With the third season of the all-female championship just around the corner, W Series’ teams and drivers are preparing for the season opener in May at the Miami International Autodrome in the USA.
Pre-season tests at the Inde Motorsports Ranch in Arizona and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona saw W Series Race Director Dave Ryan select nine-race drivers to join the top eight qualifiers from the 2021 season. Among the nine competitors are five new faces making their debut this season: Tereza Babickova, Bianca Bustamante, Chloe Chambers, Emely De Heus and Juju Noda.
The 17 confirmed 2022 drivers are:
| Drivers | Age | Location |
| Tereza Babickova | 18 | Czech Republic |
| Bianca Bustamante | 17 | Philippines |
| Jamie Chadwick | 23 | UK |
| Chloe Chambers | 17 | USA |
| Emely De Heus | 19 | The Netherlands |
| Belén García | 22 | Spain |
| Marta Garcia | 21 | Spain |
| Jessica Hawkins | 27 | UK |
| Emma Kimiläinen | 32 | Finland |
| Nerea Martí | 20 | Spain |
| Sarah Moore | 28 | UK |
| Juju Noda | 16 | Japan |
| Alice Powell | 29 | UK |
| Abbi Pulling | 18 | UK |
| Bruna Tomaselli | 24 | Brazil |
| Beitske Visser | 26 | The Netherlands |
| Fabienne Wohlwend | 24 | Liechtenstein |
Your 2022 #WSeries grid is complete. 👊
With @f1miami just around the corner, we are SO excited for the season to start. 🤩
Who are you most excited to see on the grid? 🤔
— W Series (@WSeriesRacing) April 25, 2022
Teams and Drivers
Reigning 2019 and 2021 champion Jamie Chadwick will be joining Jenner Racing to defend her title in the championships highly anticipated third season. Alongside Chadwick will be new driver, 17-year-old Chloe Chambers making her W Series debut in Miami with the new 2022 team. Jenner Racing was founded by activist, media personality, TV presenter and Olympic gold-medal winning decathlete Caitlyn Jenner. Jenner Racing was created with the aim of promoting female talent whilst raising awareness of equal rights.
Fabienne Wohlwend and Marta Garcia will race for cortDAO, one of two crypto-backed currency teams on the 2022 grid. Quantfury is the second and will see Spanish drivers Belén García and Nerea Martí join its fight for the 2022 title.
Click2Drive Bristol Street Motors has an all-British line-up this year as Alice Powell and Jessica Hawkins return to the grid. Hawkins is well known for her roles as a stunt driver in Fast and the Furious Live and James Bond film ‘No Time to Die’. She recently became the first British female winner in TCR UK, taking her maiden victory at Oulton Park on 18th May.
16-year-old Juju Noda becomes the youngest driver in W Series history and will join 17-year-old Bianca Bustamante in making their debuts for W Series Academy. Both drivers will stay with the team for the next two years as it aims to support the progression of young girls coming into the motorsport industry.
Emma Kimiläinen and Tereza Babickova will form the PUMA W Series team as it connects ‘SHE MOVES US’, PUMA’s women’s platform, in bringing together talented racers on track. British racing driver Abbi Pulling will team up with Brazilian racer Bruna Tomaselli for W Series’ Racing X team, challenging the norm and continuing to push boundaries. They will be competing on the gird against Dutch drivers Beitske Visser and Emely De Heus who will race with Sirin Racing; encouraging those who race to follow their dreams and champion their success.
Sarah Moore will race for W Series house team Scuderia W for the 2022 season alongside recently announced returner, Abbie Eaton. Eaton raced with Écurie W last year but her time in the championship ended at the first race of the Circuit of the America’s double header when she endured a back injury. The 30-year-old has been recovering during off-season and will make her debut with Scuderia W in Miami.
Ayla Agren will be the Series’ reserve driver as W Series aims to create opportunities for young women in the industry, helping them to start their journey into the world of motorsport.
Races
We will see the 17 confirmed drivers compete in the W Series championship at 10 rounds staged by eight Formula 1 Grand Prix supported weekends. The opening round will take place on 6-8 May in Miami for the season’s first double-header. This will be followed by rounds in Barcelona, Silverstone, Le Castellet, Budapest, Suzuka, Austin and Mexico City.
Last season saw the 2021 championship end with a double header at the Circuit of the Americas where Jamie Chadwick claimed victory. This year, Mexico City will host the 2022 season finale with two races at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez across the weekend of 28-30 October. Here, the 2022 W Series racing champion will be crowned.
W Series 2022 race calendar:
| Race Date | Circuit |
| 6-8 May | Miami International Autodrome, USA |
| 20-22 May | Barcelona, Spain |
| 1-3 July | Silverstone, UK |
| 22-24 July | Paul Ricard, France |
| 29-31 July | Hungaroring, Hungary |
| 7-9 October | Suzuka, Japan |
| 21-23 October | Circuit of the Americas, USA |
| 28-30 October | Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico |
Make sure you tune in to Sky Sports to watch this years W Series, or catch the free-to-air coverage on Channel 4 which includes race highlights and the W Series home race at Silverstone.
𝗪𝗘'𝗥𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗞𝗬 📺🟢
For 2022, fans can now watch #WSeries live on @SkySportsF1. 🤩
Alongside Sky, @C4Sport will continue its free-to-air coverage with highlights of every W Series race with our home race, Silverstone broadcast live. 💪
— W Series (@WSeriesRacing) April 25, 2022
The 2022 W Series is lining up to be an exciting one and you won’t want to miss it.
Written by Caitlin Carroll
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