September 16, 2025 • 46 mins
On this episode of Throttle Therapy, it’s that time of the month and Christina Nielsen is back to answer all your burning questions. Katherine and Christina tackle the perception of female race car drivers, the traits that make drivers great, and which one of them is better at car setup.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Throttle Therapy with Catherine Legg is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Hello and welcome to this
(00:21):
week's episode of Throttle Therapy with Me Catherine Legg. And
I'm joined by my best friend in the whole entire universe,
who flew all away from Denmark to join us today
in person, live in the Catherine Household. Welcome, Christia, Thank you.
It's so nice to have you here.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's nice to be here now.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yeah, it's a little bit of girl time. So anyway,
we were at a by yesterday talking about what we
were going to talk about today, and you came up
with the brilliant idea of surveying the general population, and
so we thought we'd ask you. We thought we'd ask
Instagram what they wanted to know, because we were talking
about stigma and perceptions in racing and what people think
(01:04):
about racing drivers in general, Yes, and what perception was
of female racing drivers. Absolutely, because it's hard now we're
so in it, it's hard to know what it looks
like from thirty thousand feet or from the outside view.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
And I think the industry has trained a lot in
terms of what it means to be a female driver
since you and I started, and yeah, up until today.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah, we know what the perception was when we were
getting into racing because we had a little bit of
a clearer view, but now, like, I don't know what
people think, no, and.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
I think, I mean, that's also one of the things
that bonded us was we had a mutual understanding of
wanting to be drivers first female second. And while we
did care about making a pathway for women and also
heading these like or hitting these milestones as women within
the industry, it was always about being a driver. It
(01:57):
was never just about oh, I'm going to beat that
one other female driver on the grid. It's about wanting
to I know, we just wanted to be with drivers
and be accepted as drivers and wonder racing. And I
think that's one of the beautiful things that we experienced
with endurance racing, because you are rotating through driver changes
throughout some of the endurance races, the long races, and
(02:19):
that means unless somebody asked on the radio, they don't
know who's behind the wheel.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Oh, that's true. They do in the NASCAR and IndyCar stuff. Yes,
they don't in sports car exactly, but I also feel
most people are and so do we. We used to drive,
yes every time. So I feel like in the sports
car realm though, and even in IndyCar to sing scent,
the other drivers and the teams and everybody had a
(02:46):
preconceived idea of me that was formed when I went
to NASCAR. They didn't until Phoenix happened, and then they
formed this idea of me that wasn't necessarily accurate. It's
based off of one horrific race, and now their opinions
are changing. But it's it's super interesting to me to
see how you judge a person. And so I know,
(03:08):
we did this thing here where I was doing drop
light and there's nuda suit stuff, and I did my
everyday life in my race suit. Because there's this preconceived
idea that drivers kind of show up in the morning
like school version.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
You go from the hotel in your race suit like
your shower in the morning, and then you don't put
on clothes. You put on your race suit. Yeah, I
have breakfast in it, whereas in reality.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yes, yeah, we know that we don't want to be
in our race. They're big and heavy and hot and miserable.
I mean, spark is the best obviously, thank yous perk.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Sometimes on the airplane we even tried to go in cognito,
like we don't want to wear too much. Race scary
if we don't have to, because after a long weekend
you're tired. And when people see the logos. It's kind
of interesting because I have to say, when I raced
Feriaria Porsche, everybody wanted to talk to me. I mean,
you and I had some of the best times with
Honda and Acura, but I knowbody ever talked to me
(04:00):
when you said.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Yeah, I have the don't approach me face and pretending
not to speak English if people want to do a
jab at me and I try a headset. And sometimes
the other thing is that I wanted to touch on.
I feel very much like an outcast in this new paddock.
I feel like it's my first day of school. But
I feel like people don't want to be friends with
(04:24):
me because they because I'm not the cool one. You know,
I'm the one who crashed in Phoenix. Like I'm not
one of the guys I'm not one of the drivers,
whereas in a lot of the other series, I was
just friends with who you were too. We were just
friends with different people, not everybody, because everybody's different.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
But I will say that's also an insert an American
sports co racing thing. Even Europe people are much more
individual so coming to America. When I started racing over there,
there was an openness camaraderie that I didn't experience in Europe,
close to being the same degree as it is in America.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Yeah, I think there's a certain amount of like they
don't want to be your friend either because you're a girl,
and not in a bad way. It's just that their
wives don't want you to be friends with them. And
even though you just want to be seen as another
driver and you just want to be one of them,
it's like a whole different dynamic.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I used to have crew members to said, oh, Christina,
you're getting me in trouble because you know, sometimes I
would like, I guess, you know, lose some hair, and
my blonde law would get stuck in their clothes or
jackets or whatever. You know, we had our stuff in
the same places they, you know, made a joke about
a common. Never anything harsh would mean just always something funny.
(05:33):
You're gonna get me in trouble.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Yeah, But then there's a different preconceived idea that people have.
But even within my own team, I had this discussion
at the weekend. One of my mechanics, one of my
crew guys said that I should use different Master cylinders
because I can't press the brake pedal as hard.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Bullshit right, And.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
I was like, no, I'm pretty sure I can get
a thousand pounds of break pressure, Like I'm I'm good,
don't worry about that. But then they also say they
set the car up sometimes to be safe because they
don't think that I can handle that oversteer.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
You know the thing about break pressure, it's so funny
because even in sports car racing, if you want to
see if a driver can break late, and you can
see it on the data because there's telemetry measuring everything.
Have a driver break too late or in a passing,
especially when you have ABS, you're going to be so
deep in that break, the trace is going to spike
under data and there should be there should be no
(06:27):
doubt moving forward from that kind of situation that that
is all the evidence you need.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
I know, but in their minds, you're a girl, and
so therefore you're not strong, so therefore you can't break
as hard. And it's like not even a conscious decision
that they've made, you know, but you have to fight it.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
It's an assumption.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Yeah, just a promotion.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
I know.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
There's so many, so anyway we digress. Okay, this is
in no particular order, and I haven't picked out the
best ones because I wanted it to be as authentic
as possible. But the first one. Have you ever thought
of drag racing?
Speaker 2 (07:02):
No, but when you drive Seapring and the wet which
you and I did, and I was the starting driver
back in twenty nineteen when it was pouring rain. I
mean there's quite often considering it's Lord and so there's
a lot of rain normally around Seapring. But one of
the years was when we were racing together and Heinrich
(07:23):
and myishank racing and I had to start in the rain.
And there is this place at sea bring down the
start finish line where they normally do these drag races,
I guess. And when you hit that and the track
is wet, that core will go sideways on you. And
if you don't catch it if you're not aware, if
you're on power when you hit that, you have a
(07:45):
pretty good chance to end up in the wall.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Yeah, so straight through tractioning country.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Yes, so I would say that's my experience with some
evidence from drag racing, but no, I'm actually considered it,
to be honest.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
I have never had the edge to try to racing
either now, but we had the honor of having Brittany
Force on frottle therapy and it's fascinating to see what
they go through with their bodies and how much abuse
that takes, you know. So I think it'd be interesting
and it was interesting to see Tony Stewart take to
it as well as he did. But it's a different
sport to me, totally different. It's a car, but it's
(08:20):
a different sport. Spelling yas car is a different sport
to me than any car. Yes, anyway, let's get through
some of these. What's the worst thing that a driver
said to you on or off the track?
Speaker 2 (08:30):
The worst thing I've ever done? I don't think it's
that bad, but it was after a whole year being
your teammate, and about now I'm saying you and I
got used to doing things that we could do because
it's two women racing together. And I had a male
cod driver and he got out of the car or
he had to get in, and I slapped at it
(08:52):
his ass. I can do that with Cad like her
and I do that together when we're getting out of
the game game good game. Like that would be kind
of inappropriate if he did it to me, So it's
inappropriate that I'm doing it to him. But I've just
gotten so used to being teammates with Cat that you
know that was acceptable.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
It's a good job. Teams don't have an HR department. Yeah,
make the wagar in racing. Nobody in racing survive now.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
It would be a very small handful of people that
would be left working in racing. Would be very easy
to find a job for those people.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Oh yeah, well, I mean I get taken out of
races all the time. I don't think here's the thing.
I don't think many people have the courage to say
it to your face. Most of the time it's said
behind your bag.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
You know. Only thing I've ever tried was one time
there was a team owner that called me the B
word over the radio to his driver and because we
had somebody listening on the scanner for the other team's radios.
They told me, and then a few months later he
approached me and wanted to talk about next season, and
(09:51):
I said, sure, you want to be on your team
driving And it wasn't that bad. It's in the heat
of the moment. I think even the Formula One driver
sometimes in enormous pressure with the Netflix TV show and everything.
You see everything being broadcasted other types of sport. When
do you hear them say all the stuff in the
heal of the moment you don't like. It's not pretty tough. No,
(10:13):
that's a tough part. So I don't even think that
one was bad. I don't really take it personally. It's
said in the heat of the moment. I say stuff that.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, they we'll all do, but they you can tune
into anybody's radio, no, I know. Yeah, which I make
a joke on the radio because I'm used to people
not listening. Yeah, and then I have to think, oh, criky.
I said that as a joke. I didn't actually mean
that because I said where while we were in Indie
and I said something like, oh, if the re of
(10:40):
the car keeps doing this, it's I'm going to cry
or something like. I was just like trying to get
my friend, and then I was like, I'm actually not
going to cry. I don't cry. There's no cry in
racing like this. I was just joking. For anybody listening
on the radio who wants to put it on Twitter,
the Catterine's going to cry like, no, it was a joke.
