We didn’t think we’d ever have to write this post, but here we go. The remainder of the 2022 W Series season has been curtailed due to funding issues. We are heartbroken. For the fans, the drivers, the teams and all of those employed by the series.
W Series has given us so many opportunities since it was founded in 2018. It has allowed us as a platform to grow, meet like-minded people and express ourselves. It’s not just been about getting a woman into F1 - it goes so much deeper than that.
To say we’re devastated is an understatement. People will be quick to criticise the series or say that they weren’t quick enough to elevate their talent. We acknowledge these points but we cannot take away from the sheer number of benefits W Series has brought women in motorsport.
32 drivers have been given a fully-funded race seat, competing on a European or worldwide stage. For the past two years, this has been in support of F1 - a monumental achievement.
W Series has welcomed us with open arms. Their staff have been nothing but helpful, giving us unlimited access to drivers and team personnel from a season finale at Brands Hatch in 2019, to flying us out to Barcelona for pre-season testing.
We’ve attended two F1 events - our first as media - this year, and that’s all thanks to the opportunities the series has provided us - a volunteer-run platform that strives to promote female talent.
There’s something so special about watching a grid of women suit and boot up with admiring young girls (and boys) looking on. We’ve loved watching the drivers develop on the track and seeing them gain confidence as the series allowed them to grow without having to fight to secure sponsors.
Interviewing drivers over the past few years, it’s clear that the series has given them a unique opportunity to develop their single-seater skills, experience the pressure of a big stage and exposed them to F1 teams. With over one million people watching at Silverstone, its undeniably taken women in motorsport to a new level.
We hope that this isn’t the end of the series. We will be even more devastated if so. We won’t say goodbye, just a see you later. We hope, really really hope, that it will be back. Women in motorsport have always had to fight and this just proves it again.