WTF Happened to the W Series?

[@NavF1]

Love how they replaced W-Series by the F1 Academy only to not stream that series live at all, great job

[@emdotrod]

Love how they really care about woman

[@jeanc1622]

F1 academy: women in f4 :(

[@jtc4119]

Bruh

[@jtc4119]

I swear I see you everywhere

[@F1ll1nTh3Blanks]

Baffling but it's always easy to say what should be done. Doing it, is a different ordeal.

[@seanonraet8327]

It definitely made Jamie Chadwick a lot more well known, the fact that she couldn't move on from the series kind of proved that it wasn't really doing what it was supposed to though

[@blacklightvirus5204]

if i remember right , she said she still needed more money to enter F3, she races now on indy nxt

[@jamesshone1677]

She had no incentive to move on. 3 years of free racing where she gets paid 500k is an absolute for anyone. Why would she move on and finish mid table in F3 again while forking out millions

[@blacklightvirus5204]

@@jamesshone1677 i had posted you an article link but doesnt appear so this is part of it. Jamie Chadwick, who won $1m (£736,000) for winning the first two W Series championships, has announced her return to the female-only series in 2022 after being unable to secure funding to progress to Formula 3. “I’ve said publicly before that I want to step up and out of W Series to showcase the opportunity it has given me and the platform I now have going forward,” said Chadwick in early February. It’s still difficult, even with the prize money. “The next step is still four times the budget I have. It’s still not the easiest so we haven’t been able to confirm a programme just yet.”

[@blacklightvirus5204]

@damarfadlan9251 yup, she races for andretti

[@Chyeahokay]

Other teams in different series probably gave her a chance at their sims, and she didn’t perform

[@welles28]

The lack of sponsors on the cars says it all. Without a real TV deal, this series was always going to be toast.

[@johngancarcik5682]

Exactly or even badging or a reference if the driver is in a team academy or a team would be something

[@ChirpFPV]

A drive to survive type serires would be great i think

[@Toro_Da_Corsa]

But F1 is going to waste it's money with a similar series

[@No_One2oo9]

No one is intrested in womens sport pal. Its heavily subsided and house u 11 at racing anything are better than the top females. Push it all you want give out tickets in schools. It's just a flash in a the pan it cant be sustained that way

[@WinX_io]

there is no demand and that's it. it's all about supply and demand.

[@lukesmith7837]

I think the problem it had was all their career progression lived and died in the series. It wasn't a good image that the repeat champion struggled to get an F3 drive and then had an off season in FREC. For me, the presence of competitive female drivers in WEC, WRX and co-drivers in WRC just made the whole series seem unnecessary

[@asymsolutions]

Problems go down to the very core. A "womens only series" in motorsport is dumb. The reason we have female series in other sports is to even out the average of physical capabilities amongst the pool of athletes. Most of the professionals in futball/soccer, basketball, rugby etc are going to have a hieght, muscle and weight disadvantage to most of the male athletes of a similar experience and training. We don't have that issue in motorsports, females are lighter on average, have larger lungs and hearts on average for the same weight as their male counterparts; if you don't believe me look at USN and USAF g-force tests with their pilots (Female pilots on average have a higher tolerance to lateral forces). The solution to lack of women in the upper tier of motorsports is simple: stop making dumb series that are nothing but a side ladder (like you said "their career progression lived and died in the series"), with a limited field who's best and worst were so varied that they couldn't be properly assessed and now can't get into the best open wheel series. Stop propping up every female talent right away like the idiots at NASCAR did with Danica Patrick and now Hailie Deegan, (or those idiots in F1 did with Carmen Jorda) and let them gain the experience first so they can prove themselves before they get overwhelmed with media work and can't put the work in. Just treat them like you do the men in the sport, they will eventually appear; any attempt to force this will only bring negatives to the sport. Worst case they become like Legge and Neilsen, still respectable drivers who can beat 99.9% of "racers" in the world, and best we get another Michèle Mouton. But no female driver is going to become that if we keep putting them against the Lewis Hamiltons and Jeff Gordons without letting them gain the fucking experience those guys have first. On another note, I don't hate Danica Patrick and Hailie Deegan, Danica was offered a deal that was too good to turn down; Hailie from what I can see is just doing her thing and the victim of dumb social media hype. Given the circumstances I'd be doing the same if I was them.

