W Series (championship)

W Series (championship)
W Series was an all-female single-seater racing championship. It was held over a total of three seasons in 2019, 2021 and 2022, with a planned season in 2020 cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All three editions were won by Jamie Chadwick.
History
Background and formation
The W Series was publicly launched on 10 October 2018. Rumours about the creation of a female-only racing series had begun to circulate in November 2017. It was created in response to the lack of female drivers progressing to the highest levels of motorsport, particularly Formula 1. The series has the backing of a number of prominent members of the motorsport community, including former F1 driver David Coulthard and engineer Adrian Newey as shareholders.
2019
The inaugural season in 2019 was run in support of the 2019 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, a touring car championship based in Germany, and all cars were operated by Hitech Grand Prix. It consisted of six rounds that were held at six different circuits, two in Germany and four in other European countries. Prior to the season starting, 61 drivers were longlisted to appear in an evaluation with the intention of finding the best 18 to race in the series full-time, with 54 showing up. This was then cut to a 28-driver shortlist of drivers who would get to test the competitions' Tatuus–Alfa Romeo F3 T-318 cars before the final 18 permanent drivers and two reserves were confirmed.
The 2019 season began at the Hockenheimring, with series' favourite Jamie Chadwick dominating proceedings. Marta García impressed on debut with a podium as did Miki Koyama, climbing from 17th on the grid to finish 7th. Emma Kimiläinen was injured in a clash with Megan Gilkes that required her to sit out the next two rounds, and she was replaced with both reserve drivers – Sarah Bovy and Vivien Keszthelyi. Beitske Visser beat Chadwick off the front row in the second race at Zolder and lead from start to finish, ahead of a battling Chadwick and Alice Powell. Fabienne Wohlwend claimed pole position at Misano, but made a slow start and collided with Powell at the first corner – the Liechtensteiner made the finish in 3rd behind winner Chadwick and runner-up Visser. García then claimed a lights-to-flag win in the championship's first street race in Nuremberg, with Kimiläinen finishing fifth on her return – and the Finn backed that up with a win and the series' first Grand Slam at the next round in Assen after an early-race duel with Powell. An experimental non-championship was held on the Assen weekend, with inexperienced and under-fire Gilkes – who was benched from the Nuremberg round for a lack of pace – beating Powell by 0.003 seconds in an incident-packed heat. Chadwick and Visser were the only drivers in contention for the title in the season finale at Brands Hatch, with Chadwick taking the inaugural championship despite finishing the race behind Visser – with Powell claiming her maiden win on home soil.
2020
The calendar for the 2020 W Series was announced in early 2020, with six European rounds in support of the DTM and two events in North America supporting Formula One. The initial drivers' list confirmed that the top twelve finishers from the 2019 championship were automatically qualified for the 2020 series, joined by six new recruits from a scaled down evaluation held in September 2019. Series-wide sponsorship was confirmed from mobile phone manufacturer ROKiT. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a 10-event eSports series was held on the iRacing platform in its place. Beitske Visser won the eSports league with a round to spare having won 11 of the 30 races.
2021
The 2021 W Series featured eight races, and was run in support of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Initially planned to be held at eight separate venues, the proposed finale in Mexico was cancelled after Formula One postponed the parent Grand Prix and it was replaced with a second race at an event in Austin. The series switched their technical support from Hitech to Double R Racing, operating as "Fine Moments", and launched a 'team' system based around commercial entrants for financial and identification purposes. Powell took a wire-to-wire win in a chaotic first race in Spielberg that saw reigning champion Chadwick torpedoed by Jessica Hawkins, however Chadwick struck back to win the second round at the Red Bull Ring a week later with 17-year-old rookie Irina Sidorkova finishing second. Powell then claimed her second win of the season at Silverstone having trailed Wohlwend for most of the race, before Chadwick took a crushing victory by over 10 seconds in Budapest.
