The W Series has announced their driver line-up for its inaugural season of the all-female single-seater championship.
18 drivers have been confirmed to race, including five British hopefuls. They will be joined by women from a further 12 nationalities. In addition, four reserve drivers have been selected.
By the morning of the last day of testing Racing Director Dave Ryan had decided that 12 drivers were able to be selected at that stage. They were notified by W Series CEO Catherine Bond Muir while the rest of the finalists were able to head back out on track in the Tatuus F-318 Formula 3 cars. The final six places were announced by David Coulthard.
“To those drivers who didn’t make it through, I offer my commiserations, of course, but I also say ‘well done’,” said Catherine Bond Muir.
“All our drivers worked diligently, studied hard, and drove well, including those who didn’t make it through.
“To the 18 drivers who did make it through, I say ‘big congrats and very well done’.
“But I also want to mention our four reserve drivers, who didn’t quite make the final 18 but all impressed our judges. They’ll be disappointed, inevitably, but they’re still part of the W Series family.
“So that’s it then. Our driver selection programme is complete. Let’s go racing!”
The 2019 drivers:
Jamie Chadwick, UK
Sabre Cook, USA
Marta Garcia, Spain
Megan Gilkes, Canada
Esmee Hawkey, UK
Jessica Hawkins, UK
Shea Holbrook, USA
Emma Kimilainen, Finland
Miki Koyama, Japan
Sarah Moore, UK
Tasmin Pepper, South Africa
Vicky Piria, Italy
Alice Powell, UK
Gosia Rdest, Poland
Naomi Schiff, Belgium
Beitske Visser, Netherlands
Fabienne Wohlwend, Liechtenstein
Caitlin Wood, Australia
The reserve drivers:
Sarah Bovy, Belgium
Vivien Keszthelyi, Hungary
Stephane Kox, Netherlands
Francesca Linossi, Italy
The grid will head to Germany next month for a three-day test before the first race in May.
