No Grid Girls from 2018 onwards

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 31 Jan 2018, 15:36

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/134153/f1-to-end-the-use-of-grid-girls-from-new-season

Discuss, I suppose

I'm personally not strongly fussed either way. On one hand it's obviously a bit outdated in the current year to have them, but on the other hand grid girls do make up part and parcel of the charm and presentation of Formula 1. The sport will certainly look stranger without them.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 31 Jan 2018, 16:12

Rob Dylan wrote:https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/134153/f1-to-end-the-use-of-grid-girls-from-new-season

Discuss, I suppose

I'm personally not strongly fussed either way. On one hand it's obviously a bit outdated in the current year to have them, but on the other hand grid girls do make up part and parcel of the charm and presentation of Formula 1. The sport will certainly look stranger without them.

So Liberty are getting rid of grid ladies, which I don't think the TV cameras focussed on much, yet the podium ladies, which received more TV coverage, are seemingly still here to stay. Hmmm...

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 31 Jan 2018, 16:57

Rob Dylan wrote:https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/134153/f1-to-end-the-use-of-grid-girls-from-new-season

Discuss, I suppose

I'm personally not strongly fussed either way. On one hand it's obviously a bit outdated in the current year to have them, but on the other hand grid girls do make up part and parcel of the charm and presentation of Formula 1. The sport will certainly look stranger without them.

Whilst I won't comment on this news, I got to thinking - what would happen if The Powers That Be in the USA decided that Cheerleaders should be banned?

I can't see the various American sports agreeing to that ...

Post by **Ataxia** » 31 Jan 2018, 18:15

This is long overdue. I think that, from the perspective of adding value to an F1 event, grid girls don't really add anything. There's this notion that they add "glamour" and "charm" to the grid, but I'd suggest that the rotating cast of famous faces and F1's exclusivity already bring that. Grid girls don't really add anything.

I found this tweet from Motor Sport Magazine's Joe Dunn, and I think it displays how mindful F1 is being towards creating a more inclusive environment, rather than enforcing the perception that men do the engineering/driving, and women stand there looking pretty with a sign. I think it's a pretty adequate explanation:

Post by **Nuppiz** » 31 Jan 2018, 18:20

Well, I personally think they were a pretty pointless and outdated concept anyway. So I don't mind to see them go.

And yeah, this will make F1 look less like a "boys club".

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 31 Jan 2018, 18:28

Ataxia wrote:This is long overdue. I think that, from the perspective of adding value to an F1 event, grid girls don't really add anything. There's this notion that they add "glamour" and "charm" to the grid, but I'd suggest that the rotating cast of famous faces and F1's exclusivity already bring that. Grid girls don't really add anything.

This. Completely.

I've seen the (almost certainly false) argument that this was only being considered (and now, is finally happening) because the deluded "PC Brigade" think it's exploiting women who in reality chose this profession themselves. And, while I do sympathise with the position that it will leave the women in question out of a job, I think the cultivation of an image that women are there for show while the men perform heroic deeds on track has potentially done even more harm, as the tweet shows.

I continue to be skeptical of Liberty's plans for F1, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

The Chicane · Post by **The Chicane** » 31 Jan 2018, 18:42

I really don't see anything wrong with grid girls to be honest, why take away the job opportunity from them?

Plus I don't really agree with this stance that modelling and being proud to display ones beauty is something to be ashamed of. Its all part of the F1 glamour and its being taken away by the PC brigade where everyone must conform to a certain standard because some people are insecure about themselves and have to spoil it for others who actually enjoy it.

Edit: I wasn't very clear with my point so ignore it.

Post by **Ataxia** » 31 Jan 2018, 19:45

The Chicane wrote:I really don't see anything wrong with grid girls to be honest, why take away the job opportunity from them?

It's three days out of a year. It's not make-or-break for a model's yearly outgoings - but if it is, then they're doing something wrong. F1 does not owe them a living. They've made the conscious decision to change the sport's image to something more contemporary, and so grid girls aren't in demand. Just like doctors wouldn't be in demand at a building site. Just like tennis players wouldn't be in demand at Edgbaston.

The Chicane wrote:Plus I don't really agree with this stance that modelling and being proud to display ones beauty is something to be ashamed of. Its all part of the F1 glamour and its being taken away by the PC brigade where everyone must conform to a certain standard because some people are insecure about themselves and have to spoil it for others who actually enjoy it.