So I have to be super cognizant. And also my
language is terrible because we've grown up around racing and everybody.
(11:00):
I feel like I need to work on it, to
be honest. But I got out of the car and imsa.
At Rhode, Atlanta, I overtook one of the gentlemen drivers.
Some of the gentlemen drivers are really cool and some
of them have very fragileed he goes, and this particular
guy wasn't very good, and I had to pass him
on in qualifying on my outlap like pretty quickly. So
(11:23):
I buzzed past him, and like etiquette wise was supposed
to give everybody room, and I was like, there's no
way I'm getting stuck behind this guy. So I went
by him and when we came in, he got out
the car and he was so mad because I think
he was just a miserable person. But he didn't want
he didn't like being passed by me, and he didn't
like me pulling away and like making him look like
(11:43):
a bit of an idiot really, And he got out
of the car and he was so mad because he'd
had a bad qualifying because he was all emotional in
his head, and he called me the sea word. But
he screamed it across the paddock and there was little
girls there and there was and it was so bad.
And then obviously imse got to hear of it, and
then they back them or did something and it was
just it was it was a big mess. But I
was thinking, how are these people successful in other walks
(12:09):
of life when they're when they do things like that,
like because if you or I did something like that
would be a spot out of the spot faster than
you could say hot dinner.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
You know. Yeah, I think in the end, you know,
we do work under a lot of pressure and it's
very intense situations in racing. I think it's hard to
grasp what it is actually like even being a successful
business person doing business, being stressed under pressure, the intensity
(12:39):
that you experience in racing, I think is more than anything. Yeah,
unlike almost anything else. So I think that brings out
the biggest emotions and biggest moments for people.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
I wonder though, because I try to not drive emotionally
at all. Like I think it was Andy when he
was teaching me how to drive a gut three car
when I only ever had downforce experience, and he said, robot, Yeah,
what do you mean by robot? And he said, You've
got to take all the emotion out of it, because
as soon as you get emotional, you're not thinking straight.
(13:10):
So I've kind of you do get emotional obviously, you
get taken out by people and you want to get
them back or you want to you know, you're angry
you're having a good race. But I think if you
can control that and meet that, then it makes you
a better driver overall, because you're driving with your head
and not your I.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Will also say, if you can channel it correctly, keep
in mind at work with Italians, right, then I think
it can still be useful. Do I think there's a
Biggert success rate if you can keep a calm head. Yes,
But I've also seen the opposite. I've seen drivers that
have still maintained a cool head, and sometimes even some
like having a moment on the radio where you're screaming
(13:51):
and you're complaining about and you're giving feedback. I won't
even say complaining actually, but you're expressing frustration about something
that's happening. I have seen drivers do that because it
does help them, but that doesn't mean that they're not
also doing the job. I've seen Alessandra do it micro driving.
When we were racing the Ferrari together. At some point,
(14:11):
I think with the Lime Rock, he was like, the
break's not working, the breaks are not working, and he's
like screaming at the radio and he's so frustrated by it.
The team managers like, yeah, but he just did fast
as lap. It's good. It's all good. So yeah, I
guess I've seen I've also seen people being able to
channel it, or at least have it, but still also
(14:33):
have the control.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
I had this conversation with my dad the other day,
which was if we spoke to people in our real
life the way we speak to our engineers on the radio,
we wouldn't have any friends isolated. But we want to
get like this bit of information. We want to get
across as effectively as possible, and sometimes we need to
put it in such a way that grabs their attention
(14:56):
and it's not just you know. And so I actually said,
Todavid my crutch you from Live Us, Do I sound
hard sometimes because I don't mean it to be like
sometimes as it sounds cutting or whatever, And he's like,
oh no, I've got a thick skin. Every driver is
the same. And I think that when you can listen
to the radios and you've got things like drive to
(15:16):
survive and you've got drivers shouting at their engineers like
I'm not fucking stupid and all the things that go out.
Normal people hear that and they're like, you can't go
through life acting that way. But it just seems to
be the norm for racing. And I think we just should.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Also be a moment to give a shout out to
all the engineer strategies do we work with, and said
thank you for your patience, thank you for your calm mentality,
and thank you for accepting you know, us with our flowers.
So we've gone to work some pretty amazing people. I
definitely have a few people in mind that I hold
on a high pedestal and.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
I hope they don't judge us. But also I can say,
like going back to the MSR days, I used to
be able to know what Mike was thinking by the
tone of his voice on the radio.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Oh, it was so harsh. It was so difficult because
they were good in your head. That was a mental yeah,
good job. Yeah. I would say that one of the
(16:22):
most impressive people that I worked with was Show at
the Ferrari team. And the interesting thing was because I
had my moments, like I definitely was firing on the radio,
sometimes he remained calm. He was one of the nicest
human beings. I felt so supported by him. He was
just amazing to be around, and he was also very
(16:43):
quickly to calm me down. Not once ever in the
two years that I raced with them, and yes, of
course we also we won the two championships together, so
we had good times. But not once did I hear
him get frustrated or raise his voice. Ironically, the person
that got the seat after me, it took two races
(17:05):
and then Joe was screaming on the radio. Really okay,
that says a lot of Joe screams, So yeah, I
guess some people I think it's also sometimes a dynamic,
is what I'm trying to say, Like some people just
click and I think you and I both agree. Just
as much as it's about having a calm head, like
that's a strong indication of being able to perform, being
(17:27):
with the team with a good dynamic is also vital
for good results.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
And some and a team that believes in you. Unless
you see and act on what you're saying immediately, how
you get better? Okay, I always hear that all the
good races share a trait, but is that really true?
What trait would that be?
Speaker 2 (17:46):
What they share?
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Yeah? What trait is that? Like having big balls, boobs.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Huge? That's a flax sag use that from now on?
Speaker 1 (18:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
I think no fear. I mean it's aig lag of
brain cells sure, Like I.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Mean, I have hit the wall so many times I've
rattled the one that was left. Ye.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
It's always like when there's that piece of payment for medical,
it's not a question of have you had a concussion,
it's how many have you had?
Speaker 1 (18:19):
How bad were it? Were you knocked down? I do
think though, that all race car drivers have from from
the ones that I've spoken to in any depth about anything.
We all have that efficiency thing that we spoke about
last time. We all have courage, right, and we all
have the focus that we can separate everything and just
(18:41):
do that one thing for three hours or whatever we
need to do it for. So there's a few traits
I think that we share. But I also think some
of them are learned. I think you can put them
under one umbrella called mental strength. H Yeah, I don't know.
There's some Some really good drivers have been pretty fragile. Yeah,
it's an interesting one that probably we need to unpack more. Okay,
(19:04):
another one. Women drivers have gotten far, but the general
perception is women drivers are incompetent. How do we change
that from the top down? I have so many thoughts
on this hit.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Okay, then you go ahead.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
I think that we change that by having success. I
think the only way we can change perception is by
instead of the girls going out and finishing p last,
by them having good races and good results. And then
the guys will be like, huh, she can drive. Oh
and this one can drive too, and oh, she's doing
a good job. And then that gradually changes, and I
(19:41):
think maybe it will change generationally. But the problem is
they could look at me and say I can't drive
because I finish it. I'm finishing at the back like
I did last race, thirty six out of forty or whatever.
But then because people don't think that women have got
what it takes, whatever that may be, then you don't
get the best opportunity. I think Danica was the only
(20:02):
one who got an opportunity in a good car and
in a single make series. I think in sports car race,
and the perception isn't that because you've got people like
you and me who change that. You've got the Iron Dames,
You've got other individuals that have changed it. But also
I think the perception is there because you look at
the W Series or the F one Academy or whatever
it's called now, and the girls that come out of
(20:24):
that and go and race, the boys are again at
the back. So we need to get results, and to
get results, we need to better set them up for success,
which means by putting them in the best cars with
the best teams, building confidence, building experience, and having them Okay,
they don't need to go out and win every race,
but they need to be in the fight otherwise, you know,
(20:46):
the perception is that, But Also, there's hundreds of thousands
of guys who want to be F one drivers or
NASCAR drivers or Indy car drivers, and so some of
them are the cream of the crop and they rise
to the top, whereas there's not that many girls who
want to do it.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
It's a numbers game for sure. But I also think
we are talking about perception today. Yes, I think if
we ask people to challenge their own mindset, and if
you had a woman who had one bad results one
good results, would you then qualify her as okay, yes
(21:20):
she has the ability, or would you say, oh, she
got lucky and that one like, yeah, of course she
finished there. That confirmed my theory. What is your mindset?
What is your perception when you're actually judging something? Because
I used to believe when I was racing and perhaps
joining a new team new championship, men have a bigger
chance of starting from sero while women start from minus one.
(21:44):
It takes longer to gain the respect, and that means
more good results need to be produced in order to
achieve the same kind of respect as some of the
mail drivers.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Yeah, that is probably somewhat accurate. I think we're on
the more of a spot line. So When we do well,
it's amplified. When we do badly, it's amplified.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Yeah. Oh yeah, the chick crashed or like, oh wow,
the chick finished on the podium, right those ways extremes. Yeah,
I've seen both extremes this year, just in my own
my career. Okay, so how do we change that perception results? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Okay, would you like to do the Indy five hundred again?
I'm thinking that that was probably yeah for you, Yes,
I would very much. Yeah, trying actively, trying to be
back on the grid. When will you two race together again?
