<p>Formula One's Alpine team said on Wednesday that physical ability is no barrier for women to compete in their sport as they launched a programme to have a female driver in the next eight years.</p>.<p>Only two women have ever started a Grand Prix, the Italian pair of Maria Teresa de Filippis, who qualified in three in 1958, and Lella Lombardi, who raced in 12 between 1974 and 1976, picking up a point.</p>.<p>There has since been a belief that physical strength was a drawback to the progress of women in the sport.</p>.<p>That was backed up on Tuesday by Jamie Chadwick, champion of the W series, an all-female championship, who said reaching Formula One via its feeder series Formula Two and Three is "extremely physical."</p>.<p>Alpine's CEO Laurent Rossi, however, rejected that notion, as the team launched a programme to mentor women drivers.</p>.<p>"The number one criteria is not physical ability, far from it," Rossi told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>"The proof is that Fernando Alonso continues to drive very well.</p>.<p>"If a 40-year-old man can drive in Formula One then a woman on top form at 28 years old is as capable."</p>.<p>Rossi said there were examples of women in other industries working in similar extreme conditions.</p>.<p>"There are women who fly fighter jets, who are astronauts, who are used to much more powerful G-forces," he said.</p>.<p>"It's something that society wanted to peddle for years, and is one of the cliches that need to be eradicated," he added.</p>.<p>In the coming weeks Alpine will search for up to five candidates aged between 10 and 12, with a view to having at least one of them racing by 2030.</p>.<p>"We really have to be able to detect potential from as young as possible so they can follow the training programme," Alpine's director of human resources Claire Mesnier said.</p>.<p>"Right now, I'm not sure that I can say that we're exploring the whole talent pool, knowing 50 per cent of humanity are women," she added.</p>.<p>Mesnier said that Alpine's current drivers, two-time champions Alonso and Frenchman Esteban Ocon, are participating in the programme.</p>.<p>"Esteban and Fernando will be the main ambassadors," she said.</p>.<p>Alpine next race is at the Austrian Grand Prix on July 10.</p>
<p>Formula One's Alpine team said on Wednesday that physical ability is no barrier for women to compete in their sport as they launched a programme to have a female driver in the next eight years.</p>.<p>Only two women have ever started a Grand Prix, the Italian pair of Maria Teresa de Filippis, who qualified in three in 1958, and Lella Lombardi, who raced in 12 between 1974 and 1976, picking up a point.</p>.<p>There has since been a belief that physical strength was a drawback to the progress of women in the sport.</p>.<p>That was backed up on Tuesday by Jamie Chadwick, champion of the W series, an all-female championship, who said reaching Formula One via its feeder series Formula Two and Three is "extremely physical."</p>.<p>Alpine's CEO Laurent Rossi, however, rejected that notion, as the team launched a programme to mentor women drivers.</p>.<p>"The number one criteria is not physical ability, far from it," Rossi told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>"The proof is that Fernando Alonso continues to drive very well.</p>.<p>"If a 40-year-old man can drive in Formula One then a woman on top form at 28 years old is as capable."</p>.<p>Rossi said there were examples of women in other industries working in similar extreme conditions.</p>.<p>"There are women who fly fighter jets, who are astronauts, who are used to much more powerful G-forces," he said.</p>.<p>"It's something that society wanted to peddle for years, and is one of the cliches that need to be eradicated," he added.</p>.<p>In the coming weeks Alpine will search for up to five candidates aged between 10 and 12, with a view to having at least one of them racing by 2030.</p>.<p>"We really have to be able to detect potential from as young as possible so they can follow the training programme," Alpine's director of human resources Claire Mesnier said.</p>.<p>"Right now, I'm not sure that I can say that we're exploring the whole talent pool, knowing 50 per cent of humanity are women," she added.</p>.<p>Mesnier said that Alpine's current drivers, two-time champions Alonso and Frenchman Esteban Ocon, are participating in the programme.</p>.<p>"Esteban and Fernando will be the main ambassadors," she said.</p>.<p>Alpine next race is at the Austrian Grand Prix on July 10.</p>