According to W Series driver Jessica Hawkins, a potential new all-female racing series supported by Formula 1 can only be good for women in motorsport.
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It was revealed last month at the United States Grand Prix weekend that Formula 1 was preparing to start its own all-female racing series as early as next year. This series could potentially serve as a feeder series into Formula 3 and Formula 2. It happened only a few weeks after the W Series had to cancel the final three rounds of its 2022 season owing to financial difficulties and instead focus on securing funding for the 2023 championship. Given that it will utilise Formula 4 equipment and be aimed at a younger generation of drivers, the F1-backed female series wouldn’t be intended to take the place of W Series. Formula 3 vehicles have been used by the W Series from its first season in 2019.
Hawkins has competed in the W Series for the past three seasons in addition to acting as an ambassador for the Aston Martin Formula 1 squad. Despite the fact that F1 has yet to formally confirm any information about the series, Hawkins said she “can only see it as a positive” because it will provide more opportunity for women to compete in racing as they work their way up the ladder. Any championship that benefits women, in my opinion, should be welcomed, and we should take all appropriate measures to do so, added Hawkins. “I’d like to think that it would complement W Series as well. Since that is not what we are fighting for here, I detest the idea that they would ever be in a rivalry.
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Hawkins believed it was critical to place more emphasis on grassroots efforts to expand the number of female racers, which would assist widen the driver pool and have a similar influence to the England women’s football team, which won the Euro 2022 tournament. The possibility of a female making it to Formula 1 will be lower the less of us there are, according to Hawkins. “So let’s solve the issue, engage as many people as possible, appeal to the younger generation, engage as many people as possible at the grassroots level, and in a few years we’ll see the payoff, like the Lionesses.
“Yes, the results of the incredible job the present Lionesses are doing are beginning to show. But the work that was done five, ten, or fifteen years ago is truly helping us now. 20 years ago, the Lionesses might have won the Euros, but I bet nobody would have known about it. But because of the work done by them 20 years ago, we are now able to appreciate it and hear so much about it. “W Series has contributed to that, but we’re a little behind schedule. The benefits of that will become apparent in a few years.