You know what I have said for a long time,
twenty five hours of lemon by joining one of those
races just for fun, we could do that together.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Yeah. It's like it's it's nothing fancy. For those of
you that don't know what it is. I think it's
twenty five hours, or it's twenty four.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Where is it?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
I don't remember. It's a long time since I came
out somewhere. Yeah, normally like Sonoma or something. Thunder yea. Yeah.
So it's basically where there's a budget for the car,
which is a very small budget. I mean I've heard
about penalties such as somebody having to carve a pumpkin.
It's just a lot of fun. Where it's not.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
About pumpkin would be a big one for me.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
It's not about what you what kind of equipment you're
really in, It's just about having fun, having a good time.
I think it would be a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Okay, I'm down. I'll try anything once. I mean, we
raced together in the sense that sometimes you'll come to
my races and support me. We're still a team. And
I also think that when we're old, we'll be racing
our mobility scooters around.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Absolutely. Yeah, cutting the corners to get the right apex, Yeah,
the right angle. I still do that.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
When I drive sometimes, so stupid. What was it like
testing for Minadi? So that al was me? So it
was one of the coolest experiences that I've ever had.
I loved every minute of it. It was very interesting
because it's it was so many driver aids. Having come
from a very American champ car in the lower years
(24:01):
where you had a thousand horse power and big tires
and a lot of kickback and no traction control, that
you had nothing right drive raid wise, no power steering,
and you go into this really refined, really technologically advanced
Formula one car and I would lift off the gas.
I get willspon, I lift off the gas and it
would cut out the traction control and I'll get myself
(24:22):
in trouble because I was so programmed to do all
the driving myself, whereas it was literally like point and
point and shoot back.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Then.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
I know times have changed dramatically, but it was still
one of the coolest experiences. Like I grew up wanting
to be an F one driver, So I'm glad I
got to experience that. And I'm also kind of glad
that it didn't pan out because I love racing in America.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Yeah, I do.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Have you had an expectation versus reality moment in your
career and have have you overcome it?
Speaker 2 (24:50):
I think every time you join a new team, ah, yeah,
because you have an dream that it's going to be great,
You're going to be competitive. You know, it's going to
be a dynamic that is you know, harmonious has balance,
you know has all the key features that you know
(25:12):
a top performing dynamic team has. But that's just not
always the case, and you know then you've got to
find ways to work around it. And I think that's
where experience really comes into play. But I would say
there is constantly a little bit of a check of
reality of the unknown whenever you join a new.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Team, Yeah that's cool, or a different series, Yes, doing
something outside of the norm, Yes, I can care. Do
people view endurance racing accomplishments less because of multiple drivers?
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Mmm?
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Probably so I would think so do Yeah, Yeah, I would.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Agree with that. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
I think it's I think people see it as a
different art form. I would I would have to ask
my NASCAR fan whether they view it as less than
because some of them have done it right, Like some
of them have come over and done Daytona. Well, Daytona
is like technically the easiest track to drive on, it's
still a whole different ballgame thinking about how you last
(26:17):
twenty four hours and you don't use the curbs and
you don't do this, and like you have to have
the presence of mind and everything else. So I don't
know whether they just think it's a different art form
rather than thinking of it is less than.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I just think I enjoyed it, like I enjoyed sharing
the highs and the lows with other people. I think
that's a beautiful thing to share. That was one of
the things I enjoyed about and doing tracing. If you
remove the aspect of result and acknowledgment and hype, just
to format, I think was very appealing.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Yeah, I agree. I mean it was a home for
me for a long time and I loved it and
I still want to do more of it. So I
totally agree. Which of you are better at setting up
the car?
Speaker 2 (27:01):
I would say when you and I drove together in
the beginning, you know, how long had you been with
the team? A couple of years? Yeah, three years. So
for me it was just easy to just lean on
you and just be like, yeah, Like it was just
like Katine knows what she's doing, and I like the
car that you set up, right, That's the thing. I
(27:23):
had no complaints in that department, Like I would probably
push back more if I was like, I don't like this, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
But I think I did the majority of the sets
at work at the beginning.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Always Jason always went in the car first, and that
was to do a baseline setup.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
But then I think it's not halfway through the season.
I kind of had this aha moment when you were
on the radio and you were giving feedback to Mike
or whoever it was, and I was like, yeah, that's
pretty much exactly why I experience She's got it and
go with it.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
And it's you know again that plays back two or
it plays into the whole like Endurance Driver, Lovely Dynamic.
It was so easy for me because I did like
the car that you set up, which doesn't happen all
the time, No it doesn't. So for me that was
also just lucky that I could focus on getting familiar
with the car myself instead of having to focus on,
you know, what do I want from the car? What
(28:12):
do I need from the car? What can I expect
from it? Because that's also it takes a bit of
time to learn. Also the different tracks, it's always going
to feel a little bit different, different setups. So the
fact that I could just get comfortable with the car
not having to worry about that for a while. Yeah,
but yeah, I think later on in the season, especially
what do you need from it? From New tires because
I had to qualify most of the time, there was
(28:34):
a little bit of like, okay, needs stand on my
own feed here in terms of expressing what I need
for the qualifying run.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Yeah, you definitely go better.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Give you made my life easy in the beginning of
the season, just having to focus on myself.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
I mean, if you think about it, I did all
the development work on that car. We worked with Andy
and Jeff and everybody else, So I lent on them
at the beginning because I didn't know what I wanted
from a GT three car e then. But then having
had all that experience, like I could basically I knew
that carl at the back of my hand by that time,
so yeah, it was I feel like I'm good at
giving feedback and setting a car up. I feel like
that's one of my strengths.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
I think one of the biggest strengths you can have
as a driver is not just saying something to say something,
saying I don't know, yes, if you are not sure,
rather than moving the team in a different direction, then
say I don't know yet, or I need to look
at the data. Because we also live in a time
where there's so much telemetry to be collected that can
(29:30):
help guide you in the setup, together with the driver's feedback.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Next question, do guys resent you beating them in a race?
Speaker 2 (29:42):
I don't, Yeah, not all, but sometimes.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
I will say I don't know whether it's the car
number or because it's me, or what it is this year,
But sometimes I felt like they're in a hurry to
get by me because they're like, oh God, not Catherine,
or you know, like if I pass them, it's a
more of a hit to their ego than if somebody
else passed them. So I think it depends on who
(30:06):
and same in when we were driving together, like some
of them were really happy for us because they just
saw us as race cud drivers and some of them
not so much. So I think it's a case by
case basis.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Yeah, And I would say with time, yes, there was
not that much of it.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
I agree. Yeah, when we're part of the furniture, Yes,
do you play Mario Kart? And if so, what character
do you play?
Speaker 2 (30:28):
And why I liked a little dinosaur time since I
played Ans and Nephews, So.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I don't I think I would be the princess.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Owning it. Yeah, I'm going full girl power, go power.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Yeah, and your experience A certain stigma is stronger in
certain racing series. Which series and why I.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Would say there was a change from coming from Europe
to America. Yeah, I think there is more, but I
think even the guys experienced this. Yeah, I definitely did.
I was talking about this the other day. The way
the Europeans do things and the way the Americans do
things and their culture is so different. Yeah, but you
experienced that to a t when you went from DTM, right,
(31:20):
and to the.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
States, well, the harder way. So when I came out here,
it was great. When I went back and I did DTM,
I was on the sofa bus like I did not.
I didn't like it.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
I don't even imagine.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Yeah, yeah, but I do think it's interesting because I
was having this conversation in the context that Chevrolet are
going to be an F one, and so their frame
of reference of racing is very American based for the
most part, right, NASCAR, IndyCar, Sportscars. Yeah, and while they're
gonna probably employ a bunch of European engineers and people
(31:54):
for the team, having them bought over to America, they're
going to experience like a massive shift and Chevy You're
going to have to experience a massive cultural shift to
accommodate them. And so it's going to be super interesting
to see how that plays out, whether they find a
level of comfort relatively easily or not. And I can
(32:14):
give you an example. The technical director at Rayhull for
IndyCar came over from F one to Rayhul and he
didn't really love the American way. I honestly didn't for
a year when I first came over here. It was
very different for me, very hard for me to get
used to. But after that year, I was like, oh my,
I love it so much. I want to live here forever.
So I think it goes both ways. And I think
(32:38):
that the culture difference, even though we speak the language,
is very different.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
What has been your proudest accomplishment?
Speaker 2 (32:53):
I'm the championships yeah yeah, easy, yeah, But that's also
for me. One thing is the result the history woman thing.
But also because for me it's tied to individuals that
I appreciate so much. Alessandro Bolsan, my co driver, Scuderia
Corsa and Jacomore and the whole gang, Jeff and Mattel,
(33:18):
Like I was so lucky to be with those people.
So for me, that holds a special place in my heart.
With the people. What about you?
Speaker 1 (33:30):
I think two things when I got pole in formula
are no back in two thousand and two and to
serious also we'll seeing the look on my dad's face
and just the pride and the fact that we then
vindicated that Yeah, okay, I can drive a racer, you know,
against there was Hamilton and Jamie Green and they oh
some really good drives. So there's that one. And then
(33:51):
winning Long Beach my first race in North America. Yeah,
pretty in championships, yes are the wins, yes, but really
those two things stood out. Your current hype song. They
want us to sing a few bars for.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Sometimes very long time.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Do you have a hype song?
Speaker 2 (34:11):
No?
Speaker 1 (34:12):
No, mean, best guess from what we see the first
female F one champion F one champion, not in my
lifetime champion.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
That's a that's a big one. One thing is to
see a female driver competing full season that I think
we will see in ours. I agree, champion. I mean,
look at the drivers and the grid already that all
you know, so good?