That's not the argument at all. Honestly, that paragraph reads like something out of a Rod Liddle column, only with less contempt for ethnic minorities.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 31 Jan 2018, 20:13

The Chicane wrote:Plus I don't really agree with this stance that modelling and being proud to display ones beauty is something to be ashamed of. Its all part of the F1 glamour and its being taken away by the PC brigade where everyone must conform to a certain standard because some people are insecure about themselves and have to spoil it for others who actually enjoy it.

I... I honestly can't even begin to guess what your complaint here even is. Like, I genuinely don't understand what you're talking about?

The Chicane · Post by **The Chicane** » 31 Jan 2018, 20:18

Ataxia wrote:
The Chicane wrote:I really don't see anything wrong with grid girls to be honest, why take away the job opportunity from them?

It's three days out of a year. It's not make-or-break for a model's yearly outgoings - but if it is, then they're doing something wrong. F1 does not owe them a living. They've made the conscious decision to change the sport's image to something more contemporary, and so grid girls aren't in demand. Just like doctors wouldn't be in demand at a building site. Just like tennis players wouldn't be in demand at Edgbaston.

The Chicane wrote:Plus I don't really agree with this stance that modelling and being proud to display ones beauty is something to be ashamed of. Its all part of the F1 glamour and its being taken away by the PC brigade where everyone must conform to a certain standard because some people are insecure about themselves and have to spoil it for others who actually enjoy it.

That's not the argument at all. Honestly, that paragraph reads like something out of a Rod Liddle column, only with less contempt for ethnic minorities.

I'm just not a fan of how the world is getting too sensitive about things which aren't even problems to begin with. Feminists and SJW's just really need to make up their mind on which side of the fence they sit when it comes to sexuality and sex appeal in the media.

I'm going to stop before everything gets too serious.

Salamander wrote:
The Chicane wrote:Plus I don't really agree with this stance that modelling and being proud to display ones beauty is something to be ashamed of. Its all part of the F1 glamour and its being taken away by the PC brigade where everyone must conform to a certain standard because some people are insecure about themselves and have to spoil it for others who actually enjoy it.

I... I honestly can't even begin to guess what your complaint here even is. Like, I genuinely don't understand what you're talking about?

I'm saying that I don't agree with the anti-Grid Girl stance

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 31 Jan 2018, 20:26

The Chicane wrote:I'm saying that I don't agree with the anti-Grid Girl stance

You... kind of answered my question with your previous post...

The Chicane wrote:I'm just not a fan of how the world is getting too sensitive about things which aren't even problems to begin with. Feminists and SJW's just really need to make up their mind on which side of the fence they sit when it comes to sexuality and sex appeal in the media.

I'm going to stop before everything gets too serious.

I always find it interesting how people who complain about other people being sensitive towards certain subjects... never seem to realise how they themselves can also be accused of being over-sensitive when topics such as this one are being raised.

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 31 Jan 2018, 20:27

The Chicane wrote:I'm saying that I don't agree with the anti-Grid Girl stance

From here it looks like you're punching a scarecrow...

The Chicane · Post by **The Chicane** » 31 Jan 2018, 20:31

Simtek wrote:
The Chicane wrote:I'm saying that I don't agree with the anti-Grid Girl stance

From here it looks like you're punching a scarecrow...

lol I've never heard of that term before xD

Salamander wrote:
The Chicane wrote:I'm saying that I don't agree with the anti-Grid Girl stance

You... kind of answered my question with your previous post...

The Chicane wrote:I'm just not a fan of how the world is getting too sensitive about things which aren't even problems to begin with. Feminists and SJW's just really need to make up their mind on which side of the fence they sit when it comes to sexuality and sex appeal in the media.

I'm going to stop before everything gets too serious.

I always find it interesting how people who complain about other people being sensitive towards certain subjects... never seem to realise how they themselves can also be accused of being over-sensitive when topics such as this one are being raised.

Not getting sensitive just sharing my opinion.

Post by **Ataxia** » 31 Jan 2018, 20:35

The Chicane wrote:I'm just not a fan of how the world is getting too sensitive about things which aren't even problems to begin with. Feminists and SJW's just really need to make up their mind on which side of the fence they sit when it comes to sexuality and sex appeal in the media.

See, you're just throwing the same hackneyed, substance-lacking arguments out that I've seen across various social media platforms. It's a shame to see the term "feminist" completely lose its ties to the pursuit of gender equality and become some byword denigrated by people who don't agree with the general pursuit of an all-inclusive world. As for SJWs...that's not even a term. What is that?

