Five teams will compete in the F1 Academy, Formula One announced on December 16th, 2022. F1 hopes that by starting this series in 2023, it will inspire more young women to take up the sport. In addition to the W Series, Formula One claims it will be an “additional route” for young women.
What is W Series? and is it the Same as F1?
In contrast to F1, where the all-male grid is more by accident than design, the W Series is intended to be a championship exclusively for women. The W Series was created to give women equal chances and to further remove any financial barriers, which are considered to be problems in the sport because they have historically been known to impede many people from rising to the top levels of motorsport. For the top ten drivers in both series, the point system is 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1. The distinction is that in the W Series, the fastest lap does not result in a point. Despite having its 2022 season cut short due to financial issues, W Series hopes to return for a fourth season the following year. Will Jamie Chadwick be able to repeat her achievement and win the 2023 season’s championship?
What is the All-Female F1 Academy?
The F1 Academy will feature five teams run by current F2 and F3 teams with three cars each to make up a 15-car grid. Current F2 and F3 teams will make up these teams. There will be at least one F1 racing weekend and 21 events in the first season, including seven weekends with three races. ART Grand Prix, Campos Racing, Carlin, MP Motorsport, and Prema Racing are the five teams. All teams had an amazing season in which Victor Martins won the Formula 3 championship with the help of ART Grand Prix last year. In 2022, Campos Racing won the Spanish F4 title, Prema Racing won the F3 Team Championship, MP Motorsport won the Formula 2 Driver and Teams Championships, and Carlin finished second in the F2 Teams’ Championship with Logan Sargeant. An all-female F1 academy’s goal is to increase the number of young female drivers entering the sport and eventually Formula 3 while also assisting with opportunities for Formula 2 and Formula 1 in the future. The driver roster and schedule will be revealed in the months ahead. All drivers will race in the same Formula 4 configuration, similar to the W Series. Each car will get sponsorship from F1 with an amount of €150,000, which drivers must match in order to compete.
The Importance of an All-Female F1 Academy:
There are several reasons why there are no female Formula One drivers. Women’s participation in the sport was not historically promoted in any way. Due to a lack of female role models in the sport, few women have advanced to the top levels of Formula One. The last female to participate in an F1 Grand Prix was Lella Lombardi 45 years ago. We would like to see the gender stereotypes dismantled and the next female generation encouraged to seek a career in motorsport. Through W Series and the all-female F1 academy, we are able to see women breaking stereotypes and further demonstrating to younger female generations that this sport is exclusive. Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said:
“It is exciting to be able to announce the five teams that will be racing in the F1 Academy for next year and who will be providing this fantastic opportunity to the young and talented women to begin their journey into competitive motorsport. We believe it is important that everyone has the chance to follow their ambitions and get the support and guidance needed to progress and excel. The F1 Academy is an important part of our plan to increase diversity and representation in motorsport and we are looking forward to the first season in 2023 and stay tuned for more news in this area.”
Young women will be more inspired and motivated to participate in the sport when they see more women participating in W Series and F1 Female Academy.