LONDON: A new all-women racing series, backed by former Grand Prix driver David Coulthard and Red Bull’s technical head Adrian Newey, was launched here Wednesday with the stated aim to provide a route for women racers to ultimately compete in Formula One.
With a planned start in May 2019, the British Racing and Sports Car Club will organise the championship, which will offer a prize fund of $1.5 million and free entry for 18-20 competitors who will be selected purely on merit after tests and appraisals. The overall winner will collect $500,000, with prize money down to 18th place.
The championship will use single-specification Tatuus T-318 Formula Three chassis using 1.8-litre turbocharged Autotecnica Motori engines, motorport website Racefans reports.
The series’ promoters have stated that “the circuits will be some of the best and most famous in Europe, most of which have staged Formula 1 races for many decades”. If all goes according to plan, future seasons would see the series expand to America, Asia and Australia.
The promoters believe W Series will encourage more women to compete at other levels in motorsport. “At the heart of W Series’ DNA is the firm belief that women can compete equally with men in motorsport,” they said in a statement.
“However, an all-female series is essential in order to force greater female participation.”
The W Series CEO is lawyer and corporate finance banker Catherine Bond Muir. Former McLaren team manager Dave Ryan has been appointed racing director. Coulthard, winner of 13 grands prix between 1995 and 2003, is on the advisory board along with Newey and both will be involved in the driver training programme.
Muir said the series will “very significantly” increase the number of female competitors in motor racing.
“There are just too few women competing in single-seaters series at the moment,” said Muir. “W Series will increase that number very significantly in 2019, thereby powerfully unleashing the potential of many more female racing drivers.
“W Series drivers will become global superstars – inspirational role models for women everywhere – and every organisation, every company, every sponsor and indeed every single person who helps W Series’ winners and champions achieve those ground-breaking successes will be able to celebrate their part in it, publicly, to lasting worldwide acclaim.”
The idea of an all-female series is not new but has been controversial in the past, with top women racers adamant they want to compete against the men rather than be separated, Reuters reports.
However, Coulthard counters that women tended to reach a ‘glass ceiling’ at Formula Three level, often due to a lack of funding. He sees no reason why women could not ultimately compete with men on level terms.
“In order to be a successful racing driver, you have to be skilled, determined, competitive, brave and physically fit, but you don’t have to possess the kind of super-powerful strength levels that some sports require,” said Coulthard. “You also don’t have to be a man.”
Newey hoped W Series would create “a platform on which women drivers can improve by racing one another and from which they may then springboard their careers forward and … ultimately race successfully in F1.”