You're completely missing the argument. Can you, in all good consciousness, give a legitimate commercial reason why grid girls should be kept?

If we're going down the road of invoking the name of feminism, then let's look at that, rather than bandy terms about with little regard for context. If you had a hypothetical daughter, you'd want her to have the chance to excel and be amazing at everything, and have the exact same opportunities as men. If the first, second and third women she sees on F1 are models, what message does that send?

Sure, she might relish the idea of being a model and that's totally fine, but for those who don't - what does it say to them? Rather than work at it and become involved in the engineering, the business or the media, it just perpetuates this wholly wrong myth that women can only be in F1 as grid girls. And that's an image you don't want.

Whether you agree with that or not, you can't just take things at face value. As men, we're incredibly privileged to not have to worry about these sorts of things, but walk a mile in someone else's shoes. Sure, again, being a model might be a young girl's aspiration in life and that's totally cool, but for many it's not. F1, if it's to remain relevant in 21st century society, needs to promote something else. From my own experiences there's many women who work in motorsport, but you wouldn't know it from watching F1 on TV.

If you're seriously getting worked up about the fact that the world's changing to suit everyone, then that's your problem.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 31 Jan 2018, 20:38

The Chicane wrote:
Salamander wrote:
The Chicane wrote:I'm just not a fan of how the world is getting too sensitive about things which aren't even problems to begin with. Feminists and SJW's just really need to make up their mind on which side of the fence they sit when it comes to sexuality and sex appeal in the media.

I'm going to stop before everything gets too serious.

I always find it interesting how people who complain about other people being sensitive towards certain subjects... never seem to realise how they themselves can also be accused of being over-sensitive when topics such as this one are being raised.

Not getting sensitive just sharing my opinion.

If you weren't sensitive to it you wouldn't even have cared enough to post about it.

The Chicane · Post by **The Chicane** » 31 Jan 2018, 20:40

@Ataxia

I understand some of your points but lets just agree to disagree, it will not get us anywhere by debating on here.

Plus I don't want to fall out with any of you guys!

The Chicane wrote:
Salamander wrote:
If you weren't sensitive to it you wouldn't even have cared enough to post about it.

This place is for discussion...so I just shared my view...I wouldn't of done it if I knew people here would get so annoyed by it.

Post by **Ataxia** » 31 Jan 2018, 20:51

The Chicane wrote:
This place is for discussion...so I just shared my view...I wouldn't of done it if I knew people here would get so annoyed by it.

It's fine to share an opinion, but once you air it you're open to some kind of debate. Here, as long as things are reasonable, then a civilised discussion is respected but there's got to be some give-and-take. It's important not to say anything that you wouldn't say to someone's face, and I don't think anyone here's got flagrantly annoyed, but rather have taken your opinion and passed some critique. You're welcome, at any time, to do the same.

That's debate - the presentation and discussion of ideas. At no point has this got personal, and that's fine.

The Chicane · Post by **The Chicane** » 31 Jan 2018, 20:56

Ataxia wrote:
It's fine to share an opinion, but once you air it you're open to some kind of debate. Here, as long as things are reasonable, then a civilised discussion is respected but there's got to be some give-and-take. It's important not to say anything that you wouldn't say to someone's face, and I don't think anyone here's got flagrantly annoyed, but rather have taken your opinion and passed some critique. You're welcome, at any time, to do the same.

That's debate - the presentation and discussion of ideas. At no point has this got personal, and that's fine.

Its cool that people on here are rather chill

TheFlyingCaterham · Post by **TheFlyingCaterham** » 31 Jan 2018, 23:28

Personally I'm neutral on the subject, since grid girls aren't something that I really care about at all. That said, if the grid girls are happy to do it, I don't see too much of a problem with it.

I also found this image about the situation on Twitter which perhaps shares a little bit of a different perspective on the matter, but isn't exactly verifiable either.

Post by **tommykl** » 01 Feb 2018, 00:33

TheFlyingCaterham wrote:Personally I'm neutral on the subject, since grid girls aren't something that I really care about at all. That said, if the grid girls are happy to do it, I don't see too much of a problem with it.

I also found this image about the situation on Twitter which perhaps shares a little bit of a different perspective on the matter, but isn't exactly verifiable either.

I'd take that post with a grain of salt. I highly doubt that every single grid girl is also tasked with greeting every foreign guest, that every girl must be at least bilingual, and that all of the grid girls are collectively in charge of catering.

