Tatuus F3 T-318 is fully homologated to the latest FIA F3 2018 specification.
W Series, the all-female championship set to go racing in 2019, has announced a list of 55 drivers who will compete for a place on a grid of 18 when the season kicks off in May next year.
The qualifying drivers have been selected from a pool of more than 100 applicants from 30 countries around the world, including the USA, China and India as well as the UK, Italy, Germany and Scandinavia. (AutoInformed: World’s First Female Formula 1 World Champion?)
“We are thrilled, but perhaps not surprised by the response,” said Catherine Bond Muir, CEO of W Series. “Even today there is a massive gender imbalance in motorsport and W Series is making the first step to correct that. Drivers from all over the world have stepped forward, so it’s clear that with the right framework we can make the changes this sport desperately needs.”
The W Series is a free-to-enter competition has a total prize fund of $1,500,000, with the overall series winner taking $500,000. W Series will also fund travel and subsistence costs, which in theory opens the competition to drivers from all economic backgrounds across the world.
The expectant drivers will now have just two months to prepare for the next step in the selection process – a three-day on-and-off-track trial including fitness tests and psychometric profiling, as well as multiple driving skill tests. Former F1 stars David Coulthard and Alex Wurz will be among the judges, alongside Dave Ryan, W Series Racing Director.
The last woman to start a Formula 1 Grand Prix was Lella Lombardi more than 40 years ago in the 1974 British Grand Prix. The Italian female racing driver followed Maria Teresa de Filippis in 1958. There has never been a female Formula 1 Grand Prix race winner, but Lombardi scored points. She drove both Brabham and March versions of Ford Cosworth powered cars.
Gimmicky or not – and this could work at least as a business – racing remains one of the last sports dominated by men, not only behind the wheel but everywhere you look: in the pit-lane, garage, workshop, laboratory, and on mike. The combination of competitive cross-discipline drivers, fast, identical cars and Grand Prix circuits – to be announced – might provide interesting racing for fans everywhere. A TV contract – vital – so far is lacking.
W Series aims not only to promote female drivers but also to encourage “girls and women” into engineering and science careers and to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects in schools, colleges and universities.
Full qualifier list
- Ayla Agren, 25, Norway
- Amna Al Qubaisi,18, UAE
- Chelsea Angelo, 22, Australia
- Carmen Boix, 23, Spain
- Sarah Bovy, 29, Belgium
- Toni Breidinger, 19, USA
- Ivana Cetinich, 22, South Africa
- Jamie Chadwick, 20, UK
- Veronika Cicha, 31, Czech Republic
- Sabre Cook, 24, USA
- Courtney Crone, 17, USA
- Natalie Decker, 21, USA
- Mira Erda, 18, India
- Carlotta Fedeli, 26, Italy
- Cassie Gannis, 27, USA
- Marta Garcia, 18, Spain
- Michelle Gatting, 24, Denmark
- Angelique Germann, 27 Germany
- Megan Gilkes, 17, Canada
- Samin Gomez, 26, Venezuela
- Grace Gui, 27, China
- Michelle Halder, 19, Germany
- Esmee Hawkey, 20, UK
- Jessica Hawkins, 23, UK
- Shea Holbrook, 28, USA
- Carmen Jorda, 30, Spain
- Vivien Keszthelyi, 17, Hungary
- Emma Kimilainen, 29, Finland
- Natalia Kowalska, 28, Poland
- Stephane Kox, 24, Netherland
- Miki Koyama, 21, Japan
- Fabienne Lanz, 32, South Africa
- Milla Mäkelä, 25, Finland
- Alexandra Marinescu, 18, Romania
- Milou Mets, 28, Netherlands
- Sheena Monk, 29, USA
- Sarah Moore, 25, UK
- Marylin Niederhauser, 22, Germany
- Tasmin Pepper, 28, South Africa
- Vicky Piria, 24, Italy
- Taegen Poles, 20, Canada
- Alice Powell, 25, UK
- Charlotte Poynting, 20, Australia
- Naomi Schiff, 24, Belgium
- Carrie Schriener, 20, Germany
- Sharon Scolari, 23, Switzerland
- Doreen Seidel, 33, Germany
- Siti Shahkirah, 24, Malaysia
- Sneha Sharma, 28, India
- Bruna Tomasell, 21, Brazil
- Shirley Van Der Lof, 31, Netherlands
- Beitske Visser, 23, Netherlands
- Fabienne Wohlwend, 21, Lichenstein
- Caitlin Wood, 21, Australia
- Hanna Zellers, 21, USA
Further details of all qualifying drivers are available on www.wseries.com.
