Nothing quite beats the adrenaline you feel when you’re all strapped in and ready to go. A vision so clear and crisp, by instinct you go into fighter pilot mode. You’ve got a Mercedes on your right and a Ferrari by your tail light, the grip you have on the wheel is as strong as your desire to win.
In your mind, you know exactly what to do and what the thousands of dots in the distance expect of you. But you block this out, as this is what you are trained to do. As the tensions build, you know it’s not long until the screaming of the engines echoes through. No fear or doubt, this is your chance to show the world that your time on the podium is now.
These were the feelings that rippled through the stands when the cars were lined up on the grid at the British Grand Prix in 2021. It was a scorching hot day, but that clearly didn’t scare a single fan away. Perhaps it was Silverstone, the home of British Motor Racing that did it, or perhaps it was the presence of the inspiring women on the grid who make up W Series, that made the real impression.
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Comprised of 18 drivers from 11 different countries, W Series is the first free-to-enter women’s championship and is set to race alongside Formula 1 at eight Grand Prix weekends this year. Launched in October 2018 with the mission, ‘If you can see it, you can be it'. The series provides equal opportunities for women, eliminating any financial barriers that historically might have prevented them from competing.
"It would be fantastic if people didn’t have to pay millions of pounds to race in a motor racing series," W Series CEO, Catherine Bond Muir, tells Grazia. "So, my belief in anything is, if the model is broken, change it."
And Catherine did exactly that. After spending two years knocking on people’s doors with the sole aim to raise £20 million, it was the moment when she was standing on the grid and 18 cars, against all odds, come roaring around the corner, which has been her most rewarding achievement to date.
"Honestly it was so emotional. I was just like, ah, after these years of no and then - I f**king did it."
Mid interview, Catherine’s son, Hamish, makes a guest appearance, encouraging Catherine to share the real reason behind the creation of the W Series. "I was 45-years-old when I had him and it took a bit of time for him to get there because I kept miscarrying," Catherine explains.
"I gave up work when I knew he had stuck as nothing was more important to me. So, when I went back to work, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do, and then W Series was that thing that happened."
“The central part of it has got to be an entertaining sport… And, therefore, you need the best drivers. And, therefore, it can’t be about rich kids.”
With the hope to engage and inspire young girls, Catherine couldn’t stress enough the opportunities W Series offers not just on the track, but behind the scenes.
"It’s not just about promoting the drivers; it’s about promoting the whole ecosystem. Our CFO is female, so basically whatever job you can do, you can actually apply it to motorsport," Catherine tells Grazia.
"And actually there was one time I spoke to Hamish’s year and it was so sweet. His teacher wrote to me and said, "Katie says she’s going to work much harder at maths now because she wants to become a W Series engineer". That’s what melts my heart."
After an eventful past as a solicitor to then working in sports marketing and corporate finance, Catherine’s advice to women looking to start a career in motor-racing is to simply pick something they love and be the best they can at it.
"I had so many regrets about my career because I kept changing things... However, all of those three things have been absolutely crucial for me in setting up W Series successfully"
Alongside, of course, bringing in new global and influential partners such as Heineken; an important backbone in not only funding W Series but expanding its growth and reach more quickly.
We were soon greeted by Heineken’s Global Sponsorship Manager Julia George, a Kiwi, who too is very passionate about the potential W Series can bring to motorsports on a global level.
Being a keen supporter herself, Julia sheds light on the long-term sponsorship being less of an inclusivity play and more as a legitimate reason and an extension to Formula 1.
"It just happens to be females behind the driving seat, right?" Julia explains. "Female sport has always been called female sport. Why can it not just be called sport?"
With drivers from all walks of life, Julia expresses the opportunity W Series and Heineken can have in providing fans with more amazing moments to enjoy and there being something for everyone.
Heineken has already extended its already expansive footprint in motorsport and football with two exciting new partnerships - UEFA Women’s Champions League, UEFA Women’s European Championship - and now, the W Series joins the line-up.
Later on, we had the chance to speak to two British racing drivers from the W Series, Alice Powell and Abbi Pulling. The former, we had just watched shred the grid and bring home the British Grand Prix.
"To have the opportunity to race in front of such an amazing crowd and obviously win yesterday was super special," Alice tells Grazia.
This came after four to five tough years for Alice where she was out of racing due to the lack of sponsorship.
"The W Series, you don’t have to bring any money to the table. They do a great job in getting sponsors for the series and they are able to fund it," she explains.
With Formula 1 being so competitive, you'd assume the same intense rivalry exists with the W Series too. It does, on track, but off-track, it's a different story.
Alice tells us, "I get asked like, "oh you must all be really bitchy and not like each other", but I guess no one knew what to expect because it’s obviously just so different to any other series that I’ve raced in, and same for the other girls. But we all seem to get on really well and I think we spend a lot of time together.
"Not so much now because we have bubbles due to COVID, but in 2019, we were all travelling in the same bus together, in the changing rooms [together], so we all mixed and had a laugh and spent a lot of time with each other. Obviously, friendships grew but on track, we are all out there to fight against each other - so you’ve got no friends on track, as they say."
On her advice to women looking to get into the sport, Alice explains, "A lot of people, especially younger people, think, "oh there’s just the driving side". They don’t quite realise that there’s so much more that goes on behind the scenes. Abbi admits then that she was even one of those people and I probably was when I was young as well, but there are many different avenues.
"The engineering side - and again, there’s not just engineering in terms of setting up the car, there are so many other avenues as well, especially in the likes of Formula 1. Then the mechanical side. You’ve got the PR side. You’ve got the media side. There are so many routes to take, but [if driving is your passion], go to your local go-karting track and it’s not for you, then there are many other avenues you can take as well."
Abbi then tells us, "The W Series [is] such an amazing platform for us to get our names out there and to get the experience needed to move up the ladder... It’s more people and their opinions on females in motorsport and thinking that there’s no way a girl can get to Formula 1 - and there’s no reason why."
"It’s a very technical thing, girls are clever, you know. We know what we’re doing, so power to us. I think a female can go all the way."
Watch the W Series drivers fight for their next podium on September 4th at the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix.