Strap yourself in for ‘Driven’ and the W Series

“A woman hasn’t raced in Formula One for 43 years.” - Catherine Bond Muir

The all-female series embarks on its second season this week, alongside the Formula One circus in Austria. But unlike F1, it couldn’t get a season arranged in 2020 amongst the turbulent times of Covid-19. After a year’s break, the W Series team and 18 drivers (plus the reserves) are returning to the track on a bigger stage and as an official support race for F1.

W Series is the brain-child of Catherine Bond-Muir, the CEO of the championship, who first began generating the idea in 2016. The series took two years of detailed planning behind the rumours and whispers of the championship which began circulating in November 2017, before it was revealed to the world on the 10th of October 2018 in the early morning. Reactions to the press release were mixed - many motorsports and media figures argued the series would be counterproductive as rather than trying to include women in the Formulas, it was segregating them. Some believed the funding would be better invested in a scholarship or female driver programme to encourage F1 and F2 teams to look at female drivers. However, W Series has a wider aim than trying to get women racing now into Formula One seats as in the process they want to showcase more female racing role-models to inspire young girls to kart and eventually grow the number of women across all forms of motorsport racing. Their aspirations also spread into wider society, stating: “With the UN’s gender equality deadline of 2030 closing in, the world needs to fast track change. We believe that W Series can be an important cultural catalyst for female empowerment.” Despite criticism, there were roughly 100 applications the W Series team could label seriously, which was then filtered down to 58 applicants, all of whom in January 2019 travelled to the Wachauring in Melk, Austria for testing. This testing would then cut 30 more women, leaving 28 racers to battle it out for the 18 seats.

Every driver has been selected purely on ability, and when put into their identical Tatuus F3 T-318 (different only in pattern and car numbers), race results and ultimately the championship will be determined by merit and talent alternatively to financial backing and support. The competition also increases with the switching of cars and race engineers each weekend, meaning good relationship building and hard work is crucial to end with a star performance. One exception is when a driver fails to finish a race due to mechanical issues or an incident - a rule which caused frustration in 2019…

Races are similar to Formula E in that instead of a set amount of laps to complete, the drivers race for 30 minutes plus one lap, but mirroring Formula One is the allocation of points: 25 points for first place, 18 for second, and 15 when rounding out the podium, with the top ten competing for the remaining points.

Now is the year to begin watching the W Series - the line-up is again strong, consisting of returning champion Jamie Chadwick and second place Beitske Visser along with new drivers. But if you’re not convinced, or want to delve deeper into the making of the first season, ‘W Series: Driven’ is the newly released TV series to binge, made up of six episodes following each driver’s and the series’ journey as a whole. It’s available to watch across the globe, but I watched it in the UK on All 4, and this is what I thought...

EPISODE ONE - THE ICE WOMEN COMETH

“We got around 100 applications that we could take reasonably seriously” - Catherine Bond-Muir

The first episode initiates in Surrey, the UK, in Catherine Bond-Muir’s home. This is very fitting, as the CEO was the one to begin talking with necessary people to get ideas flowing on a bigger, physical scale. She describes the process of her thinking and the creation of the W Series from a single thought, to researching the project more (discovering the number of women in single-seaters had decreased in the last eight years), to brainstorming with coffees in hand. Eventually, the fundamental team was built: Dave Ryan would act as Race Director, David Lowe the Racing Co-ordinator, and Stephen Rose the Technical Delegate. Sean Wadsworth would ascend to Chair of the W Series, securing financial support and stability. Another individual you may know well is David Coulthard, who was keen to get involved.

Following the official press release on W Series, the team condensed all applications to 100, then a further 58. These passionate racers would all meet for a summit in Melk, Austria, in cold weather which welcomed the tricky, snowy conditions. The series narrator, Lee McKenzie, explains the 58 racers would participate in 3 days of intense testing which would comprise of four trials: a reaction trial, a physical evaluation, a judged verbal examination, and a knockout race tournament. At its climax, only 28 would go through for the next selection, one step closer to winning that prize money of $500,000 (more than some F1 driver salaries!) Regardless of the tense competition, there were heart-warming scenes of everybody meeting one another to describe their trek to this significant moment in their lives. David Coulthard would also be there to motivate the hopefuls, and the documentary catches an emotional moment as he explains his presence in the W Series: his sister who died in 2013 was also a racer, and David admits she had more natural racing talent than him, but had to give racing up when his parents focused on David when he began to be noticed by teams. This admission really captures his sincerity in his hope for the women and the positive impact of W Series as well as his commitment to push for female opportunities.

