first ever female driver.
About the driver in question:
Florence 'Flo' Violette DeRose is a Monaco born dual citizenship German Monegasque. She was born on the 17.4.2000 and by the age of 14 already had several national & international karting titles under her belt. At 15 she progressed to racing cars with continued success. By 18 she was driving for ART in Formula 2 where she struggled behind her teammate Nyck De Vires who went on to win the championship, with DeRose finishing in an underwhelming and disappointing 12th place. With this disaster of a season came questions on her ability as a driver, from both the public and racing officials alike, and she had only just become a Ferrari Academy Driver at the start of that 2019 season, many where calling for DeRose to be dropped from the academy and motorsport altogether.
However, the 2020 season was much better for the youngster, where she claimed her maiden F2 win in the first race of the season, it was clear immediately that she had put in the work during the off season to improve performance. She continued improving and finished the 2020 Formula 2 season with 6 pole positions and 8 wins, fending off Mick Schumacher to win the championship in a dominating fashion.
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Florence DeRose at the 2020 Formula 2 awards night in London
Due to her impressive 2020 season, Scuderia Ferrari have signed DeRose on as a Formula 1 driver for 2021 on a 2 year contract ending in 2023. However her disastrous 2019 still cannot be looked pass for a great many people. Drawing widespread criticism & doubt on her signing.
Only time will tell if she can prove her seat in Formula 1 & pave the way for more female drivers to follow.
