With six British drivers lining up on the grid this year, W series is looking to draw in the crowds as the all-female series arrives at the home of British Motorsport.
The British Grand Prix always draws a crowd, ready to cheer on home grown hero Lewis Hamilton, but as W Series lines up to support the F1 weekend, the great British public will have six drivers to cheer on. Reigning champion and current championship front runner Jamie Chadwick will be looking to continue her domination, but she will face stiff completion from Alice Powell, Abbie Eaton, Jessica Hawkins, Sarah Moore and Abbi Pulling, who will all be hoping the crowd will give them an extra push.
In a press conference with series CEO Catherine Bond Muir and one of the series founders, David Coulthard, what advice could the two-time British Grand winner Coulthard could give this year’s W Series drivers. “It’s been 13 years since I went round in circles, I think I can offer them little advice” David exclaimed. “The key thing is that Silverstone has a unique place on the calendar, given that is such a high-speed circuit. W Series cars for the most part will be largely flat out, so it becomes an exercise in fingertipping your way around the circuit.”
Continuing further, what part does such a stellar crowd play in helping a driver perform. “Crowd support certainly makes a difference,” David began. “I remember hearing the crowd cheer over the noise of the engine. It took me by surprise, I’d neve heard the crowd over the engine before. The British drivers will feel the support. I think the British crowd have always been very fair in spreading the love!”
Moving over the Catherine, “we have six British drivers and I wonder if W Series will ever have that number of drivers from one country again, so from our point of view Silverstone will hopefully be a spectacular race for us, we want the crowd to come out and support the British drivers.”
As we approach the Silverstone weekend, which drivers are impressing David and Catherine apart from Jamie Chadwick. “Abbi Pulling has got the speed,” Catherine began. “I suspect she will give Jaime a good push. Alice [Powell] will be there, it will be an unbelievably competitive race.”
“What’s impressive with Abbi,” David added, “Is her age, to have speed is one thing, but to have maturity and watch that develop is something that is impressive. In the end, I don’t want to put a highlight on any one individual, the reality is, we create the platform, we can’t drive the car for them, it’s in their hands to show their skills and development path and entertain us along the way”
Last years Silverstone race gained W series their highest TV audience, and the series will be looking to repeat and beat that this year with this year’s race, the fourth of the 2022 W Series season broadcasting live on Sky Sports and Channel 4 on Saturday 2 July.
