W Series is the perfect series for the modern world. With UN’s gender equality act deadline coming in 2030, it is a prime time to promote and achieve equality and diversity within motorsport. Established in 2018, W Series is a ‘junior’ series on the ladder to F1, that consists of all female drivers racing in FIA F3 regulated cars.
The Series
The series promotes itself as a series that selects on talent and ability rather than wealth. W Series is free to enter and the drivers are selected on merit throughout a series of pre-season tests.
This season, the series is the support race at 8 F1 events, the first being the Styrian Grand Prix.
The Cars
Just like most ‘junior’ series, W Series is a spec series meaning all the drivers drive the exact same cars, allowing the true talent of the drivers shows through. In this series they race in Tatuus F3 T-318, in line with the latest FIA F3 regulations. They have a 4-cylinder turbocharged 270hp engine.
The Race Weekend
The weekend will include one 30-minute free practice session followed by a 30 minute qualifying session on the Friday, establishing grid for the race on the Saturday. The race itself is a 30 minute +1lap race with the same procedures and rules as all other categories.
Points are awarded the same as F1 with 25 for the win, 18 for second, 15 for 3rd etc.. However there is no Constructors Championship as there are no teams involved. Everyone has their own car and races purely for themselves.
The top 10 drivers all receive superlicense points which go towards being eligible to race in F1. The championship winner will receive 15 points.
Drivers
In 2021 there are a total of 18 drivers competing from 12 different countries, including the inaugural champion, Jamie Chadwick. Jamie not only is competing in W series this year but also in Extreme E with the Veloce team. Jamie says, “W Series has been the biggest steppingstone in my career developing me as a racer and a person.”. Jamie is also part of the Williams F1 team driver academy and is their development driver for the F1 cars and clearly has a bright future ahead of her.
Next time you sit down to watch the F1, think about tuning in to the W Series as well. For UK viewers its available on Channel 4, but if not just go to the W Series website and watch the stream from there. As females who love motorsport lets show this series all our love, you won’t regret it.
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