“There is absolutely no reason why we can’t have a female Formula 1 world champion”

This week Rob Smedley - he of F1 race engineering legend, of course - has launched a new karting business with big ambitions: a) make it vastly cheaper, and b) “democratise” it.

That means ending the arms race between the haves and have mores that so often lock out the karting pyramid, so that “the only differentiator is not your wallet, but the kid in the kart”.

And it comes at a time when several initiatives are trying to open the door for female drivers: W Series came and went; the F1 Academy is flourishing; a number of F1 teams have female talent on their books.

Only a few weeks ago Jessica Hawkins became the first woman in five years to drive a modern F1 car, and back in June a major study concluded “there is no reason why a woman cannot compete” with motorsport’s finest. Oh so gradually, it feels like the landscape is shifting.

Might Smedley’s Global Karting League be another piece of the puzzle? “We are great advocates for getting females in motorsport,” he says. “I’m one of those that believes there is absolutely no reason why we can’t have a female Formula 1 world champion.”

There hasn’t been one yet, he argues, because of participation. Only 12 per cent of karters at the grassroots are female, and that number drops to seven per cent when you get to the single-seater ladder that eventually feeds the F1 grid.

“There’s great initiatives everywhere that are popping up, we are certainly supporters of all of those initiatives. There won’t be one single thing that solves this. But certainly what we want to do is create an environment which is let’s say… slightly less traditional.”

That means making the GKL a place where everyone feels welcome: anyone familiar with Lewis Hamilton’s backstory knows that hasn’t historically been the case in the karting scene. “We want to make this everybody’s tribe,” Smedley explains. “So we want to make this a tribe for females, we want to make this a tribe for any under-represented community that wants to be part of this."

GKL is operational in the UK, and Smedley says they’re already seeing more girls take part. “How will this work? It will not work in a way where there’s a white, middle-aged man - who has some relevance to the dads in Formula 1 - evangelising about this. It will work in a way that we’re already seeing: young females are coming into our series and they’re starting to evangelise about it.

“We’re trying to create something fresh. But at the same time finding talent that eventually gets to Formula 1 and professional motorsports.”

Smedley thinks GKL is on a pathway to 50:50 participation among girls and boys, the point at which he reckons they’ll have given young women “the right chance” to show their skills.

“That’s when we really see if we’re right or not. And if we’re not right, then so be it. But at least we’ve given the females the right environment and the right opportunities with which to flourish.”