Curious. Humorous. Smart. Free. These are just some of the many adjectives that can be used to describe Mariana Becker, the first Brazilian female sports journalist to cover Formula 1, a job she’s been doing since 2007. Born in the south of Brazil, in Porto Alegre (RS), she is the daughter of an English teacher and an OBGYN. The youngest of five children, Becker has always been able to stand out and live her life in her own way. Turning 52 today (April 30th), she has traveled all around the world, talked to lots of people and had a taste of almost every cuisine.
Motorsport and Formula 1
Like almost every Brazilian during the late 80s and mid 90s, she liked Formula 1. “I’m from a generation that watched Ayrton (Senna). When he died, I was in college. I wasn’t a huge F1 fan, but I’d watch it. It was as a part of my life as watching soccer. It was something I used to do with my dad, it was great. We’d watch Wimbledon and F1.”
Nevertheless, motorsport entered her professional life because she ran Rally dos Sertões. “I did it to show what it was like from the inside. I always thought that covering was very impersonal, we didn’t have cameras inside the cars, so motorsport was just a guy with a helmet for me, even though I liked driving”. She raced three times, one as a copilot and the last two as a driver, and fell in love with it. “The car becomes a part of yourself, a much more powerful part, so you’re always on the limit of having an accident or being successful, so it’s something with a lot of emotion and you play with your instincts of whether to go straight running or be careful. Running ‘Rally dos Sertões’ awoke me to the sport”.
In 2007, when Becker started working in F1, she’d had those three experiences (that had successfully been put on TV) and as she spoke many languages, Globo (the former TV channel she used to work in) decided to place a woman covering Formula 1 for the very first time. “That had never happened. Up to that point, there had only been men, so they took a chance with me. They asked if I was in for it and, like always, everything that’s new attracts me, so I said yes”. However, it wasn’t easy at the beginning: “when I arrived in F1, I wasn’t a newbie. I had years of journalistic training and I’d worked for big channels, so I knew my function, I had the technique. But I needed to apply those techniques in a new area, so I had to study a lot and deal with my nerves. I was working with huge names in the industry such as Galvão (Bueno) and Regi (Reginaldo Leme)”.
Since then, she has worked on every F1 season and almost every race, knowing very clearly that her biggest function is “making what I’m seeing as thrilling to those at home as it is to me live and being able to translate complicated and technical things into something understandable and enjoyable; something that will make people want to know, follow and understand more”.
Race week and race day
Her work week usually begins on Tuesday, when she goes to where the GP is going to take place, but she doesn’t travel alone: “It’s me, Giangi (Gianfranco Marchese; cameraman), Julianne Cerasoli (producer) and Jayme Brito (producer). In Brazil, there’s Fred Sabino (executive editor), someone who’s controlling the switcher and the guys in the studio”. They work on the racetrack from Thursday until Sunday, covering press day, training, qualifying and the race.
Before going to the race on Sunday, she studies the important things about the GP so she arrives as prepared as possible. “I have a notebook and I take notes of everything. I write the main information about that GP, what needs to be said, resolved and what to talk about with each driver. After I’ve spoken to them (the drivers), I write it down and then, during the race, I mention it and gather that with information from Julianne and Jayme”.
On race day, things aren’t always as glamorous and easy as they may seem. Becker says that, even though there’s a media room, because she needs to stay near in case anything happens, she watches the race from the paddock, be it sun or rain. “I watch it either on the big screen near where we interview the drivers, if it’s working (which isn’t always) or from a “side eye” inside a team’s box. If there’s a crash, we go to the interviewing place and wait for the driver; during that, I don’t know what’s happening. Something else that occurs is when I go to check on a problem happening on the paddock or the boxes, I’m not watching the race, so, after that, I ask the producers what was going on. That’s why sometimes I repeat something that’s already been said, which isn’t a problem. What’s important for me is that those who are home get the information, even if repeated. The problem is if the public doesn’t get a piece of information”.
