The German told Reuters there had been positive steps since he started a ‘Race 4 Women’ grassroots event in Jeddah in 2021 when the country made its debut on the F1 calendar.

The kingdom ended its ban on women driving in 2018 and the grand prix programme now includes the all-female F1 Academy as a support series.

Reema Juffali competed last year as a wild card and 22-year-old Farah AlYousef, the 2022 Saudi women’s karting champion, will do the same this year.

“The karting scene and the sports scene in Saudi is developing, and especially for women,” said Vettel, who retired from F1 in 2022.

“Girls are more courageous to speak up and say I want to go karting, I want to go racing, which is great.”

Vettel said many of those participating in the event he pays for were from ‘normal’ backgrounds rather than wealth, and added that it was wrong to assume funding was less of an obstacle than elsewhere.

“Every person in Saudi Arabia isn’t born on an oil field or just waiting or just thinking about where to spend their money,” he said.

“So if Saudi is very serious, which I think they are in terms of the money they’re spending for Formula One to come and for other racing series then I think they have to get serious also in investing into the infrastructure, especially for the youth and grassroots when it comes to motorsport.

“And then the more kids will join, women and men or girls and boys, the more talent you will source and eventually one or two or five will come through.”

Saudi Arabia hosts the Dakar Rally, won this year for the first time by local hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi, and the Automobile and Motorcycle Federation has a “Next Gen” programme with some female drivers and a major focus on rallying.

Saudi also hosts a round of the all-electric Formula E championship.

The country has invested heavily in sport but critics of its human rights record accuse it of “sportswashing”. Saudi Arabia denies human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.

--Reuters--