Alice Powell is determined to prove Sir Stirling Moss wrong after the legendary racer said women did not have the mental skills to compete in Formula 1.

The Oxfordshire driver, who stormed to victory in the opening two rounds of the F3 Cup this month, admitted to being surprised by his comments.

Moss provoked a debate following an interview for a BBC documentary about women racing drivers.

The 83-year-old, whose sister Pat was a successful rally driver, said: “I think they have the strength, but I don’t know if they’ve got the mental aptitude to race hard, wheel-to-wheel.”

Susie Wolff, into a second year as a development driver for Grove’s Williams team, said she “cringed” when hearing the comments, and Powell agreed.

The 20-year-old, from Chipping Norton, has ambitions to rise to the top and is adamant women have what it takes to succeed.

She said: “I want to get to Formula 1 and compete at a high level regardless of what people say, but obviously comments like that make you fired up a bit more.

“We need a female there to prove it wrong, hopefully it will be me or someone like Susie Wolff.

“I’ve still got a lot of respect for Stirling Moss and his achievements – I don’t think it’s true, but everyone is entitled to their opinion.

“I think females are mentally strong enough to race in Formula 1, they just need the opportunity.

“Someone needs to give a female a chance of getting into F1 to prove that comment wrong.”

Five women have entered a Grand Prix, with only two qualifying successfully to enter a race.

But there are hopes that could change and Wolff is the second woman to try to break through with a local team in the last year.

Maria de Villota was a reserve driver for Banbury-based Marussia before her career was halted by a crash in testing which saw the Spaniard lose an eye.

In the United States, Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an IndyCar race.

Powell and Moss have met before when the 16-time Grand Prix-winner presented her with the British Women’s Racing Drivers Club GoldStars award in 2010.