Speaker 1 (34:34):
Yeah, and it means she's just going to have to
be with the best team because that's one as you know,
it's like.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Picking the right one. Yeah. Look at Holgenberg's got his
first podium. How long he's been around, He's kept himself
alive in the sport. But yeah, that's a tool order.
I feel like to be a number of them. Okay,
say say things accelerate, because in our mind there's only one.
That's why we're also sitting.
Speaker 1 (34:59):
Exactly, That's what I saying. Yeah, so say in twenty
years time there's ten girls on the grid, that'd be awesome,
then maybe yeah, right, but yeah, in our mind there's anyone,
because that's not that's the reference.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Yes, and we're not used before, right, Oh, that's not
even a fossibility.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
And how do you think that the F one Academy
is viewed within the F one pattern? Do you think
that the F one teams take them seriously and think
that they're applausible drivers for the future for their team.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
I don't know, but I think reality is I don't
think they think much about it. Yeah, yeah, it's not.
Then it's not the team's job to be aware of
what's happening. It's the girl's job to make sure that
they leave a market, that they get noticed, that they
make themselves noticeable. That is not for the team to
(35:53):
keep an eye out for. That is for them to
stand out. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
I mean, it's funny because in other forms of racing
there are definitely women that are just as good as
the men you look at, like the Iron Dames, right,
you look at you and I were an inse But
I wonder if they look at Abby Pulling or Dorian
or somebody like that and they think, yeah, it's just decent.
But is she Lewis Hamilton decent?
Speaker 2 (36:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (36:20):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Ye. So, But that's got back to the question about
what's going to change perception results? So you want to
get noticed, create those results and keep keep them coming.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
What emerging motorsport technologies excite you the most?
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Sorry, just one last note of that. You know, I
think about a guy like Frederick Vesty, the Danish driver
who has been competitive in some of the toughest feeder
series to Formula one, you know, has had driver development
roles and reserve roles with several Formula One teams. It
is not only about being good, doing a good job,
creating the rest because a guy like that did that,
(37:01):
But it's also timing. When is a contract, When are
they going to change the driver? When is there going
to be an opportunity? So there's so much that comes
into play that results might even be enough. But we
spoke about also it is a larger you know event
when a woman does well or when a woman does well.
So if there is a woman that was able to
produce that, I think there is a bigger chance that
(37:21):
maybe somebody would give it.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
I think if there was a female driver who was dominating,
or even she wouldn't even have to dominate if she
was in the top five and like F two, yeah,
GP two or whatever.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
Have you heard any of you know, some of the
latest women that have tested F one. Have you heard
anything about the test speed? And no it's gone No
have you No? Isn't that funny? Yeah, it's a shame. Yeah,
kind of curious.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
How we're going to find that?
Speaker 1 (37:57):
I want to find this seven year old and the
nine year old right now that has the potential to
go the whole way, because I think that would be amazing.
I would love to stay in my lifetime me too.
What emerging mostor spot technologies excite you the most.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
I mean this year I spent a bit of time
commentating formerly in Denmark, and I do think it is
quite impressive how far that series has come. I know
it's very much a development.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
When I drove it and we had to switch cars
in the middle of the race.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Yes, and I would say it's actually quite entertaining racing
due to, you know, the different types of strategies they
continue to develop the series and the race format.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Is that racing though, or is that strategy? I mean
it's not racing as we know it.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
I would say a little bit, because I think America
also has more strategy than a lot of the European
race series. Yes, and that means that even if you
go a lot down and there's eleven hours to go,
oh yeah, you're not worried about not being able to
get that back be in the mix towards the end
of the race, and in European racing sometimes that can
be it. Oh I like them, Well yeah, yeah exactly.
(39:12):
So No, I think there's a I think there's some
entertainment component to it that's pretty cool for the viewers.
But I also think Oliver Rowland won the championship and
he was one of the strongest drivers when it came
to making strategic choices. So it was a determining factory
to win a championship that you were good at that
that you you know, were using.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
The only smart drivers can race them.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Formerly, I would say it was definitely. Yeah, it was
definitely a part of it.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
Okay. I think I was thinking along the lines of
like the hybrid in India because it's what I have
experience with. Yeah, but it's not I'm going to get
vilified for this. But it's not that exciting to me
because I am I am a little bit old school
in that I love big burly V eight v twelve
noise power where.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
I think Car could go off on a whole She
would have loved something like this, then talk about it.
That's her area.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
Of expertise, higher technology. Yeah, Car on the show should
be so excited, I know, but.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
I think all of it. I think I love the
fact that we are the guinea pigs for what people
get in their road class. Yes, I think that's cool.
You test it here first, exactly, we'll end up on
your road cars. Where do you see motorsport in the
next five to ten years.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
Well, most tracks signed contracts with tracks and championships and
associations for at least five years at a time, or
to at least, so I don't think we'll see much difference.
I mean, I think there's going to be a development
in technology. But when you think about the lifespan of
a car, it's at least normally five years before they
(40:59):
produce a new one that's going to get home aligated.
So as long as that obligation is moving on, we'll
see development. But I think the biggest jumps are always
when there's a new product coming up from the manufacturer.
And that's where you know, teams are always trying to
be better, Manufacturers always trying to improve and be better
and produce a more competitive car.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
So I mean, it hasn't changed all that much. I mean,
if you look at it over the last five to
ten years, it hasn't changed that much. I mean, yes,
you've got prototypes that have changed into GDP cars, which
are much more about turning knobs and whistles. But it's
still the same kind of principle. Yeah, so I don't
I also agree, I don't think we're going to see
driverless cars and havocrafts and all the kind of futuristic
(41:45):
things that people may think we might see. All right,
last question, Oh, I don't think I want to answer
this one. West teammate, You've ever had taken that one
to the grave, No, But we will answer this one.
I said, and I'm sorry if we didn't get to
any questions. What's the worst part of social media.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
You have to do with? I think we made a
whole list on the last podcast or the one before that.
I think the worst is people's lack of keeping their
mouths shut when they take it to a level that
is extreme. It is another human being that is sitting
reading what you're writing, and that people feel like they
(42:26):
can say so much more over the internet, hiding behind it,
hiding behind the computer screen or the phone. Yeah, that
would be mine.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
I don't disagree. But I think the worst part is
that it's made people care more about social media than reality. Yeah,
and so I don't think. I don't think that social
media reflects reality in any way, shape or form. And
I think a lot of people have a lot of
(42:56):
followers and they have been made famous for doing weird
reels and stuff, right, Like, it's just the world that
we live in now.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
But I think also everybody can become an expert, right,
how are you qualified to be giving this advice? How
are you qualified to be talking about these things? How
are you qualified to be somebody who other people actually
followed for guidance and advice, right, that's not right.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
I hate Yeah, but it's like news these days as well.
I feel like that's maybe not reality either. It's hard
to get accurate information of the internet. It's like, don't
believe everything you read on the internet. But it's like
they say it with such authority that you think it
must be true, like diet advice or whatever. In my
algorithms messed up.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
But also if you're putting out content about something meaningful,
something you did, that actually, like I remember when I
had the program Accelerating Change, Like I know that the
women that joined our Attract days had a great time
and sharing those moments online was a part of it,
and that was really cool and that felt meaningful for
(44:02):
me to share. But how many likes? How much did
that content get pushed out versus a stupid selfie? No, no,
my selfie will get much more attention, right.
Speaker 1 (44:10):
So that's my point.
Speaker 2 (44:11):
Yeah, it doesn't always also promote the genuine common sense.
Yes I don't, because like that's much.
Speaker 1 (44:19):
More impactful and much more important than some check posing
in a poti.
Speaker 2 (44:23):
I'm sharing something meaningful that I was a part of creating,
that was something that meant something to me. What is
the selfie meant? Oh, well, look good for a second. Okay,
let me post that. Sure, that was a nice little
validation boost, but so what I'm like, Yep, that was
a good one. But you know the track days that
I did for the women, I remember those, I don't
remember some freaking selfie I took.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
Yeah, yeah, I wish people were more discerning about that
kind of thing. But it is the world that we
live in now, and it wasn't when we were growing
up through racing. So your results and your newspaper articles
and your TV things, they were the things my grandparents have,
like whole.
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Folder, like the newspaper articles with.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
Me, good old days. We're aging yourself now. I'm going
to leave you with one last question, and that is,
I think probably the best question we had today. Hit me,
what is the best piece of advice that you've ever
gotten racing?
Speaker 2 (45:17):
Swan?
Speaker 1 (45:18):
Mm hmmm, oh the under this exactly.
Speaker 2 (45:22):
You're going to be graceful, You're going to be beautiful
on the outside, and for this one, it's on top
of the water, but underneath you've got the feet pedaling,
moving going. If I'm not wrong, it was Brian Sellers
re teammate. She was my coach the first year I
(45:46):
came to America, and I'm pretty sure he's the one
who said it.
Speaker 1 (45:49):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (45:50):
It was a beautiful thing.
Speaker 1 (45:51):
Good for you, Brian. Thank you very much for spending
the time, and we'll lessure thanks for listening to Throttle Therapy.
We'll be back next week with more updates and more overtakes,
and we want to hear from you. Leave us a
review in Apple Podcasts and tell us what you want
(46:13):
to talk about. It might just be the topic for
our next show. Throttle Therapy is hosted by Katherine Legg.
