The 2019 W Series was the inaugural

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

season of the W Series, an all-female Formula 3-level racing series.

Driver selection

55 drivers were initially entered in a qualifying longlist for the 2019 season, with a further six added later on. An evaluation was held at the Wachauring in

Melk Melk (; older spelling: ) is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube. Melk has a population of 5,257 (as of 2012). It is best known as the site of a massive baroque Benedictine monastery ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

over 26–28 January, with series judges—including

David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard (; born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland, later turned presenter, commentator and journalist. Nicknamed 'DC', he competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between and , taking 13 Grand Prix vi ...

Alexander Wurz Alexander Georg Wurz (born 15 February 1974) is an Austrian former professional racing driver, driver training expert and businessman. He competed in Formula One from until , and is also a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours. He is current ...

and

Lyn St. James Lyn St. James (born Evelyn Gene Cornwall; March 13, 1947) is an American former race car driver. She competed in the IndyCar series, with eleven CART and five Indy Racing League starts to her name. St. James is one of nine women who have qualifi ...

— selecting a shortlist of drivers that would get to test the Tatuus–Alfa Romeo T-318. Drivers completed 10 'modules' that tested their skills in racecraft, fitness, media training and sponsorship pitches, before a final knockout series of races that would decide the 28 drivers that advanced to the next stage at the in

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city g ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The final stage held over 22–27 March, which saw additional fitness testing and data analysis alongside traditional testing, would decide the 18-driver line-up as well as four additional substitute drivers who would be on standby in the event of a regular driver's absence. The evaluation format drew mixed opinions from the competitors. Eliminated driver Charlotte Poynting labelled the process "confusing" and that the judges "obviously weren't looking for the fastest drivers", whereas compatriot Caitlin Wood claimed the evaluation was "as fair as they could make it".

Eliminated drivers

;Withdrew before evaluation * Amna Al Qubaisi *

Michelle Gatting Michelle Sophie Gatting Brændstrup (born 21 December 1993 in Århus) is a racing driver from Denmark. She currently competes in the European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing ...

* Angelique Germann * Michelle Halder * Carmen Jordá * Sheena Monk * Carrie Schreiner ;Eliminated after evaluation * Ayla Ågren *

Chelsea Angelo Chelsea Angelo (born 2 June 1996, in Melbourne) is a racing driver from Australia. She currently competes in TCR Australia having previously contested the V8 Supercars Development Series. She attempted to qualify for the 2019 W Series The ...

* Carmen Boix *

Toni Breidinger Toni Breidinger (born July 14, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver & Victoria's Secret Model who competes full-time for Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 25 Toyota Camry. She was the female dr ...

* Alessandra Brena * Ivana Cetinich * Veronika Cichá * Courtney Crone * Mira Erda * Carlotta Fedeli * Cassie Gannis * Samin Gómez * Fabienne Lanz * Milla Mäkelä * Alexandra Marinescu * Marylin Niederhauser * Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya * Taegen Poles * Charlotte Poynting * Sharon Scolari * Doreen Seidel * Siti Shahkirah * Sneha Sharma * Inès Taittinger *

Bruna Tomaselli Bruna Alberti Tomaselli (born 18 September 1997 in Caibi) is a Brazilian female racing driver. She currently competes in the W Series. Biography Tomaselli began her professional career in Fórmula Junior Brasil, a category comparable to Form ...

* Hanna Zellers ;Eliminated after testing *

Natalie Decker Natalie Marie Decker (born June 25, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. She last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 33 Toyota Supra for Reaume Brothers Racing, the No. 28 Ford Mustang for RSS ...

* Grace Gui * Natalia Kowalska * Stéphane Kox * Francesca Linossi * Milou Mets * Shirley van der Lof * Alexandra Whitley

Qualified drivers

All drivers competed with the

Tatuus Tatuus is an Italian chassis manufacturer for a series of formula racing series, being first founded in 1980. The company is known for its association with Renault Sport for its production of the Formula Renault chassis. History The Tatuus c ...

–

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "A ...

F3 T-318 operated by Hitech GP and fitted with

Hankook Hankook Tire & Technology (; , also known simply as Hankook and stylised ), is a South Korean tire company. Based in Seoul, Hankook is the seventh largest tire company in the world. History Hankook Tire was established by Jae Hun Chung's grandf ...

tires. – Megan Gilkes, normally a regular driver, was demoted to reserve driver duties at Round 4.

Vivien Keszthelyi Vivien Keszthelyi (born 7 December 2000) is a Hungarian racing driver who started her career at the age of 13. She is a member of the Audi Sport Racing Academy. Keszthelyi started her professional career in 2014, in the Suzuki Swift Cup Europe ...

, normally a reserve driver, was promoted to regular driver duties at Round 4.

Calendar and results

A single championship race was held at six rounds of the

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM, German Touring Car Masters) is a grand touring car series sanctioned by ITR e.V. who have been affiliated to the DMSB- FIA since 1984. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The s ...

, with an additional non-championship race at

TT Circuit Assen The TT Circuit Assen is a motorsport race track built in 1955 and located in Assen, Netherlands. Host of the Dutch TT, it is popularly referred to as "The Cathedral" of motorcycling by the fans of the sport. The venue has the distinction of hol ...

to test different event formats.

Championship standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers as follows:

Drivers' Championship

Notes

References

External links

* {{Formula Regional W Series W Series W Series