A female F1 champion? It's just a matter of time

You can count the number of female drivers who have taken part in the Formula One World Championship on one hand. Quite literally. There are five. Maria Teresa de Filippis was the first - in 1958-59 - then came fellow Italian Lella Lombardi, England's Divina Galica, South African Desire Wilson, and finally Italy Giovanna Amati in 1992.

The obvious conclusion is sexism. The reason that so few females have ever been on the grid - and the fact there haven't been any since Amati - is because the men don't want them there.

That a women's place on the grid is sporting a token piece of lycra, and a megawatt smile. And that when the lights go out they should be at the back of the garage making tea for the lads.

The simple explanation is that those at the top of F1 are doing all they can to build as many barriers as they possibly can to stop women swapping their high heels for helmets and taking their place on the grid.

But that really is a case of two plus two makes five. Sorry to disappoint.

In days gone by many sexism could have been levelled as a legitimate reason.

De Filippis, who claimed a 10th place finish at the 1958 Belgian Grand Prix, was banned from competing in the French Grand Prix because the race director commented "the only helmet that a woman should use is the one at the hairdresser's".

And Williams Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams admitted to me that being a women in a man's world was an issue with her father Frank in the early days. She told CNN: "He's an older generation F1 person - he's very much this is a sport for the men, for the boys, and girls can't handle it."

But Williams proved her dad wrong - and theirs is a team actively championing women across all areas of the sport.

These days it's just not true that women are being stopped from making it because of their sex. There's a host of successful and powerful women throughout the F1 paddock. From Williams herself, to Sauber's team principal Monisha Kaltenborn, to female race engineers like Gill Jones - who has the title Head of Red Bull Racing's Trackside Electronics - and who made people look twice when she stepped up to the podium to collect the Red Bull team trophy alongside Sebastian Vettel at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2013.

"I actually think the blokes in F1 - to put it bluntly - love having women around the place," added Williams. "That gender divide doesn't really come up. The boys look after the boys as much as the boys look after the girls and the girls look after the boys. Formula 1 is one of the only sports in the world that allows girls to line up and compete against men. There are no barriers to a female lining up on the grid on a Sunday afternoon - and competing against male rivals. Not a lot of sports can say that."

And it's true that while football is criticised for not putting the backing into the women's game to match the men's; and that female athletes and tennis stars get a smaller billing to their male counterparts - in their separate events - the platform is ready and waiting for women in F1.

There is absolutely nothing that says women cannot line up alongside the men on the grid.

So if it's not the rules, and not sexism - why is it that Lombardi remains the only woman to have won points in an F1 world championship race?