Our executive producer is Jesse Katz, and our supervising producer
is Grace Fuse. Listen to Throttle Therapy on America's number
one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and
search throttle Therapy with Katherine Legg and start listening.
Throttle Therapy with Catherine Legg is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Hello and welcome to this
(00:21):
week's episode of Throttle Therapy with Me Catherine Legg. And
I'm joined by my best friend in the whole entire universe,
who flew all away from Denmark to join us today
in person, live in the Catherine Household. Welcome, Christia, Thank you.
It's so nice to have you here.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's nice to be here now.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yeah, it's a little bit of girl time. So anyway,
we were at a by yesterday talking about what we
were going to talk about today, and you came up
with the brilliant idea of surveying the general population, and
so we thought we'd ask you. We thought we'd ask
Instagram what they wanted to know, because we were talking
about stigma and perceptions in racing and what people think
(01:04):
about racing drivers in general, Yes, and what perception was
of female racing drivers. Absolutely, because it's hard now we're
so in it, it's hard to know what it looks
like from thirty thousand feet or from the outside view.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
And I think the industry has trained a lot in
terms of what it means to be a female driver
since you and I started, and yeah, up until today.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah, we know what the perception was when we were
getting into racing because we had a little bit of
a clearer view, but now, like, I don't know what
people think, no, and.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
I think, I mean, that's also one of the things
that bonded us was we had a mutual understanding of
wanting to be drivers first female second. And while we
did care about making a pathway for women and also
heading these like or hitting these milestones as women within
the industry, it was always about being a driver. It
(01:57):
was never just about oh, I'm going to beat that
one other female driver on the grid. It's about wanting
to I know, we just wanted to be with drivers
and be accepted as drivers and wonder racing. And I
think that's one of the beautiful things that we experienced
with endurance racing, because you are rotating through driver changes
throughout some of the endurance races, the long races, and
(02:19):
that means unless somebody asked on the radio, they don't
know who's behind the wheel.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Oh, that's true. They do in the NASCAR and IndyCar stuff. Yes,
they don't in sports car exactly, but I also feel
most people are and so do we. We used to drive,
yes every time. So I feel like in the sports
car realm though, and even in IndyCar to sing scent,
the other drivers and the teams and everybody had a
(02:46):
preconceived idea of me that was formed when I went
to NASCAR. They didn't until Phoenix happened, and then they
formed this idea of me that wasn't necessarily accurate. It's
based off of one horrific race, and now their opinions
are changing. But it's it's super interesting to me to
see how you judge a person. And so I know,
(03:08):
we did this thing here where I was doing drop
light and there's nuda suit stuff, and I did my
everyday life in my race suit. Because there's this preconceived
idea that drivers kind of show up in the morning
like school version.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
You go from the hotel in your race suit like
your shower in the morning, and then you don't put
on clothes. You put on your race suit. Yeah, I
have breakfast in it, whereas in reality.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yes, yeah, we know that we don't want to be
in our race. They're big and heavy and hot and miserable.
I mean, spark is the best obviously, thank yous perk.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Sometimes on the airplane we even tried to go in cognito,
like we don't want to wear too much. Race scary
if we don't have to, because after a long weekend
you're tired. And when people see the logos. It's kind
of interesting because I have to say, when I raced
Feriaria Porsche, everybody wanted to talk to me. I mean,
you and I had some of the best times with
Honda and Acura, but I knowbody ever talked to me
(04:00):
when you said.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Yeah, I have the don't approach me face and pretending
not to speak English if people want to do a
jab at me and I try a headset. And sometimes
the other thing is that I wanted to touch on.
I feel very much like an outcast in this new paddock.
I feel like it's my first day of school. But
I feel like people don't want to be friends with
(04:24):
me because they because I'm not the cool one. You know,
I'm the one who crashed in Phoenix. Like I'm not
one of the guys I'm not one of the drivers,
whereas in a lot of the other series, I was
just friends with who you were too. We were just
friends with different people, not everybody, because everybody's different.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
But I will say that's also an insert an American
sports co racing thing. Even Europe people are much more
individual so coming to America. When I started racing over there,
there was an openness camaraderie that I didn't experience in Europe,
close to being the same degree as it is in America.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Yeah, I think there's a certain amount of like they
don't want to be your friend either because you're a girl,
and not in a bad way. It's just that their
wives don't want you to be friends with them. And
even though you just want to be seen as another
driver and you just want to be one of them,
it's like a whole different dynamic.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I used to have crew members to said, oh, Christina,
you're getting me in trouble because you know, sometimes I
would like, I guess, you know, lose some hair, and
my blonde law would get stuck in their clothes or
jackets or whatever. You know, we had our stuff in
the same places they, you know, made a joke about
a common. Never anything harsh would mean just always something funny.
(05:33):
You're gonna get me in trouble.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Yeah, But then there's a different preconceived idea that people have.
But even within my own team, I had this discussion
at the weekend. One of my mechanics, one of my
crew guys said that I should use different Master cylinders
because I can't press the brake pedal as hard.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Bullshit right, And.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
I was like, no, I'm pretty sure I can get
a thousand pounds of break pressure, Like I'm I'm good,
don't worry about that. But then they also say they
set the car up sometimes to be safe because they
don't think that I can handle that oversteer.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
You know the thing about break pressure, it's so funny
because even in sports car racing, if you want to
see if a driver can break late, and you can
see it on the data because there's telemetry measuring everything.
Have a driver break too late or in a passing,
especially when you have ABS, you're going to be so
deep in that break, the trace is going to spike
under data and there should be there should be no
(06:27):
doubt moving forward from that kind of situation that that
is all the evidence you need.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
I know, but in their minds, you're a girl, and
so therefore you're not strong, so therefore you can't break
as hard. And it's like not even a conscious decision
that they've made, you know, but you have to fight it.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
It's an assumption.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Yeah, just a promotion.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
I know.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
There's so many, so anyway we digress. Okay, this is
in no particular order, and I haven't picked out the
best ones because I wanted it to be as authentic
as possible. But the first one. Have you ever thought
of drag racing?
Speaker 2 (07:02):
No, but when you drive Seapring and the wet which
you and I did, and I was the starting driver
back in twenty nineteen when it was pouring rain. I
mean there's quite often considering it's Lord and so there's
a lot of rain normally around Seapring. But one of
the years was when we were racing together and Heinrich
(07:23):
and myishank racing and I had to start in the rain.
And there is this place at sea bring down the
start finish line where they normally do these drag races,
I guess. And when you hit that and the track
is wet, that core will go sideways on you. And
if you don't catch it if you're not aware, if
you're on power when you hit that, you have a
(07:45):
pretty good chance to end up in the wall.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Yeah, so straight through tractioning country.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Yes, so I would say that's my experience with some
evidence from drag racing, but no, I'm actually considered it,
to be honest.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
I have never had the edge to try to racing
either now, but we had the honor of having Brittany
Force on frottle therapy and it's fascinating to see what
they go through with their bodies and how much abuse
that takes, you know. So I think it'd be interesting
and it was interesting to see Tony Stewart take to
it as well as he did. But it's a different
sport to me, totally different. It's a car, but it's
(08:20):
a different sport. Spelling yas car is a different sport
to me than any car. Yes, anyway, let's get through
some of these. What's the worst thing that a driver
said to you on or off the track?
Speaker 2 (08:30):
The worst thing I've ever done? I don't think it's
that bad, but it was after a whole year being
your teammate, and about now I'm saying you and I
got used to doing things that we could do because
it's two women racing together. And I had a male
cod driver and he got out of the car or
he had to get in, and I slapped at it
(08:52):
his ass. I can do that with Cad like her
and I do that together when we're getting out of
the game game good game. Like that would be kind
of inappropriate if he did it to me, So it's
inappropriate that I'm doing it to him. But I've just
gotten so used to being teammates with Cat that you
know that was acceptable.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
It's a good job. Teams don't have an HR department. Yeah,
make the wagar in racing. Nobody in racing survive now.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
It would be a very small handful of people that
would be left working in racing. Would be very easy
to find a job for those people.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Oh yeah, well, I mean I get taken out of
races all the time. I don't think here's the thing.
I don't think many people have the courage to say
it to your face. Most of the time it's said
behind your bag.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
You know. Only thing I've ever tried was one time
there was a team owner that called me the B
word over the radio to his driver and because we
had somebody listening on the scanner for the other team's radios.
They told me, and then a few months later he
approached me and wanted to talk about next season, and
(09:51):
I said, sure, you want to be on your team
driving And it wasn't that bad. It's in the heat
of the moment. I think even the Formula One driver
sometimes in enormous pressure with the Netflix TV show and everything.
You see everything being broadcasted other types of sport. When
do you hear them say all the stuff in the
heal of the moment you don't like. It's not pretty tough. No,
(10:13):
that's a tough part. So I don't even think that
one was bad. I don't really take it personally. It's
said in the heat of the moment. I say stuff that.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, they we'll all do, but they you can tune
into anybody's radio, no, I know. Yeah, which I make
a joke on the radio because I'm used to people
not listening. Yeah, and then I have to think, oh, criky.
I said that as a joke. I didn't actually mean
that because I said where while we were in Indie
and I said something like, oh, if the re of
(10:40):
the car keeps doing this, it's I'm going to cry
or something like. I was just like trying to get
my friend, and then I was like, I'm actually not
going to cry. I don't cry. There's no cry in
racing like this. I was just joking. For anybody listening
on the radio who wants to put it on Twitter,
the Catterine's going to cry like, no, it was a joke.
So I have to be super cognizant. And also my
language is terrible because we've grown up around racing and everybody.
