F1 officials have announced a launch of a new F1 Academy for 2023 season.
This new F1 academy will be an all-new female driver category consisting of five teams who currently operate in F2 and F3, with each team running three drivers each to make up a 15-driver grid.
The inaugural season will be made up of three races per weekend across seven events – amounting to 21 races across the season – alongside 15 official days of testing.
F1 officials have also confirmed the following car specifications for this new category;
- Tatuus T421 chassis
- Autotecnica supplied turbocharged engines with 172 horsepower
- Pirelli tyres
Formula Motorsport Limited CEO, Bruno Michel – who currentlys runs F2 and F3 – wil manage the F1 Academy, with F1 subsidising the cost of each race car with a €150,000 budget, which drivers will need in funding to help cover the same amount of cost with teams absorbing the remaining budget.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to follow their dreams and achieve their potential and Formula 1 wants to ensure we are doing everything we can to create greater diversity and routes into this incredible sport,” commented Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali.
Domenicali proceeded to state that he is “delighted” that the F1 Academy will provide female drivers a huge chance to climb the single-seater ladder, with view that successful drivers will graduate from the Academy into F3, F2 then F1 eventually.
Whilst acknowledging the excellent work that W Series has already done amidst financial difficulties, Domenicali added: “The more opportunity there is the better and this is designed to provide another route for the drivers to succeed.”
Michel meanwhile is “very excited” to be involved in the launch of the F1 Academy, as he iterated the importance of inclusion, as he said: “Diversity is extremely important in motorsport, and with the F1 Academy we will prove that female drivers have what it takes to compete at high levels.
“I am absolutely convinced that if young women are given the same amount of experience as any other driver, they can successfully make their way through the pyramid.”
On what he hopes the new category will achieve in the future, Michel concluded: “Our goal is to see female drivers on the F3 grid in the next two to three years, and for them to quickly challenge for points and podiums.
“The aim is to increase the field in the near future, because we hope that this category will inspire more young girls to compete in motorsport at the highest of levels.”
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