Nearly 700 days after winning the final race of W Series’ inaugural season at Brands Hatch in August 2019, Alice Powell (Racing X) led all the way from pole position to the chequered flag – and recorded the fastest lap – to complete a clean sweep at the Red Bull Ring where she also topped Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions.
The Briton was followed home by compatriot Sarah Moore (Scuderia W), while Liechtenstein’s Fabienne Wohlwend (Bunker Racing) took advantage of a flurry of late incidents to complete the podium despite starting ninth.
Rookie Belen Garcia (Scuderia W) was fourth and Jess Hawkins (Racing X) fifth, while Miki Koyama (Sirin Racing) progressed from 13th on the grid to take sixth. Defending champion Jamie Chadwick (Veloce Racing) recovered from an early incident to finish seventh and Nerea Marti (Academy) made up more places than any other driver, going from 16th to eighth. Irina Sidorkova (Academy) and Gosia Rdest (PUMA) completed the top 10. Full results are posted below.
“I saw Marta’s car on the side of the track and I was dreading the safety car coming out, but I managed to keep control. I knew I had the pace, so it was just about staying consistent and bringing it home. I struggled for the first couple of laps to push but I knew the pace would be there, and I was just focused on going forward. It’s the perfect start and an amazing feeling, better than I had in 2019, so a massive thanks to W Series and F1 for such a great weekend,” said Alice Powell, 28, UK, Racing X.
W Series has announced they are finalising plans to move to a team-based championship from 2022 and beyond, fulfilling a key development strategy planned since inception. The move has been enabled by strong interest from motorsport teams, independent businesses, brands, and ultra-high net worth individuals, all keen to support the unique W Series mission and be part of the championship at an early opportunity.
To manage both the uncertainties presented by the global pandemic and the on-boarding of new commercial and team partners, W Series has assigned 2021 as a transition year as it implements the numerous changes both on and off track.
“In a short period of time we have made a mark in the sector for our disruptive and innovative approach. This new structure paves the way for significant new investment to supplement our current series sponsors, which supports our continued rapid growth and our partnership with Formula 1,” said Catherine Bond Muir, Chief Executive Officer, W Series.
The team structure for this year will start with the allocation of two drivers from the existing W Series stable to each of the new team partners. Additionally, it allows sponsorship of those teams by third parties through naming, car livery, team overalls and so on. As part of the transition, W Series will debut an unofficial team championship in 2021 using a robust points system which, if successful, will remain in place next season and beyond.
Despite the timetable challenges presented by Covid, a significant proportion of the grid for 2021 will comprise new team partners, including Bunker Racing, M. Forbes Motorsport, PUMA W Series Team, Racing X, Sirin Racing and Veloce Racing.
The Red Bull Ring will once again play host for the second of this season’s eight W Series races on Saturday 3 July in support of Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Photographs by W Series.