[@suckieduckie]

The question is, was Chadwick too slow for F3 or not.

[@Dexter037S4]

​@@suckieduckieSeeing how she's been fairing in Indy Lights, probably too slow for Formula Regional

[@fqeagles21]

@@suckieduckie2 second slower

[@lorddarlo6194]

She was the other day doing punditry for Channel 4 here in the UK coverage of the British GP they said she was a reserve Williams Driver or test driver based on her interaction around the team principle she must be linked in somewhere

[@scsutton1]

Here's why it failed: There was no end product. No progression, no guaranteed higher series drive and lack of exposure.

[@freddy8624]

And females were maybe getting Free seats in f1 If they had progression?

[@salkdhfpoahergpoahre1534]

And now the girl who dominated it is drowning in indyNXT

[@e2rqey]

It's almost like lack of funding is not the main reason why there are no women currently racing in F1🤔🤯

[@flyingphoenix113]

​@@e2rqey, shhhhhh! Don't say the quiet part out loud. Allow them to belabor in their delusions that a woman will make it, on merit, to the pinnacle of open wheel racing.

[@piccoloatburgerking]

Why are these guys so salty in the replies 💀

[@1984kylea]

For anyone curious Jamie Chadwick went to go race in a feeder Indycar series for Andretti (not some low budget spare parts team), she's in a team with 3 other drivers. As of today the standings has her teammates 3rd, 4th and 8th, she's 17 out of 20 drivers.

[@kaing5074]

Oh no...

[@meowiguess903]

Dearie me

[@ShutnikActual]

also realize she probably isnt in good enough shape in terms of upper body strength to drive one of those cars they are very hard to steer with no power steering not to mention the amount of downforce they have which adds to the difficulty to drive the IndyLights(NXT) Cars

[@lukehandscomb3133]

TO BE FAIR to Chadwick, her performances have been on a pretty convincing upwards trajectory, and Indy is like nothing she's raced before. European open wheelers, with high downforce, delicate tyres, and power steering, are all about putting in smooth laps to go fast. Indy has no power steering, and the cars are designed to be MUCH rougher on their tyres. You gotta fight an Indycar round the track to even begin to switch the tyres on, a driving style that would demolish European open wheelers. If you're having to catch the back end on a formula car, you're pushing too hard. If you're not having to catch the back end of an Indycar, you're driving too slow. Look what I'm saying is don't write her off yet

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

17th, Jesus I thought she was doing better than that…

[@emdotrod]

Well, an uncompetitive series (Chadwick basically swoop the series for 3 seasons straight with basically little to no competition and the disparity between drivers are pretty far) will lead to no sponsors which will give the series no money.

[@HolyGoatsOfSteel]

Well, an uncompetitive series (Hamilton / Verstappen) basically swoop the series for 3 seasons straight with basically little to no competition and the disparity between drivers are pretty far) will lead to no sponsors which will give the series no money.

[@Lionlover666]

Wasn't even down to setup, her car. Or even her engineer. Because they change cars, engineers every race, and the setups visible to all other drivers.

[@HolyGoatsOfSteel]

Did you even listen to what you said? You practically just described F1 for the past decade.

[@Trydson]

@@HolyGoatsOfSteel You have to take into consideration that F1 has like 70 years of tradition at this point, the problem with this series is having the first three seasons won by only one person and the gap between her and the rest getting bigger each year.