SuzukiSwift · Post by **SuzukiSwift** » 01 Feb 2018, 03:25

This has 0 effect on the racing. I for one liked them but if getting rid of them makes the sport more appealing to women then all power to 'em. The unfortunate side effect of this is now your going to have the "traditional" crowd shrieking about how the SJW/Feminist/Communist/Homosexual/Reptilian conspiracy made F1 bow to "Political Correctness"(btw, I have no idea what this phrase means - it's definition changes constantly. In addition, if you use it in a non-ironic manner you should be mildly electrocuted).

This should be a minor non-issue. I don't see what the fuss is about - did anybody care all that much about grid girls? To be honest I cared more about the Tobacco ban and the loss of kickass cigarette liveries.

SuzukiSwift · Post by **SuzukiSwift** » 01 Feb 2018, 03:27

The Chicane wrote:I really don't see anything wrong with grid girls to be honest, why take away the job opportunity from them?

Plus I don't really agree with this stance that modelling and being proud to display ones beauty is something to be ashamed of. Its all part of the F1 glamour and its being taken away by the PC brigade where everyone must conform to a certain standard because some people are insecure about themselves and have to spoil it for others who actually enjoy it.

If you wanna see scantily clad women on a grid walk just watch Super GT. They get much more attention.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 01 Feb 2018, 05:08

The thing is, many people are now making a fuss about it. But assume that Liberty media stopped using gridgirls without a public announcement, would anyone have noticed the difference? Nope. Nobody even paid attention to these grid girls anyway, so it's not 'political correctness' but removing an unnecessairy cost. That's economical thinking.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 01 Feb 2018, 11:23

More inclusive would be to also have grid boys, Usually in equal number to grid girls. But since it is probably easier to get rid of the job altogether, as it isn't really essential, I guess it is all good.

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 01 Feb 2018, 15:14

dr-baker wrote:So Liberty are getting rid of grid ladies, which I don't think the TV cameras focussed on much, yet the podium ladies, which received more TV coverage, are seemingly still here to stay. Hmmm...

Podium Girls are also out.

Ataxia wrote:

The Chicane wrote:Plus I don't really agree with this stance that modelling and being proud to display ones beauty is something to be ashamed of. Its all part of the F1 glamour and its being taken away by the PC brigade where everyone must conform to a certain standard because some people are insecure about themselves and have to spoil it for others who actually enjoy it.

That's not the argument at all. Honestly, that paragraph reads like something out of a Rod Liddle column, only with less contempt for ethnic minorities.

To be fair, the official release from Liberty hinted VERY strongly that modeling as an industry was becoming unacceptable. Now I'm not saying I agree or disagree with it but you can easily see why several people think this way.

http://motorsports.nbcsports.com/2018/0 ... ium-girls/

Quite a bit of upset ladies in that post, which is fascinating if nothing else. Sadly this won't change much. Liberty is American, and grid girls were never a thing here. NASCAR had Miss Sprint Cup, who wore a Nomex firesuit, and when Monster brought their models out last year....hoo boy.

Indycar has nothing, ALMS has nothing, NHRA had "BUGS" (back-up girls) at one time, but that went away in the '70s. A few NFL teams have done away with cheerleaders as well. The times they are a'changin as they say.

The Chicane · Post by **The Chicane** » 01 Feb 2018, 15:23

Shouldnt of mentioned anything now, feels like I'm the only one who likes the grid girls on this forum. xD

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 01 Feb 2018, 15:41

The Chicane wrote:Shouldnt of mentioned anything now, feels like I'm the only one who likes the grid girls on this forum. xD

To be fair, I like them, as being a race promoter now, I feel that a (big) race show be a wild spectacle. That being said, I'm not really surprised at the change, and honestly, I'm not losing any sleep over it either way. F1, like the NFL, has far bigger issues that annoy me.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 01 Feb 2018, 15:43

Wallio wrote:
dr-baker wrote:So Liberty are getting rid of grid ladies, which I don't think the TV cameras focussed on much, yet the podium ladies, which received more TV coverage, are seemingly still here to stay. Hmmm...

Podium Girls are also out.

Yeah, I kinda worked that one out after I posted that... Whoops.

