F1 Academy: Formula 1 launches all-female championship

2 years ago 44

Formula 1 has launched an all-female bid aimed astatine helping women drivers advancement done the motorsport ranks.

Named the F1 Academy, it volition dwell of 5 teams of 3 cars contesting 7 events featuring 3 races.

F1 president Stefano Domenicali said the bid gives pistillate drivers "the champion accidental to fulfil their ambitions".

F1 volition subsidise each car with a fund of €150,000 (£131,000). Drivers volition request to adhd the aforesaid magnitude again to compete.

The calendar has not been announced but 1 of the races is apt to instrumentality spot astatine a expansive prix, F1 said successful a statement.

The bid volition usage the aforesaid cars arsenic presently vie successful Formula 4, an entry-level bid for drivers taking their archetypal steps successful car racing.

Domenicali added: "Everyone should person the accidental to travel their dreams and execute their imaginable and Formula 1 wants to guarantee we are doing everything we tin to make greater diverseness and routes into this unthinkable sport."

He said the title represented "a broad programme that supports their racing careers and gives them everything they request to determination into F3 and hopefully to F2 and past the pinnacle of Formula 1.

"The much accidental determination is the amended and this is designed to supply different way for the drivers to succeed."

The F1 connection said that the bid was planned arsenic "an other way for the adjacent procreation of young pistillate drivers".

The connection added: "During assessments of the barriers young pistillate drivers look with entering the F1 pyramid, it became wide that they bash not person the aforesaid magnitude of acquisition arsenic their antheral counterparts astatine the aforesaid age.

"The extremity is to capable this spread and connection them entree to much way time, racing and testing.

"They volition besides turn by moving with nonrecreational teams, who are renowned successful motorsport for nurturing young drivers, and who volition assistance them make the important technical, carnal and intelligence preparations."

Abbi Pulling is regarded arsenic 1 of the UK's champion hopes to find a pistillate F1 driver

When quality of the title archetypal emerged implicit the play of the US Grand Prix, F1 briefed that it was planned to complement the W Series, a female-only title that launched successful 2019 but ended this play 2 races aboriginal due to the fact that of fiscal problems.

W Series is seeking the concern to proceed into 2023, and 1 of its competitors, Jessica Hawkins, operator ambassador for the Aston Martin F1 team, said she believed the 2 could co-exist.

Hawkins said she saw the caller bid arsenic "a positive", adding: "The much females we get wrong motorsport cures the issues of lacking of females, truthful immoderate title that helps females retired should beryllium welcomed.

"I would besides similar to deliberation it would enactment alongside W Series. I would hatred to deliberation they would ever beryllium competing against each other, due to the fact that that's not what we're warring for.

"It's not who's got the champion championship, it's however bash we enactment unneurotic due to the fact that we're each trying to execute the aforesaid thing."

She said that determination did request to beryllium "more [opportunities] astatine grass-roots level".

But she added that it was important not to disregard immoderate of the women drivers who had already made it connected to the motorsport ladder - and drew a parallel with Aston Martin's 2023 signing, the two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso.

"At Aston Martin, we person conscionable signed a 41-year-old, who's inactive astatine his highest performance," Hawkins said. "Why are we looking for idiosyncratic truthful young? Why don't we usage what we've got already, to assistance thrust that forward?

"And the purpose astatine the infinitesimal for maine is to get arsenic galore radical arsenic we tin pistillate racing and past we tin code the contented of an F1 pistillate driver, due to the fact that that volition conscionable travel people then.

"There is much successful the cookware to take from, determination volition beryllium little falling retired of the pot, and they volition proceed connected forward.

"I don't deliberation F1 oregon an F4 title is going to lick each the issues. It is surely going to beryllium a monolithic help, and I invited that help, but let's not disregard the ones that person already done well. It is not excessively precocious for the possibly somewhat older ones."

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