After the nice, initial gathering, the pressure immediately piles on and the competition heats up (despite those cold Austrian temperatures). If the white, icy conditions weren’t challenging enough, the first trial involved navigating cones in a car with trolly wheels on the rear end. It was certainly a comical sight. With two drivers in each car, a blend of support and rivalry immediately became apparent as some offered words of advice whilst others maintained a Kimi-like silence. A sweaty and painful physical evaluation then followed to test their athletic ability, as well as their mental strengths (or weaknesses). Competition was maintained in every aspect - everybody watched on and observed those who looked strongest to form their analysis of the competition, yet at the same time, friendships were clearly being created. The penultimate trial sought out the drivers’ personalities to find those who would interact well with the media and succeed in contract negotiations. This would be a struggle closing with success for 2019 and 2021 driver Miki Koyama, stating: “My English is not that good. I want to be the best at driving.” Nevertheless, her determination impressed the judges in another scene which put a smile on my face. Miki continued her successful run into the final challenge: a head-to-head race-off which knocked losers out, which she triumphed in against Finland’s Emma Kimilainen. Empowerment is incredibly strong when both drivers get out of their cars to hear chanting.

The episode ends with a conflict of emotions - devastation and disappointment for those who don’t make it through, but ecstasy for the 28 who progress to the next stage of selection. Close-ups of faces speak immeasurable truths of the feelings in those moments.

EPISODE TWO - THE SPANISH INQUISITION

“I wasn’t overwhelmed by the idea… I just didn’t really see the need for it… I quite quickly had my head turned.” - Jamie Chadwick

One of the first things we see in this episode are the first big statements of backlash cut out from articles sprawled across the screen. The opposition to the series is evident, but this only highlights the W Series team’s and the final 28’s resilience, and the real focus of ‘The Spanish Inquisition’ is the battle for a seat in the championship at the Circuit de Almeria in Spain.

Over 4 days of further testing, led by DC and Dave Ryan, all the women drive an F3 chassis and whilst for some this is just recall, for others it is the first time they’ve handled a race car like it. Many of the 28 look to Jamie Chadwick as the one to watch, with previous experience. Although everybody’s ambition is to post the quickest lap time after the 14 corners they need to learn, it’s also crucial that they show improvement over the 4 days to demonstrate their skills in learning, feedback and data analysis. However, many drivers get frustrated as some of those experimenting a little too far continue to crash out, interrupting their group sessions- but the chances of those crashing out are definitely damaged as they lose track time. The important thing to see here is that their frustrations do not overwhelm them, and instead the drivers convert it into tenacity and determination.

Twelve of the drivers are confirmed on day 4, whilst the remaining 16 women are given another chance to prove they have what it takes. Eventually, the grid for the first season is selected- whilst the others wait to see if they are possible reserve drivers.

EPISODE THREE - THE FINNISH LINE

“What I was most concerned about was the delivery of a good, professional race.”- Catherine Bond-Muir

Only a couple of months later in Hockenheim, Germany, the 18 driver-strong grid had their first W Series race. They were quickly thrown in the deep end with the threat of spinning out in wet qualifying conditions, but Jamie Chadwick secured pole by just under a two second advantage. Despite losing the lead at the hairpin to fellow Brit Sarah Moore with a brake issue, Jamie went on to win the first W Series race, earning her bragging rights but more importantly the best start in her championship campaign, with Alice Powell hunting her down.

The second race in Zolder, Belgium would be slightly less eventful in the incident aspect (though a safety car was deployed after lights out due to smoking car ending reserve driver Sarah Bovy’s race- more on that later) but it certainly moulded the future of the championship battle. Chadwick started on pole again, but it was Dutch Beitske Visser who would be on the top step of the podium with Jamie and Alice with her. The pressure was also on for some of the racers, with a warning sent out in the form of two reserve drivers getting the opportunity to compete - if you don’t perform, your seat will be lost.

Alongside the two races, Finn Emma Kimilainen stars heavily in the episode - though not necessarily for the storylines she would have wanted. There is an inspiring feature on her life outside of racing as an entrepreneur, wife, and mother, but her first W Series race quickly goes downhill. Her stall on the start and following crash with Megan Gilkes not only terminates her start from 4th on the grid, but puts her on the back foot in the championship and forces her to pull out of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend two weeks later with a neck injury. With only six races in the season, a strong start to her campaign would have been vital in order to challenge for the championship.

EPISODE FOUR - CLUB MED

We really see the pressure build in this episode, when Canadian Megan Gilkes doesn’t put in the on-track performance needed to impress the bosses in Misano, Italy. The two reserve drivers who lined up on track at the previous race as hunters in the pack coming with a warning are allowed to continue on racing in the championship, and after the fourth race in Germany, Megan is delivered devastating news: she is now a reserve driver. Admittedly, these were strange scenes to see and hard to watch, demonstrating the cutthroat nature of the racing world.

