Takes charge of Formula E team
I worry for the sport when aywall, regardless of who ause I fear that the large n’t huge F1 fans but enjoy e going to fall away. tractions of Formula One dience and we don’t want long-term. If you look at nce and Italy, where it has wall, the drop in audience scouraging.” hannel 4 has made her the e woman in motorsport. doesn’t view herself as
er Spice Girl Geri HalliChristian Horner, prinBull Formula One team, not close. ’t know Geri very well. I’ve ouple of occasions around s. I was a fan of the Spice e her as an ex-Spice Girl ame room together. I view ce lady.” r friendship with Olympic cycling superstar turned motor racing driver Chris Hoy.
She said: “He has such a passion for racing and he had a huge challenge coming into the sport as late as he has. What he’s achieved in that short time is inspirational. Us Scots are very proud to be Scottish and very proud of other high-achieving Scots. For a small country, we do very well.”
Born Suzanne Stoddart in Oban, Argyll and Bute, on December 6, 1982, her mum Sally ran a clothes shop and dad John owned a motorcycle dealership and raced bikes in competitions.
Starting off in karting, Susie moved up to Formula Renault and Formula Three before moving to the DTM to compete for Mercedes-Benz.
In 2012, she was signed by the Williams Formula One team to work as a development driver.
She recalled: “I had the best childhood you could wish for, living on the west coast of Scotland. I was quite sheltered coming from a small town but my parentss drovedrovememe all over Europe for competitions so I got to understand there’s a big world out there and so much possible for me to achieve. “It was my goal since a 13-year-old to make it to Formula One. “I never made the last step of my goal – I never competed in a Formula One race. But there’s no bitterness. On the contrary, I feel lucky to have made a career out of the sport I love and I managed to meet my husband through it. “When I look back on my life, marrying has for me been the biggest success. It’s brought me so much happiness on a daily basis. “I was never the woman who dreamed of having a family but that decision – made with Toto – was my best ever. “It’s far ahead of any achievement within my career and my priority. “I have my priorities firmly in place. My husband and son are very much top of the priority list and that won’t change because that’s what brings me the most happiness. If we decide we want to have a second child, then we’ll go for it. But it’s not in the plans yet.
“Right now, I’m enjoying every day watching this little person turn into his own character. I’m not someone who sets in stone what has to be.”
Jack is being raised bilingual, with his Austrian father speaking to him in German and Susie in English.
But Susie, who is learning French, also has to converse in German a lot.
She said: “When I’m home in Scotland, my Scottish accent comes out more but a few people have said my accent is getting a bit strange from all the German speaking.
“I don’t feel like I’ve lost my roots at all. I feel very much connected because my parents still live in Oban and we have a lively WhatsApp family group chat every day. And my son eats porridge every morning.”
So might Susie bring her family to live in her homeland one day?
She said: “Living in Scotland, no, but visiting a lot, definitely.”
The proposal for a city-based electric car motor racing championship was conceived by Jean Todt, the president of the world governing body of motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
He originally presented the plan to politicians Alejandro Agag and Antonio Tajani – who was campaigning for the electrification of the car industry – at a dinner at an Italian restaurant in Paris in March 2011.
The Formula E series is in its fourth season, with the inaugural championship starting in Beijing in 2014.
The championship is contested by 10 teams with two drivers each. Racing takes place on temporary city-centre street circuits.
For each race, fans can vote for their favourite driver via various social media platforms. Voting starts six days before the event, with the three winning drivers receiving an extra power.
The first Formula E champion was Nelson Piquet Jr – the son of three-time Formula One world champion Nelson.
Television coverage is beamed around the world by a single production company.
Pundits have included former Scottish racing drivers Dario Franchitti, Allan McNish and David Coulthard.
I don’t feel like I’ve lost my roots. My son has porridge every morning