The third season of the all-female racing series, W Series, kicks off this weekend at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.
It’s been 195 days since Alice Powell and Jamie Chadwick battled it out in a thrilling finale, the 2022 campaign begins this weekend with a double-header in support of Formula 1’s inaugural Miami Grand Prix.
Starting in the USA where it left off in 2021, Chadwick will begin her title defence 1,326 miles away from Texas and the Circuit of the Americas, in Florida at the brand-new Miami International Autodrome.
Last year’s finale was the first event in the USA for W Series and CEO Catherine Bond Muir said, “We will carry all that momentum into the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. W Series Miami presented by Hard Rock will be the biggest event we’ve ever staged, the interest from commercial and media partners to be part of it has been incredible and I can’t wait for the racing to start.”
The 2022 season will see 10 support races including Spain, the UK, France, Hungary, Japan, USA (COTA), and Mexico where the season will end as it begins, with a double-header. 2022 sees the series first trip to Asia when it supports the Japanese Grand Prix in October.
After two successful pre-season tests at the Inde Motorsports Ranch in Arizona, USA and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, five drivers – Tereza Babickova, Bianca Bustamante, Chloe Chambers, Emely De Heus, and Juju Noda – will make their W Series debuts in sunshine state. They will line-up alongside W Series stalwarts, such as Chadwick, Powell and Emma Kimiläinen. Russian teenager and W Series Academy driver Iria Sidorkova won’t be taking part this year due to the fallout of the Russian conflict in Ukraine. Despite a gulf in experience, all 18 drivers on the grid will start the weekend on an equal pegging, with all of them using identical Tatuus F3 T-318 race cars, and none of them having driven the circuit before.
With two titles, six race victories and six podium finishes all eyes will be on Chadwick who starts the season as the clear favorite. She will compete for the newly-formed Jenner Racing Team, headed up by media personality Caitlyn Jenner, and is paired with series newcomer Chloe Chambers.
It’s not just Jenner Racing that’s new to the series; 2022 see four new teams on the grid. Quantfury Racing W Series Team, CortDAO Racing W Series Team, and Click2Drive Bristol Street Motors Racing W Series Team will be joined by Puma, Racing X, Scuderia W, Sirin, and W Series Academy teams, who all competed in the 2021 championship.
W Series’ schedule for this weekend starts on Friday 6 May with a 30-minute practice session at 16.00, local time. Saturday 7 May will begin with qualifying from 09.10 to 09.40. As always, the drivers’ best time will determine the starting grid for race one which is at 14.30 on the same day and their second-best time will determine the starting grid for race two, which begins at 10.35 on Sunday 8 May. Both races will be 30 minutes plus one lap.
This year sees UK coverage move from free-to-air Channel 4 to the paid services of Sky Sports F1. This change in broadcasters has been met with a degree of criticism. Moving to Sky is certainly a sign of progress from a commercial point of view for the series and brings it in line with their male counterparts. However, it does mean that a large majority of the already established fanbase will have to settle for highlights unless they are privy to Sky… and for a series that prides itself on being inclusive of all and going against the grain, having broadcast rights move to pay-per-view sounds awfully familiar.
The action can also be seen across all the usual digital and social channels, as well as being broadcast in more than 175 territories across the world.
