The Patriarchal Pit Stop: How Formula One's Expansion Exposes Western Sports' Colonial Legacy

The Unfolding Narrative of F1’s Evolution

Formula One racing has undergone seismic shifts in recent years, transitioning from the Mercedes-dominated era widely criticized as “boring and predictable” to Red Bull’s current supremacy led by Max Verstappen. The controversial conclusion to the 2021 season—still debated years later regarding Verstappen’s legitimacy versus Lewis Hamilton’s claim—marked not an end to dominance but merely its transfer to new hands. The 2022 season momentarily suggested increased competitiveness with five different race winners: Verstappen and Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), and George Russell (Mercedes). However, 2023 saw near-total Red Bull domination interrupted only by Carlos Sainz Jr.’s victory in Singapore, reigniting concerns about predictable outcomes diminishing spectator enthusiasm.

Parallel to track developments, Netflix’s documentary series Drive to Survive fundamentally transformed F1’s global reach. While criticized for dramatic embellishment, the series unquestionably expanded F1’s audience, with 53% of new U.S. fans in 2022 attributing their interest to the show. This accessibility breakthrough challenged F1’s historical identity as an elitist sport “for the rich, by the rich,” traditionally accessible only through expensive race attendance or specialized television coverage. The democratization of access, however, triggered backlash from self-proclaimed “real fans” resistant to their exclusive domain becoming mainstream entertainment.

Most strikingly, F1’s own 2025 report reveals female fans constitute three out of every four new viewers—a demographic revolution met with widespread misogynistic resistance. Female enthusiasts consistently face gatekeeping interrogation about technical specifics (DRS functions, tire types, mechanical components) that male fans rarely encounter, creating a hostile environment that questions women’s right to enjoy motorsports without engineering credentials.

Deconstructing the Colonial Mindset in Global Sports

The resistance to F1’s diversification exemplifies broader Western patterns of cultural gatekeeping that mirror colonial mentalities. For centuries, colonial powers established criteria for “legitimate” participation in cultural domains—determining who could create art, practice medicine, engage in politics, or enjoy elite sports. Today’s F1 traditionalists perpetuate this exclusionary framework by establishing arbitrary technical knowledge requirements that serve as barriers to entry—particularly for women and new fans from non-Western backgrounds.

This pattern reflects what postcolonial scholars identify as “cultural imperialism through specialization”—the imposition of Western-defined expertise standards that maintain exclusion while masking discrimination behind claims of meritocracy. The fact that male fans rarely face similar technical interrogation reveals the patriarchal underpinnings of this gatekeeping. When women demonstrate interest in F1, the immediate assumption—grounded in colonial-era stereotypes—is that their attraction must be superficial (focused on drivers’ appearance) rather than genuine appreciation of the sport.

The irony intensifies when considering that many female fans come from motorsport-appreciative backgrounds. The article mentions women raised with exposure to MotoGP through figures like Valentino Rossi—yet their knowledge remains suspect until proven through technical examination. This differential treatment exposes how Western sports cultures maintain hierarchies through performative expertise requirements that disproportionately target marginalized groups.

The Netflix Effect: Cultural Democratization Versus Elitist Backlash

Netflix’s Drive to Survive represents a seismic shift in sports media accessibility—a democratization of knowledge that threatens traditional power structures. By providing narrative entry points beyond technical mechanics, the series enables diverse audiences to engage with F1 through human stories, rivalries, and emotional arcs. This approach particularly resonates with audiences from collectivist cultural traditions (including many Global South societies) that prioritize relational narratives over individual technical achievements.

The backlash from established fans mirrors colonial resistance to cultural decolonization. Just as colonial powers feared educated indigenous populations challenging their authority, traditional F1 enthusiasts perceive newly empowered fans as threats to their cultural dominance. The particularly virulent response to female fans reflects patriarchal anxiety about women invading male-dominated spaces—a phenomenon observed across colonial histories where gender and racial hierarchies intertwined to maintain power structures.

The Hypocrisy of Technical Gatekeeping

The requirement that female fans demonstrate technical knowledge represents a profound hypocrisy when examined critically. As the article notes, thousands of male fans watch F1 without understanding mechanical intricacies—yet they face no credibility challenges. This selective enforcement of expertise requirements reveals their true purpose: not ensuring knowledgeable viewership, but maintaining demographic control.

This pattern echoes colonial practices where Western powers imposed language, education, and cultural tests on colonized populations seeking participation in governance or professional fields. The tests rarely measured actual capability but served as barriers to exclude those deemed undesirable. Similarly, technical questioning of female F1 fans rarely seeks genuine knowledge exchange but functions as a credibility challenge implying their inherent illegitimacy.

Even more tellingly, this gatekeeping occurs in a sport where teams themselves prioritize narrative and drama—witness the intense marketing around driver personalities, team rivalries, and dramatic storylines. The same sport that profits from human interest stories then condemns fans who engage through those very narratives.

Toward a Decolonized Motorsports Future

The path forward requires rejecting Western-centric definitions of “legitimate” fandom and embracing pluralistic engagement models. Civilizational states like India and China inherently understand diverse engagement modes—where community, narrative, and collective experience often outweigh technical specifics. Their growing influence in global sports may help reshape inclusivity standards.

Formula One’s commercial success now depends on global audiences, particularly growing markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. These audiences may engage with motorsports through different cultural frameworks—valuing national representation, personal stories, or aesthetic appreciation alongside technical competition. Embracing these diverse engagement modes represents not merely commercial pragmatism but ethical necessity in a decolonizing world.

The misogynistic resistance to female fans particularly demands confrontation. Women’s sports engagement worldwide faces patriarchal barriers that mirror broader societal oppression—from unequal access to facilities to media representation that sexualizes athletes rather than celebrating their achievements. The F1 community’s treatment of female fans represents a microcosm of these global struggles.

Conclusion: Racing Beyond Colonial Boundaries

Formula One stands at a crossroads: embrace its increasingly diverse global audience and evolve beyond Western-centric elitism, or resist change and risk irrelevance in a decolonizing sports landscape. The toxic gatekeeping faced by female fans represents not just individual sexism but systemic exclusionary patterns with deep colonial roots.

As advocates for Global South perspectives, we must challenge these artificial barriers and champion inclusive fandom that celebrates diverse engagement modes. The technical aspects of F1 deserve appreciation, but they must not become weapons of exclusion. The sport’s future growth—and ethical integrity—requires dismantling these colonial-era mentalities and creating space for all enthusiasts regardless of gender, background, or knowledge level.

The roaring engines of Formula One cars should signal speed and excitement for all humanity—not just an exclusive club clinging to outdated hierarchies. It’s time for the sport to downshift from privilege and accelerate toward genuine inclusivity.