The rule change marks somewhat of a return to the fourth car rule from 2021 and 2022 allowing teams to run a fourth car if driven by a woman but with only top 3 F1 Academy drivers included, what does the move actually mean for women in motorsport?
Following the merger of the Formula Regional European Championship with the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2021 the series introduced a ruling of three cars per team. The only exception? Teams were allowed to run a fourth car if piloted by a female driver. Across the two seasons the rule was in effect, 3 teams took advantage of the rule: Prema racing, R-ace GP and G4 Racing. Léna Bühler, Belén García and Hamda Al Qubaisi were amongst the female drivers who drove in the series thanks to the rule.
However in 2023, the series announced that the three car limit would be enforced without the previous exception. The announcement of the rule change was noted to have affected several drivers plans for the season – most notably Maya Weug. Weug had been set to join Prema for the season, the reigning teams’ champions. Instead, the rule change meant the team were unable to provide a seat and Weug found a seat elsewhere at KIC Motorsport, a Finnish team who had scored 0 points the season prior.
Despite the circumstances, she still impressed in her rookie season. Weug was the only driver for KIC to score points throughout the season ending on 27 points and a best finish of 6th compared to her teammates who all failed to break into the top 15 in any race. Weug became the most successful female driver in the past 3 seasons despite driving for a struggling team leading many to wonder what she could have achieved had she been able to race for Prema as planned.
In a potential step forward for the series, F1 Academy recently announced an agreement with FRECA which brought back the opportunity for teams to run a fourth car with a slight twist. The driver must not only be female but must also have finished in the top 3 of the F1 Academy series the previous year.
Marta Garcia was confirmed as the first driver to benefit from the fourth car rule change and will race for Prema in FRECA in 2024. Garcia was dominant in F1 Academy in 2023, winning 7 races to take the championship with 2 races remaining. The seat will continue Garcia’s relationship with Prema given she was influential in guiding them to the F1 Academy Teams’ Championship.
BREAKING: In a momentous move, Inaugural F1 Academy Champion Marta García secures a fully funded race seat for the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine.
An exciting chapter in her racing career awaits!#F1Academy pic.twitter.com/40ikpfuSHH
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) October 26, 2023
Despite the apparent progress questions remain over what ripple effects this may cause for women in motorsport. Perhaps most significantly, the rule change establishes a pathway between the single-gender series to a mixed-gender series. Concerns had previously been raised that the series would create an end point rather than a pathway for female drivers by stifling their opportunities. Indeed F1 Academy’s predecessor the W Series struggled to counter this with Jamie Chadwick seemingly unable to move away from the series until its disbandment despite her dominance within the series. Garcia’s switch to FRECA is a clear improvement and speaks to the F1 Academy’s focus on progression with Garcia’s seat being fully funded by the F1 Academy program.
However, concerns are being raised over the overall pathway for women in motorsport. Despite having proved herself on the grid this year as a promising young talent, team’s will not be able to recruit Weug as a driver for a fourth car. Instead, Weug’s most likely pathway to secure a seat at a top team would be to take a seemingly backwards step to race in F1 Academy for a year in the hopes of securing a top 3 finish and subsequent endorsement in FRECA. As a member of Ferrari’s Driver Academy, Weug is heavily rumoured to be following this route and representing Ferrari on the F1 Academy grid next year in line with the new partnership.
For a series focused on progression and creation of opportunities, the agreement between F1 Academy and FRECA certainly runs the risk of hindering and slowing down the junior careers of promising female drivers. The promotion of the series cannot come at the expense of alternative routes, particularly for drivers who wish to avoid segregated series.
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