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“W Series gave me the opportunity to get back racing again”

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“W Series gave me the opportunity to get back racing again” | Top Gear

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Alice Powell and Abbi Pulling tell TG about the impact the all-female series had on their careers

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“W Series gave me the opportunity to get back racing again”

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Alice Powell and Abbi Pulling tell TG about the impact the all-female series had on their careers

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Alice Powell and Abbi Pulling tell TG about the impact the all-female series had on their careers

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“W Series gave me the opportunity to get back racing again”

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“W Series gave me the opportunity to get back racing again”

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“W Series gave me the opportunity to get back racing again”

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Alice Powell and Abbi Pulling tell TG about the impact the all-female series had on their careers

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A fortnight after W Series entered administration, two of its former drivers - Alice Powell and Abbi Pulling - have hailed the opportunities it gave them and their fellow competitors.

The all-female championship divided opinion when it was launched in 2019, with critics arguing that women shouldn’t be segregated from men in motorsport.

But unlike other single-seater series, the championship was free to enter and offered significant prize money that could help fund future drives; normally a huge barrier to young drivers.

Asked by TopGear.com where she’d be without W Series, Powell explained: “I wasn’t racing. I was mainly just doing [driver] coaching and working for my dad. He’s a builder, so I was trying to rack up some money to live, basically.

“I was out of racing for about four or five years, and then W Series came along and gave me the opportunity to get back racing again. So you could say it kickstarted my career and opened doors; other avenues including some of the commentary and TV work as well. It was a big help.”

It was something of a lifeline for Pulling too, who “ran out of money in British F4” and had to drop out midway through the 2021 season. But as a reserve driver for W Series she made her debut that same year, before earning a full-time place on the grid for 2022. “I was very lucky to have that [W Series] to fall back on,” she said. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if it wasn’t for the championship. It kept me afloat.”

W Series was forced to end its 2022 season early after the loss of an investor made the final three races on the calendar unviable. Bosses tried to secure its long-term future and a return in 2023, but fresh investment never arrived and when the administrators were called in earlier this month, W Series’ one remaining employee was made redundant.

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As things stand it seems highly unlikely that W Series will ever make a comeback, although Evelyn Partners LLP’s Henry Shinners - one of two Joint Administrators - has said they “will explore all available options to allow the W Series to restart in the future".

That’s left many pondering the series’ legacy, and as far as Pulling is concerned, it’s positive. “All I’ve seen is more and more younger females coming into the sport, which is who we’re really targeting,” she explained. “Because that, at the end of the day, is who’s going to be making the difference in the future.

“We’re trying to make the difference now to help the 10-year-olds or eight-year-olds who are watching be inspired to get behind the wheel of a race car. Or even, as the Rac(H)er programme [Alpine’s female driver scheme] does, push them into engineering roles, or law, or anything in the motorsport scene.”

Powell, who is also Pulling's manager, agrees. “The first year of W Series, we were at Brands Hatch with the DTM and the autograph signing queue was ridiculously long. Full of young girls and young fans. I’d never seen so many at a race track.”

And it was the same when the new F1 Academy series raced at Zandvoort last weekend. “I was watching in the grandstands and as soon as the girls came out on track, young girls from four, five up to their mothers rushed down to the front, all getting their phones out and taking pictures.

“To see the excitement was really nice.”

Photography: F1 Academy

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A fortnight after W Series entered administration, two of its former drivers - Alice Powell and Abbi Pulling - have hailed the opportunities it gave them and their fellow competitors.

The all-female championship divided opinion when it was launched in 2019, with critics arguing that women shouldn’t be segregated from men in motorsport.

But unlike other single-seater series, the championship was free to enter and offered significant prize money that could help fund future drives; normally a huge barrier to young drivers.

Asked by TopGear.com where she’d be without W Series, Powell explained: “I wasn’t racing. I was mainly just doing [driver] coaching and working for my dad. He’s a builder, so I was trying to rack up some money to live, basically.

“I was out of racing for about four or five years, and then W Series came along and gave me the opportunity to get back racing again. So you could say it kickstarted my career and opened doors; other avenues including some of the commentary and TV work as well. It was a big help.”

It was something of a lifeline for Pulling too, who “ran out of money in British F4” and had to drop out midway through the 2021 season. But as a reserve driver for W Series she made her debut that same year, before earning a full-time place on the grid for 2022. “I was very lucky to have that [W Series] to fall back on,” she said. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if it wasn’t for the championship. It kept me afloat.”

W Series was forced to end its 2022 season early after the loss of an investor made the final three races on the calendar unviable. Bosses tried to secure its long-term future and a return in 2023, but fresh investment never arrived and when the administrators were called in earlier this month, W Series’ one remaining employee was made redundant.

As things stand it seems highly unlikely that W Series will ever make a comeback, although Evelyn Partners LLP’s Henry Shinners - one of two Joint Administrators - has said they “will explore all available options to allow the W Series to restart in the future".

That’s left many pondering the series’ legacy, and as far as Pulling is concerned, it’s positive. “All I’ve seen is more and more younger females coming into the sport, which is who we’re really targeting,” she explained. “Because that, at the end of the day, is who’s going to be making the difference in the future.

“We’re trying to make the difference now to help the 10-year-olds or eight-year-olds who are watching be inspired to get behind the wheel of a race car. Or even, as the Rac(H)er programme [Alpine’s female driver scheme] does, push them into engineering roles, or law, or anything in the motorsport scene.”

Powell, who is also Pulling's manager, agrees. “The first year of W Series, we were at Brands Hatch with the DTM and the autograph signing queue was ridiculously long. Full of young girls and young fans. I’d never seen so many at a race track.”

And it was the same when the new F1 Academy series raced at Zandvoort last weekend. “I was watching in the grandstands and as soon as the girls came out on track, young girls from four, five up to their mothers rushed down to the front, all getting their phones out and taking pictures.

“To see the excitement was really nice.”

Photography: F1 Academy

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Alice Powell and Abbi Pulling tell TG about the impact the all-female series had on their careers