W Series racer Alice Powell appointed as mentor by Alpine Academy 

This year, Alice Powell will serve as a consultant to Alpine Academy Associate Abbi Pulling. Pulling made history in March when she drove a Formula 1 vehicle in Saudi Arabia, and she will begin her maiden W Series campaign in Miami. Powell, a W Series racer, has been named Talent Identification and Development Mentor for the Alpine Academy and Affiliate Programme. Powell, who placed second to Jamie Chadwick in the W Series in 2021, will train other female drivers registered to the Alpine Academy, advising them on fitness, career routes, and possibilities.

‘Mindset of young women drivers should change’ 

“I’m delighted to join the team. More and more opportunities for women within motorsport are emerging now, but budding drivers often lack guidance and experience in the early days of their career. The Alpine Academy is an extremely useful stepping stone for all drivers. It provides a sense of credibility and has a defined place on the motorsport ladder. Mentoring is very important. We need to change the mindset of young women that these opportunities do exist, but to also give them the resilience to reach out and grab these opportunities with both hands.” said Powell.

Abbi Pulling delighted to work with Alice

Abbi Pulling is really happy to be working closely with Alice. She found the Affiliate programme already to be very beneficial. Also recently she had her first drive in a Formula 1 car and enjoyed some other track time ahead of my W Series campaign thanks to the Affiliate programme. “It’s a really supportive environment which is also really useful for me to hopefully show other young women that the opportunities in motorsport are there, you just need the drive and motivation to seize them.” expressed Pulling. 

Read more: Alpine news: Esteban Ocon ‘privileged’ to battle teammate Fernando Alonso in Jeddah

Effort to ensure equal opportunity for women drivers

The Alpine Academy Director Julian Rouse is committed to developing their pool of talent and bringing even more drivers to F1. “Through this programme we want to ensure women have an equal opportunity to do so. Alice will be a great asset to the team as we move forward with our Academy and Affiliate programme. Her role of identifying young racers, particularly female, and then guiding them through her extensive experience is incredibly useful and reassuring for the emerging potential talents we are seeing now.” said Rouse. 

The 2022 W Series made its premiere in support of the Formula One Miami Grand Prix, with Chadwick vying for a third championship.