The following round at Spa-Francorchamps was overshadowed by a six-car pile-up in qualifying, resulting in Visser and Ayla Ågren withdrawn from the race – Kimiläinen claimed her first win of the season in torrential rain ahead of Chadwick and Marta García. Powell won her third race of the season in a processional affair at Zandvoort that saw her draw level on points with Chadwick at the top of the table heading into the final round. Reserve driver Abbi Pulling claimed a shock pole position at the final round in Austin before Chadwick won both races to successfully defend her title. The season ended in minor controversy after Abbie Eaton fractured her T4 vertebra following a collision with a sausage kerb in the first race of the weekend.
2022
The 2022 W Series continued to be run in support of Formula One, and was initially scheduled to feature eight races as well. The calendar was later expanded to feature ten races, including double-headers to start and finish the season. The top eight drivers from the 2021 season automatically qualified for the 2022 season, including the surprise return of dual-champion Chadwick with support from Caitlyn Jenner. A further five drivers were retained from the previous season, joined by five rookies – Sidorkova was scheduled to return for a sophomore season, however was dropped following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Nerea Martí scored an upset pole position for the first race in Miami. Kimiläinen led most of a race that had been interrupted by a red flag and multiple Safety Cars before a gearbox problem on the final lap handed victory to Chadwick. Chadwick then backed it up with victory in the second race, as Martí was controversially demoted to third behind Powell for an unseen incident. Chadwick then scored her third win of the season in Barcelona despite coming under late pressure from Pulling, before cantering to a sixth-straight win overall at Silverstone following a stop-go penalty for Powell and a late clash for fellow podium finishers Pulling and Kimiläinen. Chadwick's run then looked threatened by a grid penalty at Circuit Paul Ricard following a qualifying infringement, but she recovered to take the lead in the opening 3 corners and yet another win as Eaton crashed heavily at the start and team-mates Marta García and Wohlwend engaged in a fierce battle for sixth. Chadwick's reign was finally toppled in a damp race at the Hungaroring, qualifying fifth and finishing second behind Powell in an incident-packed race.
After Budapest it was reported that the series was facing significant financial difficulties, as reported in company accounts filed with the UK Companies House on 5 September 2022, which showed that it had net liabilities of over £7.5 million to 31 December 2021, with debts to a number of creditors; including Whisper, the media production company owned by Jake Humphrey and David Coulthard, and Velocity Experience, the company that provides hospitality services to the series. Doubts were expressed whether it would be able to complete the 2022 season. The sixth round of the season was moved from Suzuka to Singapore due to "operational challenges". A tropical storm affected qualifying and resulted in a jumbled grid, leaving Chadwick only eighth – the Briton subsequently crashing out of the race whilst trying to make up the lost ground, with Visser claiming just her second W Series race win.
On 10 October 2022, a week after the Singapore round, the remaining three races – which included a single race at Circuit of the Americas and a double-header at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez – were cancelled due to financial issues. Simultaneously, series CEO Catherine Bond Muir expressed confidence that the championship would return in 2023. Jamie Chadwick was declared series champion, her third title in as many seasons.
Demise
In November 2022, Formula One announced the creation of Formula 4-level F1 Academy – another racing series for young women a step below W Series, with the participation of five teams with experience in Formula 2 and Formula 3, debuting in 2023. Ahead of the first F1 Academy race in late April 2023, the W Series was yet to make an official statement regarding its fate and its return during the year was deemed unlikely. On 15 June 2023, it was reported that the W Series had gone into administration. Two months later, administrators Evelyn Partners confirmed that the last series employee had been made redundant and assets including 19 Tatuus–Alfa Romeo F3 T-318s would be sold in late-September 2023. As of closing, the company had profits totalling GB£515 and debts totalling GB£23million owed to 151 creditors. Whilst not on the list of owed creditors, multiple drivers – including Alice Powell, Abbi Pulling and Beitske Visser – also claimed that the series had not paid out prize money for the 2022 season.
