There won't be any so-called "grid girls" at the Australian Grand Prix this year.

Key points: F1 says the practice is no longer appropriate or relevant today

F1 says the practice is no longer appropriate or relevant today Some have applauded the decision as a step in the right direction

Some have applauded the decision as a step in the right direction Others who have worked as grid girls say they've been put out of a job by feminists

The F1 has decided the long-standing practice is no longer appropriate, and they won't be used at any more Formula One events.

Grid girls normally walk onto the track before the start of a race to stand in front of each driver and hold up their number.

They are usually dressed in tight uniforms.

"Over the last year, we have looked at a number of areas which we felt needed updating so as to be more in tune with our vision for this great sport," F1's managing director of commercial operations, Sean Bratches, said in a statement.

"While the practice of employing grid girls has been a staple of Formula 1 grands prix for decades, we feel this custom does not resonate with our brand values and clearly is at odds with modern day societal norms.

"We don't believe the practice is appropriate or relevant to Formula 1 and its fans, old and new, across the world."

You won't be seeing any of this at Formula One races anymore. ( Reuters: Ralph Orlowski )

The ban will commence at the beginning of the F1 season, which starts on March 25 in Melbourne, and will also extend to other motorsport series that take place during grands prix weekends.

Have feminists put grid girls out of work?

The decision has been applauded by the Women's Sport Trust, which aims to raise the visibility and impact of women's sport.

"Thank you F1 for deciding to stop using grid girls. Another sport making a clear choice about what they want to stand for," the charity wrote on Twitter.

But some women who work as grid girls say they've been put out of a job by feminists.

Lauren Jade Pope, who describes herself as a grid girl and promo girl from Nottingham, said she loved her job.

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"Because of these feminists, they've have cost us our jobs! I have been a grid girl for eight years and I have never felt uncomfortable!" she tweeted.

"I love my job. If I didn't I wouldn't do it! No-one forces us to do this! This is our choice!"

In 2015, the Monaco Grand Prix trialled replacing grid girls with "grid boys", or male models dressed in white shirts and jeans.

But it didn't go down well with driver Sebastian Vettel, who reportedly joked at the time: "Why didn't we have any grid girls today? What was that? F**k! You get there and park behind George or Dave. What's the point?"

Vettel questioned the point of grid boys at the Monaco F1 Grand Prix three years ago. ( Reuters: Stefano Rellandini )

Here's more of the reaction on Twitter:

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