F1’s grid girls swept off the track

Formula One fans won’t have the grid girls to look at any more.

F1 announced Wednesday an end to the long-standing practice of using walk-on grid girls to parade around the paddock before, during and after the races. The changes also apply to other motorsports series that offer as support races during Grand Prix weekends.

Sean Bratches, managing director of commercial operations for F1, said:

“Over the last year we have looked at a number of areas which we felt needed updating so as to be more in tune with our vision for this great sport. While the practice of employing grid girls has been a staple of Formula 1 Grand Prix for decades, we feel this custom does not resonate with our brand values and clearly is at odds with modern-day societal norms. We don’t believe the practice is appropriate or relevant to Formula 1 and its fans, old and new, across the world.”

Even without the grid girls, Formula One attracts the “beautiful people” from around the world, so there will be no shortage of people watching during race weekends.