The all-female championship W Series has entered administration, less than a year after its third season was curtailed early due to financial difficulties.
Jamie Chadwick wants to become the first female Formula 1 driver since the 1970s and is targeting graduation to the series “by 2023 or 2024” after securing substantial backing.
W Series chief Catherine Bond Muir says Ferrari’s aim to recruit its first female driver into its junior programme isn’t “just a marketing plan” and believes the Italian team is helping the cause to bring more women into F1.
Formula 1 approached W Series expressing its desire to have the all-female championship on its support bill and start negotiations for its new two-race undercard deal in 2020.
W Series champion Jamie Chadwick has “plenty of offers on the table” for the 2020 season, but will have her future within Williams’ Formula 1 setup decided once the team has set its race line-up, according to deputy chief Claire Williams.
Former ChampCar and IndyCar driver Katherine Legge is among 14 new drivers that will take part in a three-day test in Spain next week in a bid to join the W Series grid for 2020.
Alice Powell will make her debut in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship later this month with Heinricher Racing, partnering Katherine Legge in the #57 Acura NSX GT3 Evo.
Jamie Chadwick has become the first W Series champion after taking fourth place at the Brands Hatch season finale, with major rival Beitske Visser failing to close the gap sufficiently in third place.