If her name was Sam Wolff and she was a male, would anyone be surprised that she/he isn't racing in Formula One?

I don't say this to be offensive, but Susie was relying on factors apart from her talent and racing accomplishments (or lack thereof) to get her an F1 seat - namely, her gender and her husband's connections. What male, 30-something racer, who'd never won a road course race in his life (much less a championship), would even dare to think that he'd EVER be on the F1 grid? And I'm sorry, but Carmen Jorda is an even bigger joke in that respect than Susie. Simona de Silvestro was/is someone who I think, with work, could make it onto the F1 grid. She's won in lower formulas (unlike Susie, Carmen or even Danica - a lonely win on an oval means little in F1) and from what's been written, she can relate to racing engineers and gives good feedback. Plus, she's not that old, she's tough (didn't even shake after being caught on fire) and she doesn't whine or act like she deserves special treatment (unlike Danica).

No one prevented Susie or Carmen from racing, instead of just hanging around the paddock on F1 weekends. Susie didn't even bother to try to get her Super License. I've heard that she's a nice person. But that and a dollar will buy you a cup of coffee these days. If you're a C or D student, you're not going to get into Harvard or Cambridge. And that's about where Susie's racing resume puts her. Too bad that Krooked Kaltenborn screwed over Simona, since she seemed to have the talent and ability to at least be respectable on the F1 grid.

IMO, Susie's failure to make it into F1 has nothing to do with women in F1. Her placement at Williams was far above where she should have been on pure merit. Shame on her for thinking that her gender and family connections should afford her special favors.