Championship and event format
Every season of the series featured eighteen permanent drivers, with between one and five reserve drivers employed as well. The 2019 drivers were selected through a selection process based around driving, fitness and media skills that began with fifty-four participants before being whittled down to 28 to test the series car before the final 20 drivers (18 permanent + 2 reserve) were selected. At the conclusion of a season, a certain number of drivers would automatically qualify for the next season (ranging between the top 8 and top 12 drivers) and a smaller evaluation event was held to fill the remainder of the grid.
In 2019, each event featured two 30-minute practice sessions on Friday followed by a 30-minute qualifying session and a 30-minute plus 1 lap race on Saturday. The exception to this was the Assen round, where a half-hour non-championship exhibition race was held in addition to the existing format on Sunday morning. From 2021, the series scrapped one of the practice sessions and moved qualifying to Friday. At two events (Austin 2021 and Miami 2022) the championship hosted two 30min + 1 lap races, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, with the grid for the second race set by a drivers' second-fastest lap time in qualifying.
The W Series championship title was awarded to the competitor with the highest number of points from all events run, excluding any penalty points incurred. If two or more drivers finish the season with the same number of points, the higher place in the series shall be awarded to the driver with the highest number of race wins. If the number of race wins is the same, the championship title shall be awarded according to the number of second-place finishes, third-place finishes and so on.
From 2020, W Series became eligible for FIA Super Licence points – with 15 awarded to the champion. If the champion elected to remain in the series however, the points would be rescinded.
Points system
Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers as follows:
Cars
The W Series featured mechanically identical cars. In 2018, it was announced that the inaugural 2019 season would use the Tatuus-Alfa Romeo F3 T-318, originally homologated by the FIA for use in Formula 3 before becoming Formula Regional, powered by Autotecnica Motori-tuned Alfa Romeo 1.8-litre turbocharged engines, and equipped with a halo cockpit safety device. Hankook would go on to supply tyres for all three seasons.
For 2022, to keep the carbon footprint as low as possible by using sea freight, the Toyota Racing Series shipped 18 Tatuus–Toyota F3 FT-60 cars to the Barcelona round in May and the Singapore round in October.
Chassis construction: Carbon-fibre monocoque
Engine displacement: DOHC inline-4
Aspiration: Single-turbocharged
Fuel delivery: Direct fuel injection
Fuel capacity:
Fuel: Aral Ultimate 102 RON unleaded
Tires: Hankook Ventus F200 + Ventus Z217 (Wets)
Weight:
Power output:
Width:
Wheelbase:
Gearbox: Sadev 6-speed paddle-shift gearbox + 1 reverse
Steering: Power-assisted rack-and-pinion
Champions
Circuits
Bold denotes a current Formula One Circuit.
Italic denotes a former Formula One Circuit.
Funding structure
The championship was free to enter; competitors were not required to bring any sponsorship.
The championship offered a total prize fund of US$1.5 million, with the series champion receiving a top prize of $500,000, and the remaining $1 million being divided among the rest of the drivers.
Media coverage
W Series race coverage was initially available on Channel 4 in the UK. The show was presented by long-time F1 journalist and sports presenter Lee McKenzie who shared the duties with fellow presenter Anna Woolhouse and joined by 2019 W Series driver Naomi Schiff as studio analyst. Channel 4's Formula One commentator Alex Jacques replaced Claire Cottingham as the series' lead race commentator, with former Formula One driver David Coulthard and double-amputee driver Billy Monger in co-commentary roles and both Ted Kravitz and Amy Reynolds acting as pit-lane reporters. Both Jacques and Monger were forced to miss the opening two rounds of 2021 after Billy Monger tested positive for COVID-19, therefore Ben Edwards had substituted as lead commentator for Alex.
W Series races were live-streamed on Facebook, YouTube and/or Twitter in countries without television broadcasts.
In May 2022, Sky Sports UK announced it had obtained exclusive live broadcast rights for three years. A broadcast partnership was also made with Sky Italia. In the UK, Channel 4 now show only race highlights, with the exception of the Silverstone race which will show live coverage alongside Sky.
