Willy T Ribbs: F1 teams need dedicated academy seats for BAME drivers

Willy T Ribbs, the new ambassador for Formula 1’s diversity and inclusion programme, says that grand prix teams should have specific academy seats to help bring BAME drivers into the championship.

Ribbs, the first black person to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, faced barriers of extreme racism throughout his career.

Describing Lewis Hamilton as a driver who comes along once in 100 years, he said that the seven-time champion had single-handedly transformed the way that F1 viewed diversity.

Ribbs believes it’s now time to build on this with a new generation of BAME drivers. He has called on current team owners need to follow the example of Ron Dennis, who identified Hamilton’s talent at a young age and eventually brought him into the McLaren team, to create more equal representation on the F1 grid.

“They have to do what Ron did,” he said speaking to Motor Sport. “Zak Brown or Lawrence Stroll need to say ‘Alright, we’re going to feature a junior driver, so others [of BAME background] can see [what’s possible]’ – the money’s there to do it.

“They need to mentor these kids right through all the junior series. That’s a goal, but [we] also [need to] bring more into the STEM programmes, as designers, as engineers, as mechanics – that is all in our game plan now.”

In a sport massively subscribed to by the white western world, Ribbs does not believe this approach of positive discrimination would have a negative effect.

“It doesn’t mean that other kids who are not black or brown get shut them out – they’re coming too,” he says. “So any kid with talent gets a chance. But for a kid of colour who wouldn’t normally have those opportunities, the manufacturers need to be putting up the money to make that happen. I’ve been asking that for years.”