Stirling Moss says women can’t race, ignoring experience

It's a sad day when a racing icon like Sir Stirling Moss claims women do not have the mental capabilities to succeed in motorsport. Despite Moss deriving from an entirely different era, his comments mark the words of a man disconnected from reality, adhering to stagnated beliefs from the 1950s. His opinion remains not only baffling, foolish, and incorrect, but also downright sexist.

Moss, perhaps the greatest driver never to have won the Formula One world championship, said in a BBC Radio 5 Live interview Monday that, while women may have the "strength" to race, they do not possess the "mental aptitude to race hard, wheel to wheel." Moss followed that by saying, "the mental stress would be pretty difficult for a lady to deal with in a practical fashion," stating they don't have the "aptitude to win a Formula One race.”

Understandably, there has been outrage regarding Moss's comments, a man who stands as a hero to those with even the vaguest knowledge of Formula One's racing history. Only five women have ever raced an F1 car, none garnering success. But the reason as to why remains far from mental.

Racing may not look physical from TV, but the combination of massive g-forces and steering loads in open-wheel racing makes driver endurance as crucial as any mechanical part. Danica Patrick, despite undergoing vigorous strength workouts, needed to adjust her IndyCar's steering rack due to the incredible effort required to turn the wheel. Many smaller male racers did the same. IndyCars, however, do not have power steering, whereas Formula One cars do.

But Moss focused his attention to the female brain, and lack of ability to manage high-stakes stress. Women can handle stress as well as men on or off the track, but Sir Stirling, apparently, remains blissfully unaware of this.

We all know the story of Danica Patrick; she's nearly won the Indy 500 and came close to victory at this year's Daytona 500. Irrelevant of one's opinion regarding her talent level, she's never displayed signs of fear, despite plenty of vicious hits.