Meanwhile, Chair Sean Wadsworth raises concerns in a meeting of the bosses about several drivers lacking fitness, performance and rivalry. This culminates in the infamous beep test which earns Alice Powell praise but also proves fitness levels are not ideal. In order to hit home the serious nature of this series, the drivers all attend a meeting to reinforce the bosses’ expectations and deliver some shocking news: only the top 12 drivers will qualify for the next season. Clips demonstrate this has visibly had the desired effect, and those behind the cut off have an ignited burning desire to prove themselves.

Brits Alice Powell and Jessica Hawkins also receive devastating results with retirements - an irreparable damage to Alice’s title chances, and a result which keeps Jessica behind the 12 drivers guaranteed a seat next season.

EPISODE FIVE - PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

“Can’t quite believe it...A few months ago we didn’t exist, and now we’ve got hundreds of people queuing for autographs from the drivers.” - Catherine Bond-Muir

The fifth episode takes place in the Netherlands, the location of race 5 and importantly a home race for Beitske, whose popularity shines when W Series participate in a car exhibition. It’s one of the first demonstrations for Catherine that the W Series is having an impact by increasing the popularity of female drivers which people will come to see.

Meanwhile, negative feelings mount for Alice Powell when she’s told she has to keep her car from the last race since she didn’t complete it, whilst she believed as it was damaged she could change her car. However, when the opportunity arises for W Series to experiment with a reverse grid in championship order, Alice makes impressive progress to finish second behind a delighted Megan Gilkes who believed she had just lost the win on the line in a spectacular photo-finish.

Higher up in the championship order, the title fight is between Jamie Chadwick and Beitske Visser. Although neither wins the fifth race of the season, Jamie importantly finishes in front of her title rival to maintain her lead. At the same time, we hear mentions of a strong friendship off-track - but as Beitske adds, none of that matters when the helmet’s on and they’re racing. The leading pair’s loss is, however, Emma Kimilainen’s gain as she wins her first race to stamp her mark on the W Series and make up for some lost points after missing the first races.

EPISODE SIX - MONEYBALL

Sean Wadsworth - “It’s probably make or break for next season. We’ve got potential investors and potential sponsors.”

We see increasing evidence in this episode of what the W Series is already doing for female drivers, as we follow Jamie Chadwick into the Williams HQ as she begins her relationship with Williams as a development driver for the team and member of the Academy. Her performance has obviously impressed and the leaderboard justifies that.

The final race of the short season takes place at the iconic Brands Hatch in the UK, and the episode focuses on what the drivers too are focused on - for Jamie and Beitske, it’s winning the championship, but for drivers such as Jessica Hawkins and Caitlin Wood it’s about ending the season in that top 12 to guarantee their seat next year. From the get-go, Beitske lacks luck. Her engine cuts out in Free Practice, and she qualifies on the third row, more importantly behind Jamie who claims pole, so she has her work cut out. Despite the set-back, Beitske recovers to provide the crowd with a fantastic battle on track, but unfortunately doesn’t beat Jamie enough points to win the title, therefore crowning Jamie the first ever W Series champion.

In the battle for the top twelve are Esmee Hawkey, Jessica Hawkins, Sabre Cook, Caitlin Wood, and Gosia Rdest, but only two of them succeed after the race. Despite a long and anxious wait together as they stand by their cars, Jessica and Sabre make it into the top twelve - a cause for celebration as they hug each other. On the other hand, a sober Esmee (after stalling her car took her out of contention), Caitlin and Gosia admit they may not have a place next year.

Closing Remarks & Where To Watch

The fact many clips in the documentary capture the drivers’ emotions and reactions as events happen makes the series different to ‘Drive to Survive’. Both are incredibly dramatic, but whilst Netflix create almost fictional and theatrical storylines, the drama in ‘W Series: Driven’ is driven purely by raw emotions in the moment, instead of after-thoughts in a dark, atmospheric room.

Like ‘Drive to Survive’, ‘W Series: Driven’ will play an important part in the generation of future fans for the sport, and I hope for our enjoyment and the expansion of W Series, we will get another informative and insightful documentary like this again for the 2021 season.

Planning to watch the W Series for the first time this year? By going to Where To Watch | W Series you can find out exactly how to keep up with every session live.

Don’t miss the first race this weekend in Austria! Practice starts on Friday at 13:10 local time - so check this against your time. Qualifying commences at 16:30 the same day, then the race is on Saturday at 16:30.