Former Page 3 star and F1 grid girl Leilani Dowding has criticised the people she says pushed for the 2018 ban on grid girls, arguing that the decision removed glamour and fun from the sport and cut off a source of income for models.
Dowding, now 46, appeared on multiple F1 grids in the early 2000s, including the 2001 British Grand Prix, where she wore a Hot Wheels skin-tight jumpsuit. She recently reshared a photo from that event on social media, writing: “Wow. How was this 25 years ago! Doing the grids for Hot Wheels before this woke s*** came about and they stopped it all! They stopped us making money this way.”
Grid girls' income and opportunity lost
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star Sport, via OLBG, Dowding said the ban had a major impact on the income of the models involved. She said the money from grid work was significant, noting that F1 work often led to other motorsport grids as well.
“So by doing that it was a load of the girl's income,” she said. “I just think they're missing the fun and like a bit of humour.”
Dowding defends grid girls against objectification claims
Dowding rejected claims that the women felt objectified or exploited. “If you spoke to any of the girls, no one would say they felt objectified, no one would feel or say they felt exploited,” she said.
“We absolutely loved what we were doing, we loved our job, we were using the money from doing grids, not just F1, because obviously if you did F1, you got to do a lot of other grids as well for other motorsports.”
'Miserable, jealous' complainers blamed
She then turned her criticism on those who campaigned for the ban. “Whoever complains probably isn't even an F1 but, it was just a bunch of miserable, jealous people sat on their sofa, who probably had absolutely nothing to do with F1,” she said.
“They probably don’t even watch it, but just felt they wanted to complain about some pretty women getting a job that paid well that they couldn't do. And to me it's just so hypocritical considering what kids can see on their phones now, and then the same people or the same voices that were so loud about banning grid girls, are now very silent about what kids can access on their phones. In terms of just filth and graphic things and just utter filth on their phone. And you know the grid girls were fully dressed. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it.”
