GERMANY

Women-only motor racing series opens

May 3, 2019

The new international single-seater motor racing championship for women, the W Series, launches at Hockenheim circuit. Though launched with the aim of helping females in their push to Formula 1, some drivers find the concept belittling.

Eighteen drivers have been selected for the series from 55 applicants from around the world. They will race in identical Tatuus F3-spec cars, and the six-race series on some of Europe’s best circuits has backing from former F1 race winner David Coulthard and a prize pot totalling US $1.5 million.

"Women racing drivers tend to reach a ‘glass ceiling’ at around the GP3/Formula 3 level on their learning curve, often as a result of a lack of funding rather than a lack of talent," Coulthard explained, and the series can provide the women with the experience and skills to "compete with the best male drivers on equal terms."

TheDrive magazine reports that the announcement about the W Series was met with equal parts of delight and disgust within the motorsport community. Its opponents view the series as belittling to women.

Motorsports magazine reports that higher-profile women racers such as IndyCar driver Pippa Mann, Sauber F1 test and development driver Tatiana Calderon and European Formula 3 driver Sophia Floersch – who have arguably already surpassed the level that the W Series is aimed at – have stated their opposition to the women-only championship.

The series:
May 3-4 Hockenheim, Germany; May 17-18 Zolder, Belgium; Jun 7-8 Misano, Italy; Jul 5-6, Norisring, Germany; Jul 19-20, Assen, Netherlands; Aug 10-11, Brands Hatch, UK.

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