BBC Sport looks at the reer of Mike Bttler, Formula 1's only known gay male driver, and his impact on today's LGBT+ motorsport muny.
Contents:
- ARE THERE ANY GAY F1 DRIVERS?
- LGBT+ HISTORY MONTH: MIKE BTTLER - FORMULA 1'S ONLY KNOWN GAY MALE DRIVER
ARE THERE ANY GAY F1 DRIVERS?
GAY TIMES ught up wh W Seri drivers Sarah Moore and Abbie Eaton durg the ronavis lockdown to discs all thgs racg. * w series gay drivers *
Several officials si racg anisatns say that spe drivers like Lewis Haton and Sebastian Vettel, both of whom have worn Pri lours at var rac this season, beg supportive alli, many queer people team garag feel more fortable stayg Bishop, Aston Mart's chief munitns officer, has worked motorsport for over 25 years, and as "the only [out] gay the F1 village" the 1990s, he has often field msag om people stgglg to e out to lleagu after years the dtry. "Richard Morris, a gay racg driver and founr of Racg Pri, scrib how a simple e of language n e some people to feel like g out is not an optn. Bee you're aaid that if you say you're gay, and they don't support you, then they're not gog to give you that drive or they won't treat you the same as your teammate.
"So I did enunter some homophobia. "Emmanouilis, an Atralian wh Greek herage, did not e out to her fay until after universy, but to everyone else she has always been open about beg gay.
"To be a woman, to be a gay woman, F1 is important to me, not jt bee I want to be accsible to others and be that visibily, but to help other people who want to be my posn. "Y, you n be a woman a male-domated dtry, or a gay man or non-bary, transgenr, but, at the end of the day, everyone lov motorsport and I thk that's really important to foc on.
LGBT+ HISTORY MONTH: MIKE BTTLER - FORMULA 1'S ONLY KNOWN GAY MALE DRIVER
"Formula 1, as an anisatn, has taken steps to addrs s lack of diversy, lnchg the We Race As One iative 2020 to raise awarens for racial equaly and discrimatn of all kds, cludg anti-gay said their statement: "It will not be a one-week or one-year theme that disappears as issu disappear om headl, will unrp the Formula 1 strategy to make a tangible difference our sport and society. Vettel and his Aston Mart team have been champng Pri across the season, wh Vettel's rabow T-shirt and attire at the Hungarian Grand Prix worn to prott the untry's anti-gay laws that were passed June. "As a gay person, you don't jt e out one time.
Sponsors, vtors, race partners, host untri, all fund the sport and toeg the le uld prove difficult on some ocsns, such as the ncerns for racg untri wh anti-gay example, Qatar, which outlaws homosexualy, announced that rabow flags would be allowed at the 2022 FIFA World Cup to rpect "the difference people's cultur, " but gay cizens still live fearful liv. "The same go for fans too, says Emmanouilis: "Image how many gay people were watchg when Aston Mart had the rabow on their r, perhaps unsure about whether there was a place for them.
"People have told me, 'I've jt told the other people my marshal post for the first time ever that I'm gay, and 's been great and they've been pletely acceptg and 's been wonrful', " he visibily is spreadg other ways too. "W Seri, the women-only racg seri, has three openly gay drivers, while other top-level seri like IndyCar, Formula One, Formula E, have none. For Lbian Visibily Week, GAY TIMES ught up wh the two drivers to see how lockdown has been treatg them, why some athlet wa until the end of their reer before g out and the impact they might have on the fans and future generatns of drivers.