My signature says how I am perceived on here. But I am not going to miss those grid girls really. With Martin Brundle's grid walk, they never feature, it's the celebrities that get more attention (male and female equally). In terms of gendwer roles and gender equality etc., I am currently studying to go into nursing. In the UK, 95% of all qualified nurses are female. 11% of student nurses are male. 77% of the NHS workforce are female. (All figures from Royal College of Nursing. Article is free, but have to register to access article if I remember correctly. Article is from last month.) However you look at it, I am in the minority. But if there were "positive discrimination" to favour more men into the profession, I would be against it. I want every job applicant to be judged on their CV and skills set, regardless of age, gender, race, etc. What I would love to see is for people to see nursing as a role for caring people, not nursing as a role for omen with maternal, caring instincts. After all, you need a science degree now for the job - that's masculine, right?!?!?

Basically, point is, if we need a board to be held so drivers on the grid can be identified, it should be a job for boys or girls equally, it is not a job that requires certain biological attributes. But the signs can rarely be seen amongst the cars and crowds of mechanics and drivers plus hangers-on anyway, so what's the point.

And this is an interesting comment from a female racing driver (yes, I follow female racing drivers on Twitter...):

I wonder what Carmen Jorda's opinion on the matter is? (I do NOT follow her on Twitter...)

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 01 Feb 2018, 15:55

dr-baker wrote:Basically, point is, if we need a board to be held so drivers on the grid can be identified, it should be a job for boys or girls equally, it is not a job that requires certain biological attributes.

I agree with this 100% percent, but I think its how its marketed. A man doing it wouldn't draw money with a green crayon as they say, because its not promoted. For example, the pictures below are from a "Throwback" race I ran in 2015 when I still had my dragster. It was a three-day race, but on Sunday, they had a "Back-Up Girl Contest". So my wife entered, her only rule was that I pay for her outfit, and she got to pick it out. Now, there were a few magazines there and loads of photographers. My wife, and my buddy Tim's wife who also entered, had far more photographs taken than either of our dragsters.

Now my buddy Joe crewed on the car and backed me up for years (he's in the background of one pic in fact) including during qualifying that same race, but it wasn't "a contest" or a "pretty girl" so no pictures. No as you say, the grid girls are hardly featured anymore, so maybe they don't add anything to the show. But its a chicken or the egg scenario. Are they not drawing because they aren't promoted? Or are they not promoted because they aren't drawing?

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 01 Feb 2018, 20:05

Interesting Autosport article, FE boasting to F1 that they quit their grid girl habit a year ago, didn't mention it, and nobody noticed. Is that because they didn't mention it, nobody noticed, or nobody cared? Or FE just doesn't get the coverage F1 does?

Post by **Nuppiz** » 01 Feb 2018, 20:22

dr-baker wrote:Interesting Autosport article, FE boasting to F1 that they quit their grid girl habit a year ago, didn't mention it, and nobody noticed. Is that because they didn't mention it, nobody noticed, or nobody cared? Or FE just doesn't get the coverage F1 does?

Probably a combination of all four reasons you mentioned.

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 01 Feb 2018, 21:09

Nuppiz wrote:
dr-baker wrote:Interesting Autosport article, FE boasting to F1 that they quit their grid girl habit a year ago, didn't mention it, and nobody noticed. Is that because they didn't mention it, nobody noticed, or nobody cared? Or FE just doesn't get the coverage F1 does?

Probably a combination of all four reasons you mentioned.

Beat me to it, but a bit of everything I suspect. I do wonder if the announcement is the trigger however. Teams used to bring models in all the time (Jordan, Arrows thong wearing Chello girls, Red Bulls 2005 "Formula Una" competition) and that's all dead, but no one ever really seemed to notice or care.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 01 Feb 2018, 23:39

Wallio wrote:
dr-baker wrote:Basically, point is, if we need a board to be held so drivers on the grid can be identified, it should be a job for boys or girls equally, it is not a job that requires certain biological attributes.

I agree with this 100% percent, but I think its how its marketed. A man doing it wouldn't draw money with a green crayon as they say, because its not promoted. For example, the pictures below are from a "Throwback" race I ran in 2015 when I still had my dragster. It was a three-day race, but on Sunday, they had a "Back-Up Girl Contest". So my wife entered, her only rule was that I pay for her outfit, and she got to pick it out. Now, there were a few magazines there and loads of photographers. My wife, and my buddy Tim's wife who also entered, had far more photographs taken than either of our dragsters.

Now my buddy Joe crewed on the car and backed me up for years (he's in the background of one pic in fact) including during qualifying that same race, but it wasn't "a contest" or a "pretty girl" so no pictures. No as you say, the grid girls are hardly featured anymore, so maybe they don't add anything to the show. But its a chicken or the egg scenario. Are they not drawing because they aren't promoted? Or are they not promoted because they aren't drawing?