List of broadcasters
Criticism
The W Series faced criticism since it was publicly announced, with opponents of the series claiming the category segregated female racers rather than promoting their inclusion in established series.
British IndyCar Series driver Pippa Mann responded to the series’ announcement on Twitter, saying "What a sad day for motorsport. Those with funding to help female racers are choosing to segregate them as opposed to supporting them. I am deeply disappointed to see such an historic step backwards take place in my life time."
Mann's views on segregation were echoed by Charlie Martin, who stated "This series is founded on segregation, and while it may create opportunities for some female drivers, it sends a clear message that segregation is acceptable. We don’t discriminate in sport based on race, so it is particularly jarring that we feel it is acceptable to do so based on gender in 2018. As racers, we want to compete against the best drivers – regardless of age, race, sexual orientation or gender – and prove we are the best at what we do."
Former Formula E and ex-Sauber F1 Test Driver Simona de Silvestro has suggested that the $1.5 million prize fund would be better invested in a scholarship system to support the development of talent across a wider range of motorsport disciplines. "If there’s really that much money going into the series, there are a few girls that have been pretty competitive in junior series. It seems like everyone is just struggling to get the shot. If you look at a Red Bull affiliation or a Mercedes affiliation, somehow these kids always get into the best teams and then they’re winning. I think, personally, it would have been better to do something like the Red Bull programme and make sure some girls get an opportunity on a really good team."
Claire Williams, at that time deputy team principal of the Williams Formula One team, was initially highly critical of the series, and felt it was analogous to segregation; however she later retracted this statement, and praised the series for promoting women in motorsports.
Legacy
A number of drivers were signed to Formula One programs. Jamie Chadwick was invited into the Williams Driver Academy, Jessica Hawkins was hired as an Aston Martin ambassador and Abbi Pulling became an affiliate driver of the Alpine Academy. Chadwick also went on to compete in Indy NXT and Hawkins in the British Touring Car Championship. Pulling, Bianca Bustamante, Emely de Heus, Marta García, Megan Gilkes and Nerea Martí all fell back to the Formula 4-level F1 Academy series, with García winning the inaugural championship. Chloe Chambers and Miki Koyama found success in other Formula Regional categories, with Chambers winning a race in the 2023 Formula Regional Oceania Championship and Koyama winning the 2022 Formula Regional Japanese Championship. Juju Noda also remained in open-wheelers, moving to Euroformula Open.
Alice Powell, who had not raced for five years before applying to W Series, entered the 2019 GT Challenge at VIR round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship alongside Katherine Legge, and later became a mentor for the Alpine Academy. Beitske Visser went on to race LMP2 in the European Le Mans Series and FIA World Endurance Championship for Signatech in an all-female team alongside Tatiana Calderón and Sophia Flörsch, including two starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 2019 reserve driver Sarah Bovy also moved into WEC, competing as the nominated amateur driver in Iron Lynx Motorsport Lab's Iron Dames project, and Belén García stepped up to WEC's Le Mans Cup feeder series in the LMP3 class.
Bruna Tomaselli and Irina Sidorkova returned to race in their home countries through the Stock Series and the RSKG Endurance Championship respectively. Sabré Cook became a Porsche North America development driver, competing in the 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup North America. Esmee Hawkey contested one-and-a-bit seasons of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for Lamborghini, finishing 20th overall in the 2021 season. Fabienne Wohlwend switched to ADAC GT4 Germany, and Caitlin Wood moved across to the Nürburgring Endurance Series.
See also
List of W Series drivers
Formula Woman, an all-female sports car UK championship
F1 Academy, a female-only Formula 4 championship
References
External links
W Series championship website
2019 establishments in Europe
2019 establishments in North America
Formula racing series
Formula Three series
Open wheel racing
One-make series
Women's sports competitions
Women's sports organizations