F1 will host races staged by the W Series in a move "aimed at shedding the sport's billionaire boys' club image," according to Samuel Agini of the FINANCIAL TIMES. W Series, which launched last year, has signed a multiyear partnership that will start in '21, with eight of its races to be held in "support" slots to F1 Grand Prix races. The tie-up is part of efforts by F1 to "improve diversity in motorsport" and comes after the launch of its #WeRaceAsOne initiative against racism and inequality. W Series CEO Catherine Bond Muir declined to provide specific financial details of the contract, but said partnering with F1 would bring an "immediate economic benefit." Agini notes this marks a "significant step for the W Series, which was forced to scrap its second season because of the coronavirus pandemic." W Series' major shareholder is Frank Recruitment Founder Sean Wadsworth, with other investors including Bond Muir and former F1 driver David Coulthard (FINANCIAL TIMES, 11/12).
HAMILTON'S VERSES: F1 driver Lewis Hamilton called for more women in motorsport after the announcement, saying that the W Series deal was a "positive step." He said, "When people talk about diversity, people often think that we’re talking about having more people of color. It's not just that. It is having more women involved." REUTERS' Alan Baldwin noted there are "no female drivers in Formula One, with Italian Lella Lombardi the last to compete in a race in 1976, and women racers are a rarity in the junior series that feed into the top category" (REUTERS, 11/12).
AN UNLIKELY ALLY: A Saudi Arabian motorsports official said the country "would love" to host the W Series in '21. RACER.com's Chris Medland notes a "street race in Jeddah was announced just over a week ago," and the announcement was "met with criticism." But Saudi Arabian Automobile & Motorcycle Federation President Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al Faisal said of the W Series, "I would love to see and host them in Saudi Arabia. ... For us, over the last two years, we really are promoting women and especially women in motorsports" (RACER.com, 11/13).
