The W Series, made up exclusively of female drivers and whose goal is to create a path for women to reach Formula 1, was to hold its penultimate round of the year this weekend in Texas, as a support category for F1 in the United States Grand Prix.
However, earlier this month, the championship announced that they were canceling their events in the United States and the end of the season in Mexico due to a serious economic problem.
This came after a deal with an American investor fell apart unexpectedly, forcing the series to focus on fundraising for 2023, as Jamie Chadwick was crowned champion for the third time in a row.
Although the amount of money needed to finish the campaign has not been made public, the British government agency Companies House showed accounts for 2021 with a net liability of 7.5 million pounds (about 8.5 million euros).
In statements prior to the United States GP, Lewis Hamilton was critical of F1 for not having helped “100%” so that the W Series could finish the season .
“100%. That’s right. Especially the W Series.”
“Enough attention has never been paid to women in Formula 1. And now there is not enough emphasis on it either. The great work that is being done there is not being given importance.
“They are still under-represented across the board in our industry. There is no real pathway for these amazing young drivers to get into Formula 1.”
“There are people who say: ‘We are never going to see a woman in F1’. That is not the attitude. So obviously I think we have to do a lot more,” added the Briton.
It’s no secret that F1 has massively increased its revenues since the arrival of current ownership, Liberty Media, which took control of the series in 2017.
Given that capital increase, Hamilton said it was “not much of an effort” for F1 to step in and fund the W Series for the rest of its season.
The Mercedes driver continued: “With the organisation, with Formula 1 and Liberty doing so well, it wasn’t much of an effort for them to help them. We have to do more to encourage young women.”
Hamilton took the opportunity to recall the Mercedes team’s Accelerate 25 initiative, which began in 2020 as a five-year program to increase the team’s diversity and inclusion.
“The work that I am and are trying to do with Mercedes, for example, is to give 8,000 young girls the opportunity to get here. Every team should do it.”