Women in F1
Sadly, female representation in Formula 1 is still very low and needs to be discussed. To her, it will take a lot of time for us to see a woman behind the steering wheel. “As drivers, women are still seen in a very derogatory way. One of the things that makes me realize that are the test drivers. There’s just one girl, at Aston Martin, but she’s not gonna go to the big events”. Nonetheless, she thinks it will happen someday. “The more people that do it, the better, because bigger are the chances of finding someone with great talent. When a girl is very talented, besides having run in a lot of championships, she must have the money to do it and an opportunity in a team, so it’s a hard combination for a woman, but I do think it’s gonna happen. There’s no way that a sport is going to stay like this for such a long time and I so much wish I could be present when that happens”.
An adventurous life beyond F1
The journalist has been a sports person and an adventure enthusiast long before F1. Amongst other things, she practiced ballet, handball, horseback riding, tennis and shorinji kempo. She has sailed to Greenland, crossed Patagonia with her dad by car in 1985 and gone diving in Hawaii, besides all the places she’s gone surfing, her biggest passion. All that sense of freedom and unpredictability also resonates in her personal life. “Because my life isn’t very stable, as I’m always traveling, I need to have a minimum level of organization, which demands a great amount of effort, because I’m not an organized person. I like the unpredictability, the things that challenge me, that give me a powerful feeling and make me feel alive”. At the same time, Becker admits she has an incongruity. “I need to have my home, with my own things. My own bed, my socks and things I brought from places I went. It’s not that I can’t go through difficult times, I can and I do while traveling, but my home, where I go back to, needs to be cozy. There’s gotta be something of an “stabled taurus person” so the rest won’t affect me so much and I’ll keep my head in place”.
“Guria boa, essa” and “Lado M”
Becker’s success went beyond only her work on TV and she now has almost 250K followers on Instagram, where she does a series called “Guria boa, essa” (“Guria” is a slang from the south of Brazil and means girl, while “boa” means cool) and another called “Lado M” (M side). The first one talks about girls and women who’ve done interesting and intriguing things. “Throughout the years, I’ve always paid attention to women doing what wasn’t expected of them. It (Guria boa) is made with all women that do things that aren’t expected of them and, in a certain way, they have to break the expectations to do what they want”. The journalist has talked to and about female pilots, doctors, scientists, engineers, athletes and many more, all definitely worth watching.
With “Lado M”, we’re able to find out more about the journalist’s life as she talks about various subjects in each one of them, having done over 70 videos. “It’s to show a side of me people aren’t used to seeing. Showing that everyone has multiple sides. It’s important not to talk only about Formula 1”. She thinks about the possible themes by herself and every Monday posts a poll on her stories for followers to choose the one for that week. Personally, I love all of them, but my favorites are “Origens” (origins), ”Viajante” (traveler), “Lado musical” (musical side), “Vaidade” (vanity) and “Meus Irmãos”(my siblings).
Talking to a young Mariana (and us)
“You need to make your profession something you really like, otherwise, it’s very difficult to make the sacrifices journalism requires. It is important to keep in mind that your function also has a value and that value needs to be respected by you and those that will hire you. Journalism will reveal itself as more than you might think and don’t be afraid, go for it, no one is better than anyone. Study a lot, but don’t be so hard on yourself.”
Mariana Becker
That is what 51-year-old Mariana Becker would say to 18-year-old Mariana and what I personally think we can all also take it as advice. Being “very proud of representing something positive and encouraging for who’s coming next”, she gives young women her final piece of guidance: “The more we help and talk to each other, the better. It’s important to know that everything’s possible and can’t be limited by your gender”. An inspiration to girls all over Brazil, Mariana Becker is definitely a “Guria Boa”, who deserves all the success and happiness that comes her way, always, but especially today. May your life be filled with many other victories, on and off the paddock. May the Champagne keep on popping and raining down on you!
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This article was edited by Giulia Howard.
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