I can't help but ask, but is that a blown altered by any chance?

Wallio · Post by **Wallio** » 02 Feb 2018, 00:41

Sadly not wizzie. Big block with 2-4s on a tunnel ram, but it breathed it's own air. Made 736bhp at the wheels. And even that never really hooked lol.

Post by **mario** » 02 Feb 2018, 20:41

This wrote:The thing is, many people are now making a fuss about it. But assume that Liberty media stopped using gridgirls without a public announcement, would anyone have noticed the difference? Nope. Nobody even paid attention to these grid girls anyway, so it's not 'political correctness' but removing an unnecessairy cost. That's economical thinking.

I do agree that the high profile way in which Liberty Media put that message out was, by drawing so much attention to it, going to draw considerable attention and criticism, whereas not making such a fuss in the first place would have probably reduced the intensity of the complaints.

Nuppiz wrote:
dr-baker wrote:Interesting Autosport article, FE boasting to F1 that they quit their grid girl habit a year ago, didn't mention it, and nobody noticed. Is that because they didn't mention it, nobody noticed, or nobody cared? Or FE just doesn't get the coverage F1 does?

Probably a combination of all four reasons you mentioned.

Asides from that, there is probably also the fact that Formula E is a comparatively modern series and, as such, people are probably also not quite so accustomed to see grid girls there as they are in F1. The image that Formula E has also been trying to put out is rather different compared to F1, such that not having grid girls arguably fits Formula E's image much more neatly.

Wallio wrote:
The Chicane wrote:Shouldnt of mentioned anything now, feels like I'm the only one who likes the grid girls on this forum. xD

To be fair, I like them, as being a race promoter now, I feel that a (big) race show be a wild spectacle. That being said, I'm not really surprised at the change, and honestly, I'm not losing any sleep over it either way. F1, like the NFL, has far bigger issues that annoy me.

I fall into the category of those who will ultimately not miss the grid girls being there - whilst there are those who have advocated for them being there, arguing that they are there of their own choice and wanted to be there, and making valid points about the way in which this has been handled, there have also been, as SuzukiSwift notes, those "traditionalists" who have used it as an excuse to pour out a torrent of bile, bigotry and undisguised homophobic abuse.

I can see that there were those who argued that they could use it as a form of empowerment and financial independence, but at the same time there have also been some testimonies indicating that those who did work as grid girls were sometimes being treated pretty badly by the organisers who hired them.

I do come down on the side that it is better for the sport to have removed the grid girls, though at the same time think it could have been handled in a better way. There have been those who complained about what they felt as being a rather woolly statement by FOM, and since then they have effectively allowed those who want to rage against the decision to vent their spleen without restriction, rather than attempting to defend or justify the decision.

As a feature, grid girls as they are used now are a comparatively modern phenomenon in F1 - it seems they were brought in at the end of the 1980's to "sex up" the grid and to garner headlines, such as with the publicity stunts alluded to in earlier posts. It's something that wasn't integral to the sport in the past - as Wallio notes, in the grand scheme of things, it's a minor issue and a change that, realistically the sport could either make on their own terms or probably be forced into by changing social pressures (if polls on sites such as F1Fanatic are worth anything, it seems that there was already a majority who were happy for grid girls to go after the WEC made a similar announcement).

The Chicane · Post by **The Chicane** » 05 Feb 2018, 15:04

Liberty have just announced the use of "Grid Kids", I don't want to see those brats on my TV. (jk)

I guess some people will be complaining about child labour now.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 05 Feb 2018, 16:49

I was pretty ambivalent about the grid girls disappearing, but the announcement about the kids has wound me up! F1 is not football, this is cheesier than having pretty ladies. How much more utter nonsense will there be before I give up on this sport for good? Place your bets....

Post by **mario** » 05 Feb 2018, 18:04

The Chicane wrote:Liberty have just announced the use of "Grid Kids", I don't want to see those brats on my TV. (jk)

I guess some people will be complaining about child labour now.

You might mean the comment in jest, but there are already people who are genuinely making hyperbolic complaints that the sport is resorting to child labour and exploiting kids.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 05 Feb 2018, 21:30

"Oh no, they're getting rid of grid girls!"

" but kids will take their place! "

"But they won't be any kids, they will be those who are already racers themselves..."

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 06 Feb 2018, 10:10

Yeah this doesnt make much sense... get rid of the show entirely (cost-cutting) or don't get rid of it.