- Car:
Tatuus F3 T-318
Fully homologated to the latest FIA F3 2018 specification
- Engine:
4-cylinder turbocharged 270hp engine tuned by Autotecnica Motori
- Gearbox:
Sadev SL-R 82 six speed gearbox with LSD and Magneti Marelli, paddle shift gear change
- Electronics:
ECU and data acquisition by Magneti Marelli
- Suspension:
Front: double wishbone with pushrods
Rear: double wishbone with pushrods
- Dampers:
Koni two way adjustable
- Brakes:
Brembo
- Wheels:
Front: OZ Aluminum 10″ x 13″
Rear: OZ Aluminum 12″ x 13″
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Female Drivers Only W Series Racing Qualifier List Released
Tatuus F3 T-318 is fully homologated to the latest FIA F3 2018 specification.
W Series, the all-female championship set to go racing in 2019, has announced a list of 55 drivers who will compete for a place on a grid of 18 when the season kicks off in May next year.
The qualifying drivers have been selected from a pool of more than 100 applicants from 30 countries around the world, including the USA, China and India as well as the UK, Italy, Germany and Scandinavia. (AutoInformed: World’s First Female Formula 1 World Champion?)
“We are thrilled, but perhaps not surprised by the response,” said Catherine Bond Muir, CEO of W Series. “Even today there is a massive gender imbalance in motorsport and W Series is making the first step to correct that. Drivers from all over the world have stepped forward, so it’s clear that with the right framework we can make the changes this sport desperately needs.”
The W Series is a free-to-enter competition has a total prize fund of $1,500,000, with the overall series winner taking $500,000. W Series will also fund travel and subsistence costs, which in theory opens the competition to drivers from all economic backgrounds across the world.
The expectant drivers will now have just two months to prepare for the next step in the selection process – a three-day on-and-off-track trial including fitness tests and psychometric profiling, as well as multiple driving skill tests. Former F1 stars David Coulthard and Alex Wurz will be among the judges, alongside Dave Ryan, W Series Racing Director.
The last woman to start a Formula 1 Grand Prix was Lella Lombardi more than 40 years ago in the 1974 British Grand Prix. The Italian female racing driver followed Maria Teresa de Filippis in 1958. There has never been a female Formula 1 Grand Prix race winner, but Lombardi scored points. She drove both Brabham and March versions of Ford Cosworth powered cars.
Gimmicky or not – and this could work at least as a business – racing remains one of the last sports dominated by men, not only behind the wheel but everywhere you look: in the pit-lane, garage, workshop, laboratory, and on mike. The combination of competitive cross-discipline drivers, fast, identical cars and Grand Prix circuits – to be announced – might provide interesting racing for fans everywhere. A TV contract – vital – so far is lacking.
W Series aims not only to promote female drivers but also to encourage “girls and women” into engineering and science careers and to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects in schools, colleges and universities.
Full qualifier list
Further details of all qualifying drivers are available on www.wseries.com.
Tatuus F3 T-318
Fully homologated to the latest FIA F3 2018 specification
4-cylinder turbocharged 270hp engine tuned by Autotecnica Motori
Sadev SL-R 82 six speed gearbox with LSD and Magneti Marelli, paddle shift gear change
ECU and data acquisition by Magneti Marelli
Front: double wishbone with pushrods
Rear: double wishbone with pushrods
Koni two way adjustable
Brembo
Front: OZ Aluminum 10″ x 13″
Rear: OZ Aluminum 12″ x 13″
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.