W Series, the international single-seater motor racing championship for female drivers, today announces its driver line-up for the 2022 season, including five drivers who will make their W Series debut.
Following pre-season tests at the Inde Motorsports Ranch, Arizona, USA, and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain, W Series' Racing Director Dave Ryan has selected nine drivers to join the eight women who qualified automatically for season three by finishing in the top eight in the 2021 W Series championship standings.
Among the 17 confirmed drivers are five – Tereza Babickova (CZE, 18), Bianca Bustamante (PHI, 17), Chloe Chambers (USA, 17), Emely De Heus (NED, 19), and Juju Noda (JPN, 16) – who will make their debuts this season, when W Series will stage support races at eight Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends, starting in Miami, USA, in May.
Highlighting W Series' mission to create opportunities in the highest levels of motorsport for as many women as possible, the 18th and final slot on the 2022 grid is left open to give valuable racing experience to a pool of reserve drivers who have shown promise during previous W Series seasons and test events. The roster of 2022 reserve drivers will be announced in due course.
The 17 drivers confirmed for the 2022 W Series season are as follows:
Tereza Babickova, CZE, 18
Bianca Bustamante, PHI, 17
Jamie Chadwick, UK, 23
Chloe Chambers, USA, 17
Emely De Heus, NED, 19
Belén García, ESP, 22
Marta Garcia, ESP, 21
Jessica Hawkins, UK, 27
Emma Kimiläinen, FIN, 32
Nerea Martí, ESP, 20
Sarah Moore, UK, 28
Juju Noda, JPN, 16
Alice Powell, UK, 29
Abbi Pulling, UK, 18
Bruna Tomaselli, BRA, 24
Beitske Visser, NED, 26
Fabienne Wohlwend, LIE, 24
W Series confirms that Irina Sidorkova (RUS, 18) will not compete in W Series until further notice.
Dave Ryan (Racing Director, W Series) said:
"As the profile of W Series grows, the talent pool and standard of our driver line-up increases, and the 2022 W Series grid is the strongest yet. This year, we expanded our driver search and testing programme by staging pre-season tests in both the USA and Europe, and that decision has paid dividends. The class of 2022 represents 10 different countries, and more than a quarter of the grid are new talents making their W Series debut. The five rookies are well-prepared and join a group of proven W Series performers who know what it’s all about. In the spirit of W Series, they will all drive each other forwards.
"Double W Series champion Jamie Chadwick will certainly be aiming to mount a strong title defence, but she was pushed all the way in 2021 and I expect another close battle for the title. As we stage Formula 1 support races in three continents this season, the opportunity for W Series drivers in 2022 is unprecedented. It will be interesting to see how they all handle the pressure of racing on motorsport's greatest stage, and I'm looking forward to the first race of the season in Miami in May."
2022 team pairings will be revealed in the coming days on W Series' social media channels.