Beginning next season, Formula One is set to launch an all-female separate category to help prepare young talented female drivers to progress to the higher levels of competition such as W series, F3, F2 all the way to F1.
The aim for this series is to maximise opportunities for young female drivers to reach the highest level of motorsport and provide karting with paths to other categories with access to building experience that would be vital for drivers aiming to climb the mountain to the top.
The series is set to consist of 15 cars run by 5 teams that have experience on the respective F2 and F3 grids. Each car has been allocated approximately €150,000 from Formula One for the season with the drivers cover same amount of costs and the teams covering the rest which is deemed reasonable considering another series in comparison.
The machinery that the drivers are likely to be getting in comes in the form of a Autotecnica turbocharged engine delivering 165 horsepower that will be housed in a Tatuus T421 chassis while Pirelli, F1’s global partner, supply the tyres.
Early next year the 15 drivers will be each given 15 days of testing to get to grips with their machinery. The calendar is expected to be made up of 21 races, 3 at each of the 7 venues. It is yet to be confirmed where the events will be taking place, one of them is likely to be sharing the schedule with an official f1 race weekend. It is still up in the air what circuits from the f1 calendar will be sharing their schedules throughout the various junior series, with a potential return of W-series also to be confirmed that might also require its own time slots on the same weekends.
While funding is one of the biggest barriers to entry for a lot of young talent that aims to climb the pyramid, being a female driver was also extremely difficult as there weren’t many opportunities for women to show their strengths and be given the chance to race with the best of the male talent that were more likely to make it to the top. While the W Series aims to continue to provide a great platform for young female drivers to gain as good as experience as any young man would. Despite the W Series championship ending their season early before the United States Grand Prix due to financial difficulty, the series aims to return in 2023 with much stronger funding behind it. The F1 academy will not only open more doors to women that may have missed out on a W series seat but provide more certainty that being funded by the F1 group itself could be a much safer bet to stay in business.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to follow their dreams and achieve their potential and Formula 1wants to ensure we are doing everything we can to create greater diversity and routes into this incrediblesport. That is why I am delighted to announce the F1 Academy that will give young female drivers the best chance to fulfil their ambitions through a comprehensive programme that supports their racing careers and gives them everything they need to move into F3 and hopefully to F2 and then the pinnacle of Formula 1. The more opportunity there is the better and this is designed to provide another route for the drivers to succeed.” – Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1.
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