(11:00):
I feel like I need to work on it, to
be honest. But I got out of the car and imsa.
At Rhode, Atlanta, I overtook one of the gentlemen drivers.
Some of the gentlemen drivers are really cool and some
of them have very fragileed he goes, and this particular
guy wasn't very good, and I had to pass him
on in qualifying on my outlap like pretty quickly. So
(11:23):
I buzzed past him, and like etiquette wise was supposed
to give everybody room, and I was like, there's no
way I'm getting stuck behind this guy. So I went
by him and when we came in, he got out
the car and he was so mad because I think
he was just a miserable person. But he didn't want
he didn't like being passed by me, and he didn't
like me pulling away and like making him look like
(11:43):
a bit of an idiot really, And he got out
of the car and he was so mad because he'd
had a bad qualifying because he was all emotional in
his head, and he called me the sea word. But
he screamed it across the paddock and there was little
girls there and there was and it was so bad.
And then obviously imse got to hear of it, and
then they back them or did something and it was
just it was it was a big mess. But I
was thinking, how are these people successful in other walks
(12:09):
of life when they're when they do things like that,
like because if you or I did something like that
would be a spot out of the spot faster than
you could say hot dinner.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
You know. Yeah, I think in the end, you know,
we do work under a lot of pressure and it's
very intense situations in racing. I think it's hard to
grasp what it is actually like even being a successful
business person doing business, being stressed under pressure, the intensity
(12:39):
that you experience in racing, I think is more than anything. Yeah,
unlike almost anything else. So I think that brings out
the biggest emotions and biggest moments for people.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
I wonder though, because I try to not drive emotionally
at all. Like I think it was Andy when he
was teaching me how to drive a gut three car
when I only ever had downforce experience, and he said, robot, Yeah,
what do you mean by robot? And he said, You've
got to take all the emotion out of it, because
as soon as you get emotional, you're not thinking straight.
(13:10):
So I've kind of you do get emotional obviously, you
get taken out by people and you want to get
them back or you want to you know, you're angry
you're having a good race. But I think if you
can control that and meet that, then it makes you
a better driver overall, because you're driving with your head
and not your I.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Will also say, if you can channel it correctly, keep
in mind at work with Italians, right, then I think
it can still be useful. Do I think there's a
Biggert success rate if you can keep a calm head. Yes,
But I've also seen the opposite. I've seen drivers that
have still maintained a cool head, and sometimes even some
like having a moment on the radio where you're screaming
(13:51):
and you're complaining about and you're giving feedback. I won't
even say complaining actually, but you're expressing frustration about something
that's happening. I have seen drivers do that because it
does help them, but that doesn't mean that they're not
also doing the job. I've seen Alessandra do it micro driving.
When we were racing the Ferrari together. At some point,
(14:11):
I think with the Lime Rock, he was like, the
break's not working, the breaks are not working, and he's
like screaming at the radio and he's so frustrated by it.
The team managers like, yeah, but he just did fast
as lap. It's good. It's all good. So yeah, I
guess I've seen I've also seen people being able to
channel it, or at least have it, but still also
(14:33):
have the control.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
I had this conversation with my dad the other day,
which was if we spoke to people in our real
life the way we speak to our engineers on the radio,
we wouldn't have any friends isolated. But we want to
get like this bit of information. We want to get
across as effectively as possible, and sometimes we need to
put it in such a way that grabs their attention
(14:56):
and it's not just you know. And so I actually said,
Todavid my crutch you from Live Us, Do I sound
hard sometimes because I don't mean it to be like
sometimes as it sounds cutting or whatever, And he's like,
oh no, I've got a thick skin. Every driver is
the same. And I think that when you can listen
to the radios and you've got things like drive to
(15:16):
survive and you've got drivers shouting at their engineers like
I'm not fucking stupid and all the things that go out.
Normal people hear that and they're like, you can't go
through life acting that way. But it just seems to
be the norm for racing. And I think we just should.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Also be a moment to give a shout out to
all the engineer strategies do we work with, and said
thank you for your patience, thank you for your calm mentality,
and thank you for accepting you know, us with our flowers.
So we've gone to work some pretty amazing people. I
definitely have a few people in mind that I hold
on a high pedestal and.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
I hope they don't judge us. But also I can say,
like going back to the MSR days, I used to
be able to know what Mike was thinking by the
tone of his voice on the radio.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Oh, it was so harsh. It was so difficult because
they were good in your head. That was a mental yeah,
good job. Yeah. I would say that one of the
(16:22):
most impressive people that I worked with was Show at
the Ferrari team. And the interesting thing was because I
had my moments, like I definitely was firing on the radio,
sometimes he remained calm. He was one of the nicest
human beings. I felt so supported by him. He was
just amazing to be around, and he was also very
(16:43):
quickly to calm me down. Not once ever in the
two years that I raced with them, and yes, of
course we also we won the two championships together, so
we had good times. But not once did I hear
him get frustrated or raise his voice. Ironically, the person
that got the seat after me, it took two races
(17:05):
and then Joe was screaming on the radio. Really okay,
that says a lot of Joe screams, So yeah, I
guess some people I think it's also sometimes a dynamic,
is what I'm trying to say, Like some people just
click and I think you and I both agree. Just
as much as it's about having a calm head, like
that's a strong indication of being able to perform, being
(17:27):
with the team with a good dynamic is also vital
for good results.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
And some and a team that believes in you. Unless
you see and act on what you're saying immediately, how
you get better? Okay, I always hear that all the
good races share a trait, but is that really true?
What trait would that be?
Speaker 2 (17:46):
What they share?
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Yeah? What trait is that? Like having big balls, boobs.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Huge? That's a flax sag use that from now on?
Speaker 1 (18:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
I think no fear. I mean it's aig lag of
brain cells sure, Like I.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Mean, I have hit the wall so many times I've
rattled the one that was left. Ye.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
It's always like when there's that piece of payment for medical,
it's not a question of have you had a concussion,
it's how many have you had?
Speaker 1 (18:19):
How bad were it? Were you knocked down? I do
think though, that all race car drivers have from from
the ones that I've spoken to in any depth about anything.
We all have that efficiency thing that we spoke about
last time. We all have courage, right, and we all
have the focus that we can separate everything and just
(18:41):
do that one thing for three hours or whatever we
need to do it for. So there's a few traits
I think that we share. But I also think some
of them are learned. I think you can put them
under one umbrella called mental strength. H Yeah, I don't know.
There's some Some really good drivers have been pretty fragile. Yeah,
it's an interesting one that probably we need to unpack more. Okay,
(19:04):
another one. Women drivers have gotten far, but the general
perception is women drivers are incompetent. How do we change
that from the top down? I have so many thoughts
on this hit.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Okay, then you go ahead.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
I think that we change that by having success. I
think the only way we can change perception is by
instead of the girls going out and finishing p last,
by them having good races and good results. And then
the guys will be like, huh, she can drive. Oh
and this one can drive too, and oh, she's doing
a good job. And then that gradually changes, and I
(19:41):
think maybe it will change generationally. But the problem is
they could look at me and say I can't drive
because I finish it. I'm finishing at the back like
I did last race, thirty six out of forty or whatever.
But then because people don't think that women have got
what it takes, whatever that may be, then you don't
get the best opportunity. I think Danica was the only
(20:02):
one who got an opportunity in a good car and
in a single make series. I think in sports car race,
and the perception isn't that because you've got people like
you and me who change that. You've got the Iron Dames,
You've got other individuals that have changed it. But also
I think the perception is there because you look at
the W Series or the F one Academy or whatever
it's called now, and the girls that come out of
(20:24):
that and go and race, the boys are again at
the back. So we need to get results, and to
get results, we need to better set them up for success,
which means by putting them in the best cars with
the best teams, building confidence, building experience, and having them Okay,
they don't need to go out and win every race,
but they need to be in the fight otherwise, you know,
(20:46):
the perception is that, But Also, there's hundreds of thousands
of guys who want to be F one drivers or
NASCAR drivers or Indy car drivers, and so some of
them are the cream of the crop and they rise
to the top, whereas there's not that many girls who
want to do it.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
It's a numbers game for sure. But I also think
we are talking about perception today. Yes, I think if
we ask people to challenge their own mindset, and if
you had a woman who had one bad results one
good results, would you then qualify her as okay, yes
(21:20):
she has the ability, or would you say, oh, she
got lucky and that one like, yeah, of course she
finished there. That confirmed my theory. What is your mindset?
What is your perception when you're actually judging something? Because
I used to believe when I was racing and perhaps
joining a new team new championship, men have a bigger
chance of starting from sero while women start from minus one.
(21:44):
It takes longer to gain the respect, and that means
more good results need to be produced in order to
achieve the same kind of respect as some of the
mail drivers.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Yeah, that is probably somewhat accurate. I think we're on
the more of a spot line. So When we do well,
it's amplified. When we do badly, it's amplified.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Yeah. Oh yeah, the chick crashed or like, oh wow,
the chick finished on the podium, right those ways extremes. Yeah,
I've seen both extremes this year, just in my own
my career. Okay, so how do we change that perception results? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Okay, would you like to do the Indy five hundred again?
I'm thinking that that was probably yeah for you, Yes,
I would very much. Yeah, trying actively, trying to be
back on the grid. When will you two race together again?
You know what I have said for a long time,
twenty five hours of lemon by joining one of those
races just for fun, we could do that together.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Yeah. It's like it's it's nothing fancy. For those of
you that don't know what it is. I think it's
twenty five hours, or it's twenty four.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Where is it?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
I don't remember. It's a long time since I came
out somewhere. Yeah, normally like Sonoma or something. Thunder yea. Yeah.
