All-female racing championship to run alongside F1 at eight Grand Prix weekends next year; Hamilton and Verstappen among drivers to give enthusiastic response to news
Thursday 12 November 2020 18:48, UK
Formula 1's drivers have welcomed the arrival of the all-female W Series onto the sport's support bill from next season.
Eight races of the women-only racing series will join Grand Prix weekends in 2021 in a significant move for the profile and long-term goals of the championship, which launched last year.
Lewis Hamilton has led calls this year for the creation of a more diverse culture in motorsport and is hopeful the arrival of the W Series on the F1 bill can be a catalyst for further change all the way through the racing ladder.
"At the moment it is a male-dominated sport and that does need to change," said F1's world champion.
"I remember racing from karting all the way up and only seeing less than a handful of young girls coming through. And I remember seeing and speaking to a couple of them just knowing how difficult it was.
"The sport does need to do more and I think that is a good step in the right direction. But that needs to transcend all the way down to karting. We need to do more to make sure the young girls out there know it is a possible career path. Hopefully that is what W Series is doing."
Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas also gave an enthusiastic response to the news.
"Many women's sport is so interesting to follow yet difficult to watch and find the coverage," said Bottas, whose girlfriend Tiffany Cromwell is an Australian professional cyclist.
"So I think it's going to be more visible. The ones who succeed and the ones who impress, they are going to be more visible and that's going to create more opportunities which they fully deserve. So I think it's a really good addition."
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, whose mother and sister have both also competed in racing, believes the series is "going to be exciting to watch" on F1 weekends.
"I've watched it a bit when I was at home," said the Dutchman. "I think it's eight races they are joining us. It's good to have more categories as well joining Formula 1, having a bit more going on. I'm looking forward to [seeing] how they will perform."
The W Series' inaugural season sees the drivers race in identical F3 cars and last year was part of the support bill for German Touring Cars (DTM). But now the series will have a more prominent platform alongside the likes of F2 and F3 across Grand Prix weekends.
"It'll be really good," said Norris. "It was the same for me when you take the step up to F2, or what it is for the people this year stepping up into F3, to get to be part of that [F1 support] package. Prove yourself, show what you can do to beat the other people.
"It will be cool and something else to watch, the racing is normally very fun."
Hamilton, a prominent and powerful voice in the Black Lives Matter movement, has called for more inclusion and equality in all walks of life around the world.
F1's six-time champion therefore also welcomed the news that Kamala Harris had become the first woman to be vice-president-elect of the United States, as running mate to president-elect Joe Biden.
"After 46 presidencies, to finally see a woman now be given such a powerful role, I couldn't be more proud of her," Hamilton told Sky Sports.
"That says a lot also about Joe. I'm not from America so we are giving our opinions about it, but I'm super excited about what can be with them two together. There should never really be leaders where it's just two guys. You have to have women's input because that's how the world is.
"Joe, I'm sure, has already learnt a huge amount probably from Kamala. What she stands for, as she says, she's not going to be the last. Now there's going to be young girls out there who can say it's possible to be a world leader, to be in government, to be doing something positive for the nation."
