Formula One is considering scrapping the use of grid girls at all 21 races next season amid increasing concerns that their presence is “outdated” and “tarty nonsense.”

It is one of the sport’s anachronisms that the girls assume a purely decorative role at races, standing beside their allotted drivers on the grid, and owners Liberty Media have begun to look at ditching the tradition altogether.

“It’s a delicate topic, under strong review,” Ross Brawn, F1’s director of motorsport, told BBC Radio Five Live. “There are people who respect it, and people who feel it has become a bit dated.”

Withering criticism has come from Silverstone, whose managing director, Stuart Pringle, said: “Lycra can stay in the 1970s and ’80s for me — I don’t want any of that tarty nonsense. Our fans think it is all down to us, when remarkably little is, on occasion. Actually, we think it’s an egalitarian world, and I don’t want my daughter growing up thinking that Lycra is what she ought to aspire to.”

Grid girls pose for a photo before the Formula One Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 12, 2017 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Mark Thompson/Getty Images Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Formula One is markedly behind the times in this area, with the World Endurance Championship, the pinnacle of sports car racing, having dropped grid girls in 2015.

The sport tried a different approach at the Monaco Grand Prix two years ago, using male models instead, but the idea was derided by Sebastian Vettel. “What was that? You get there and park behind George or Dave — what’s the point?” the German said.