So it's basically where there's a budget for the car,
which is a very small budget. I mean I've heard
about penalties such as somebody having to carve a pumpkin.
It's just a lot of fun. Where it's not.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
About pumpkin would be a big one for me.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
It's not about what you what kind of equipment you're
really in, It's just about having fun, having a good time.
I think it would be a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Okay, I'm down. I'll try anything once. I mean, we
raced together in the sense that sometimes you'll come to
my races and support me. We're still a team. And
I also think that when we're old, we'll be racing
our mobility scooters around.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Absolutely. Yeah, cutting the corners to get the right apex, Yeah,
the right angle. I still do that.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
When I drive sometimes, so stupid. What was it like
testing for Minadi? So that al was me? So it
was one of the coolest experiences that I've ever had.
I loved every minute of it. It was very interesting
because it's it was so many driver aids. Having come
from a very American champ car in the lower years
(24:01):
where you had a thousand horse power and big tires
and a lot of kickback and no traction control, that
you had nothing right drive raid wise, no power steering,
and you go into this really refined, really technologically advanced
Formula one car and I would lift off the gas.
I get willspon, I lift off the gas and it
would cut out the traction control and I'll get myself
(24:22):
in trouble because I was so programmed to do all
the driving myself, whereas it was literally like point and
point and shoot back.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Then.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
I know times have changed dramatically, but it was still
one of the coolest experiences. Like I grew up wanting
to be an F one driver, So I'm glad I
got to experience that. And I'm also kind of glad
that it didn't pan out because I love racing in America.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Yeah, I do.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Have you had an expectation versus reality moment in your
career and have have you overcome it?
Speaker 2 (24:50):
I think every time you join a new team, ah, yeah,
because you have an dream that it's going to be great,
You're going to be competitive. You know, it's going to
be a dynamic that is you know, harmonious has balance,
you know has all the key features that you know
(25:12):
a top performing dynamic team has. But that's just not
always the case, and you know then you've got to
find ways to work around it. And I think that's
where experience really comes into play. But I would say
there is constantly a little bit of a check of
reality of the unknown whenever you join a new.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Team, Yeah that's cool, or a different series, Yes, doing
something outside of the norm, Yes, I can care. Do
people view endurance racing accomplishments less because of multiple drivers?
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Mmm?
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Probably so I would think so do Yeah, Yeah, I would.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Agree with that. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
I think it's I think people see it as a
different art form. I would I would have to ask
my NASCAR fan whether they view it as less than
because some of them have done it right, Like some
of them have come over and done Daytona. Well, Daytona
is like technically the easiest track to drive on, it's
still a whole different ballgame thinking about how you last
(26:17):
twenty four hours and you don't use the curbs and
you don't do this, and like you have to have
the presence of mind and everything else. So I don't
know whether they just think it's a different art form
rather than thinking of it is less than.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I just think I enjoyed it, like I enjoyed sharing
the highs and the lows with other people. I think
that's a beautiful thing to share. That was one of
the things I enjoyed about and doing tracing. If you
remove the aspect of result and acknowledgment and hype, just
to format, I think was very appealing.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Yeah, I agree. I mean it was a home for
me for a long time and I loved it and
I still want to do more of it. So I
totally agree. Which of you are better at setting up
the car?
Speaker 2 (27:01):
I would say when you and I drove together in
the beginning, you know, how long had you been with
the team? A couple of years? Yeah, three years. So
for me it was just easy to just lean on
you and just be like, yeah, Like it was just
like Katine knows what she's doing, and I like the
car that you set up, right, That's the thing. I
(27:23):
had no complaints in that department, Like I would probably
push back more if I was like, I don't like this, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
But I think I did the majority of the sets
at work at the beginning.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Always Jason always went in the car first, and that
was to do a baseline setup.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
But then I think it's not halfway through the season.
I kind of had this aha moment when you were
on the radio and you were giving feedback to Mike
or whoever it was, and I was like, yeah, that's
pretty much exactly why I experience She's got it and
go with it.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
And it's you know again that plays back two or
it plays into the whole like Endurance Driver, Lovely Dynamic.
It was so easy for me because I did like
the car that you set up, which doesn't happen all
the time, No it doesn't. So for me that was
also just lucky that I could focus on getting familiar
with the car myself instead of having to focus on,
you know, what do I want from the car? What
(28:12):
do I need from the car? What can I expect
from it? Because that's also it takes a bit of
time to learn. Also the different tracks, it's always going
to feel a little bit different, different setups. So the
fact that I could just get comfortable with the car
not having to worry about that for a while. Yeah,
but yeah, I think later on in the season, especially
what do you need from it? From New tires because
I had to qualify most of the time, there was
(28:34):
a little bit of like, okay, needs stand on my
own feed here in terms of expressing what I need
for the qualifying run.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Yeah, you definitely go better.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Give you made my life easy in the beginning of
the season, just having to focus on myself.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
I mean, if you think about it, I did all
the development work on that car. We worked with Andy
and Jeff and everybody else, So I lent on them
at the beginning because I didn't know what I wanted
from a GT three car e then. But then having
had all that experience, like I could basically I knew
that carl at the back of my hand by that time,
so yeah, it was I feel like I'm good at
giving feedback and setting a car up. I feel like
that's one of my strengths.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
I think one of the biggest strengths you can have
as a driver is not just saying something to say something,
saying I don't know, yes, if you are not sure,
rather than moving the team in a different direction, then
say I don't know yet, or I need to look
at the data. Because we also live in a time
where there's so much telemetry to be collected that can
(29:30):
help guide you in the setup, together with the driver's feedback.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Next question, do guys resent you beating them in a race?
Speaker 2 (29:42):
I don't, Yeah, not all, but sometimes.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
I will say I don't know whether it's the car
number or because it's me, or what it is this year,
But sometimes I felt like they're in a hurry to
get by me because they're like, oh God, not Catherine,
or you know, like if I pass them, it's a
more of a hit to their ego than if somebody
else passed them. So I think it depends on who
(30:06):
and same in when we were driving together, like some
of them were really happy for us because they just
saw us as race cud drivers and some of them
not so much. So I think it's a case by
case basis.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Yeah, And I would say with time, yes, there was
not that much of it.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
I agree. Yeah, when we're part of the furniture, Yes,
do you play Mario Kart? And if so, what character
do you play?
Speaker 2 (30:28):
And why I liked a little dinosaur time since I
played Ans and Nephews, So.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I don't I think I would be the princess.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Owning it. Yeah, I'm going full girl power, go power.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Yeah, and your experience A certain stigma is stronger in
certain racing series. Which series and why I.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Would say there was a change from coming from Europe
to America. Yeah, I think there is more, but I
think even the guys experienced this. Yeah, I definitely did.
I was talking about this the other day. The way
the Europeans do things and the way the Americans do
things and their culture is so different. Yeah, but you
experienced that to a t when you went from DTM, right,
(31:20):
and to the.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
States, well, the harder way. So when I came out here,
it was great. When I went back and I did DTM,
I was on the sofa bus like I did not.
I didn't like it.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
I don't even imagine.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Yeah, yeah, but I do think it's interesting because I
was having this conversation in the context that Chevrolet are
going to be an F one, and so their frame
of reference of racing is very American based for the
most part, right, NASCAR, IndyCar, Sportscars. Yeah, and while they're
gonna probably employ a bunch of European engineers and people
(31:54):
for the team, having them bought over to America, they're
going to experience like a massive shift and Chevy You're
going to have to experience a massive cultural shift to
accommodate them. And so it's going to be super interesting
to see how that plays out, whether they find a
level of comfort relatively easily or not. And I can
(32:14):
give you an example. The technical director at Rayhull for
IndyCar came over from F one to Rayhul and he
didn't really love the American way. I honestly didn't for
a year when I first came over here. It was
very different for me, very hard for me to get
used to. But after that year, I was like, oh my,
I love it so much. I want to live here forever.
So I think it goes both ways. And I think
(32:38):
that the culture difference, even though we speak the language,
is very different.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
What has been your proudest accomplishment?
Speaker 2 (32:53):
I'm the championships yeah yeah, easy, yeah, But that's also
for me. One thing is the result the history woman thing.
But also because for me it's tied to individuals that
I appreciate so much. Alessandro Bolsan, my co driver, Scuderia
Corsa and Jacomore and the whole gang, Jeff and Mattel,
(33:18):
Like I was so lucky to be with those people.
So for me, that holds a special place in my heart.
With the people. What about you?
Speaker 1 (33:30):
I think two things when I got pole in formula
are no back in two thousand and two and to
serious also we'll seeing the look on my dad's face
and just the pride and the fact that we then
vindicated that Yeah, okay, I can drive a racer, you know,
against there was Hamilton and Jamie Green and they oh
some really good drives. So there's that one. And then
(33:51):
winning Long Beach my first race in North America. Yeah,
pretty in championships, yes are the wins, yes, but really
those two things stood out. Your current hype song. They
want us to sing a few bars for.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Sometimes very long time.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Do you have a hype song?
Speaker 2 (34:11):
No?
Speaker 1 (34:12):
No, mean, best guess from what we see the first
female F one champion F one champion, not in my
lifetime champion.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
That's a that's a big one. One thing is to
see a female driver competing full season that I think
we will see in ours. I agree, champion. I mean,
look at the drivers and the grid already that all
you know, so good?
