Formula One announces women’s racing series

Formula One has announced that a racing series for women is to be held next year, which is likely to play a role of a support series for a weekend during the regular F1 season. The series, named the F1 Academy, will have a funding of 150,000 euros per car, which is to be matched equally by the driver, and intends to increase racing opportunities for women which has been dwindling with the recent cancellation of the W-Series mid-season.

The funding received from the F1 will seek to significantly subsidize the series, such that drivers can pay only a “fraction” of the cost that they would need to in a similar event.While the F1 Academy will require drivers to procure their own funding through sponsors, the W-Series was anall-women, fully funded event, with free entry for participants. This is potentially why the tournament reached financial difficulties mid-season and had to cut it short off two months ago.

The F1 Academy series is expected to include 15 cars in the grid, with a total of 21 races. These will be held over seven rounds, with the objective of honing young talent from junior categories like go-karting, so that they may qualify for Formula Three, and eventually Formula One. Meanwhile, the W-Series has cancelled its last three races in Mexico and the United States, due to financial issues, and is now looking to gather funding for the 2023 season. They are yet to publish a race schedule.