Speaker 1 (34:34):
Yeah, and it means she's just going to have to
be with the best team because that's one as you know,
it's like.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Picking the right one. Yeah. Look at Holgenberg's got his
first podium. How long he's been around, He's kept himself
alive in the sport. But yeah, that's a tool order.
I feel like to be a number of them. Okay,
say say things accelerate, because in our mind there's only one.
That's why we're also sitting.
Speaker 1 (34:59):
Exactly, That's what I saying. Yeah, so say in twenty
years time there's ten girls on the grid, that'd be awesome,
then maybe yeah, right, but yeah, in our mind there's anyone,
because that's not that's the reference.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
Yes, and we're not used before, right, Oh, that's not
even a fossibility.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
And how do you think that the F one Academy
is viewed within the F one pattern? Do you think
that the F one teams take them seriously and think
that they're applausible drivers for the future for their team.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
I don't know, but I think reality is I don't
think they think much about it. Yeah, yeah, it's not.
Then it's not the team's job to be aware of
what's happening. It's the girl's job to make sure that
they leave a market, that they get noticed, that they
make themselves noticeable. That is not for the team to
(35:53):
keep an eye out for. That is for them to
stand out. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
I mean, it's funny because in other forms of racing
there are definitely women that are just as good as
the men you look at, like the Iron Dames, right,
you look at you and I were an inse But
I wonder if they look at Abby Pulling or Dorian
or somebody like that and they think, yeah, it's just decent.
But is she Lewis Hamilton decent?
Speaker 2 (36:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (36:20):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Ye. So, But that's got back to the question about
what's going to change perception results? So you want to
get noticed, create those results and keep keep them coming.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
What emerging motorsport technologies excite you the most?
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Sorry, just one last note of that. You know, I
think about a guy like Frederick Vesty, the Danish driver
who has been competitive in some of the toughest feeder
series to Formula one, you know, has had driver development
roles and reserve roles with several Formula One teams. It
is not only about being good, doing a good job,
creating the rest because a guy like that did that,
(37:01):
But it's also timing. When is a contract, When are
they going to change the driver? When is there going
to be an opportunity? So there's so much that comes
into play that results might even be enough. But we
spoke about also it is a larger you know event
when a woman does well or when a woman does well.
So if there is a woman that was able to
produce that, I think there is a bigger chance that
(37:21):
maybe somebody would give it.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
I think if there was a female driver who was dominating,
or even she wouldn't even have to dominate if she
was in the top five and like F two, yeah,
GP two or whatever.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
Have you heard any of you know, some of the
latest women that have tested F one. Have you heard
anything about the test speed? And no it's gone No
have you No? Isn't that funny? Yeah, it's a shame. Yeah,
kind of curious.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
How we're going to find that?
Speaker 1 (37:57):
I want to find this seven year old and the
nine year old right now that has the potential to
go the whole way, because I think that would be amazing.
I would love to stay in my lifetime me too.
What emerging mostor spot technologies excite you the most.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
I mean this year I spent a bit of time
commentating formerly in Denmark, and I do think it is
quite impressive how far that series has come. I know
it's very much a development.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
When I drove it and we had to switch cars
in the middle of the race.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Yes, and I would say it's actually quite entertaining racing
due to, you know, the different types of strategies they
continue to develop the series and the race format.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Is that racing though, or is that strategy? I mean
it's not racing as we know it.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
I would say a little bit, because I think America
also has more strategy than a lot of the European
race series. Yes, and that means that even if you
go a lot down and there's eleven hours to go,
oh yeah, you're not worried about not being able to
get that back be in the mix towards the end
of the race, and in European racing sometimes that can
be it. Oh I like them, Well yeah, yeah exactly.
(39:12):
So No, I think there's a I think there's some
entertainment component to it that's pretty cool for the viewers.
But I also think Oliver Rowland won the championship and
he was one of the strongest drivers when it came
to making strategic choices. So it was a determining factory
to win a championship that you were good at that
that you you know, were using.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
The only smart drivers can race them.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
Formerly, I would say it was definitely. Yeah, it was
definitely a part of it.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
Okay. I think I was thinking along the lines of
like the hybrid in India because it's what I have
experience with. Yeah, but it's not I'm going to get
vilified for this. But it's not that exciting to me
because I am I am a little bit old school
in that I love big burly V eight v twelve
noise power where.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
I think Car could go off on a whole She
would have loved something like this, then talk about it.
That's her area.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
Of expertise, higher technology. Yeah, Car on the show should
be so excited, I know, but.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
I think all of it. I think I love the
fact that we are the guinea pigs for what people
get in their road class. Yes, I think that's cool.
You test it here first, exactly, we'll end up on
your road cars. Where do you see motorsport in the
next five to ten years.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
Well, most tracks signed contracts with tracks and championships and
associations for at least five years at a time, or
to at least, so I don't think we'll see much difference.
I mean, I think there's going to be a development
in technology. But when you think about the lifespan of
a car, it's at least normally five years before they
(40:59):
produce a new one that's going to get home aligated.
So as long as that obligation is moving on, we'll
see development. But I think the biggest jumps are always
when there's a new product coming up from the manufacturer.
And that's where you know, teams are always trying to
be better, Manufacturers always trying to improve and be better
and produce a more competitive car.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
So I mean, it hasn't changed all that much. I mean,
if you look at it over the last five to
ten years, it hasn't changed that much. I mean, yes,
you've got prototypes that have changed into GDP cars, which
are much more about turning knobs and whistles. But it's
still the same kind of principle. Yeah, so I don't
I also agree, I don't think we're going to see
driverless cars and havocrafts and all the kind of futuristic
(41:45):
things that people may think we might see. All right,
last question, Oh, I don't think I want to answer
this one. West teammate, You've ever had taken that one
to the grave, No, But we will answer this one.
I said, and I'm sorry if we didn't get to
any questions. What's the worst part of social media.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
You have to do with? I think we made a
whole list on the last podcast or the one before that.
I think the worst is people's lack of keeping their
mouths shut when they take it to a level that
is extreme. It is another human being that is sitting
reading what you're writing, and that people feel like they
(42:26):
can say so much more over the internet, hiding behind it,
hiding behind the computer screen or the phone. Yeah, that
would be mine.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
I don't disagree. But I think the worst part is
that it's made people care more about social media than reality. Yeah,
and so I don't think. I don't think that social
media reflects reality in any way, shape or form. And
I think a lot of people have a lot of
(42:56):
followers and they have been made famous for doing weird
reels and stuff, right, Like, it's just the world that
we live in now.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
But I think also everybody can become an expert, right,
how are you qualified to be giving this advice? How
are you qualified to be talking about these things? How
are you qualified to be somebody who other people actually
followed for guidance and advice, right, that's not right.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
I hate Yeah, but it's like news these days as well.
I feel like that's maybe not reality either. It's hard
to get accurate information of the internet. It's like, don't
believe everything you read on the internet. But it's like
they say it with such authority that you think it
must be true, like diet advice or whatever. In my
algorithms messed up.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
But also if you're putting out content about something meaningful,
something you did, that actually, like I remember when I
had the program Accelerating Change, Like I know that the
women that joined our Attract days had a great time
and sharing those moments online was a part of it,
and that was really cool and that felt meaningful for
(44:02):
me to share. But how many likes? How much did
that content get pushed out versus a stupid selfie? No, no,
my selfie will get much more attention, right.
Speaker 1 (44:10):
So that's my point.
Speaker 2 (44:11):
Yeah, it doesn't always also promote the genuine common sense.
Yes I don't, because like that's much.
Speaker 1 (44:19):
More impactful and much more important than some check posing
in a poti.
Speaker 2 (44:23):
I'm sharing something meaningful that I was a part of creating,
that was something that meant something to me. What is
the selfie meant? Oh, well, look good for a second. Okay,
let me post that. Sure, that was a nice little
validation boost, but so what I'm like, Yep, that was
a good one. But you know the track days that
I did for the women, I remember those, I don't
remember some freaking selfie I took.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
Yeah, yeah, I wish people were more discerning about that
kind of thing. But it is the world that we
live in now, and it wasn't when we were growing
up through racing. So your results and your newspaper articles
and your TV things, they were the things my grandparents have,
like whole.
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Folder, like the newspaper articles with.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
Me, good old days. We're aging yourself now. I'm going
to leave you with one last question, and that is,
I think probably the best question we had today. Hit me,
what is the best piece of advice that you've ever
gotten racing?
Speaker 2 (45:17):
Swan?
Speaker 1 (45:18):
Mm hmmm, oh the under this exactly.
Speaker 2 (45:22):
You're going to be graceful, You're going to be beautiful
on the outside, and for this one, it's on top
of the water, but underneath you've got the feet pedaling,
moving going. If I'm not wrong, it was Brian Sellers
re teammate. She was my coach the first year I
(45:46):
came to America, and I'm pretty sure he's the one
who said it.
Speaker 1 (45:49):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (45:50):
It was a beautiful thing.
Speaker 1 (45:51):
Good for you, Brian. Thank you very much for spending
the time, and we'll lessure thanks for listening to Throttle Therapy.
We'll be back next week with more updates and more overtakes,
and we want to hear from you. Leave us a
review in Apple Podcasts and tell us what you want
(46:13):
to talk about. It might just be the topic for
our next show. Throttle Therapy is hosted by Katherine Legg.
Our executive producer is Jesse Katz, and our supervising producer
is Grace Fuse. Listen to Throttle Therapy on America's number
one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and
search throttle Therapy with Katherine Legg and start listening.
Host
Katherine Legge
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