[@blueguy12345]

Yeah cause that doesn't happen in any other series right ? Like F1 is completly immune to a driver dominating right ? Edit : wrote F2 but meant F1

[@saxgarcon734]

The fact that they turned down Michelle Gatting really shows that the people choosing who gets in didn’t really know what they were looking for.

[@LJBMOTORSPORT]

I met Catherine and various w series drivers such as marta Garcia and Gosia rdest at Silverstone 2021. It’s one of my favourite motorsport memories to the point where the w series hat and driver cards sit on my wall as special pieces. I honestly spend half my weekend with the championship as I was a day one fan of the series. If it wasn’t for w series I wouldn’t be a student sports journalist and a women in racing advocate doing a women in racing podcast and working with the female driver Alisha Palmowksi. So I have lot to thank w series I cried when it went into admistration and while yes I get the issues I still feel grateful and owe a lot to the championship that set me on my career path forever.

[@GregSpeed]

Thank you for sharing.

[@hexgraphica]

I respect your perspective but I can't see how it should be pursued in order to attract new enthusiasts. I'm myself quite feminine, been hating machos (among other stereotyped personalities on every side) since I was a little kid, can't stand the typical Motorsport worker... But I love motor racing, going at the racetrack, smelling some of the paddock life, seeing race cars up close in person, and weren't I this unmotivated I'd be working in any racing related job. Haven't heard ever of any boy falling into love with motor racing because there's many men there, or because everybody says it's very masculine, every boy (except the billionaires) got into it because of the loud engines, the sense of speed and the challenge. I get there's very few women among track drivers (a lot more in rallying), but at this point it could be due to Motorsport being looked upon

[@AndreaAirlines]

@@hexgraphica just because this was your experience doesn't mean it's everyone's

[@hexgraphica]

@@AndreaAirlines no but it means it's possible to get drawn into motor racing without having to feel accustomed to the people who work there. Your point is valid, in fact the women in Motorsport thing relies on the belief that every woman needs to find someone alike her to feel enticed to motorsport. And also to tidy up that environment only if it's to be made suitable for women but that's another story

[@AndreaAirlines]

@@hexgraphica it is possible, but different people get drawn into motorsport (or even stay away from it) due to different factors. i got into f1 because i grew up watching it thanks to my dad, but back then the only women you could see were the grid girls and maybe nicole scherzinger (or xuxa when i was a wee child) so i thought it looked like a hostile environment for people like me. things are certainly changing, but we're not quite "there" yet.

[@MisaelCastilloBrenes]

I watched the first championship that Jamie won. In 2021, they restricted the broadcast and I think that was a mistake. The series wasn't very known yet, and keeping it in KZbin would help to grab more attention. I also think that using F3-ish cars won't help if they want to go up in the ladder. In F1 academy they are using F4 cars. Some of their drivers came from WSeries, so that is somehow a downgrade. If they aim to go up, they need to up their game with the cars as well, otherwise the ladies will be perceived as they can only participate in the lower series.

[@werdschonwersein]

The cars are the biggest joke about F1 academy, they should be at least F3, more like somewhat between F3 and F2 (so that going to F2 as the penultimate step before F1 is still an upgrade)

[@santumi2298]

I feel like if the FIA actually gave a damn they'd sponsor the Driver's champion into F2. €3m is completely reasonable. Fine the F1 drivers more if they need to, they've got the cash. Even then I'm amazed Chadwick never got cash from Williams to go into FIA F3. She's in Indy Lights now, sure, which is a very competitive field, but the FIA can't expect to see a woman in F1 if she is given no money.

[@georgiuselangwicaksana919]

​@@santumi2298williams actually did sponsor jer at fia f3 championship. And well, from all 8 series and 16 races, she only scored once at red bull ring with 9th place finish and decided to go to w series

[@richardwani2803]

It was on one of the main channels in the UK was on channel 4, who did do some marketing, but later on , it only highlights about an hour

[@Sayoriwastaken]

I agree

[@mgraysonhay]

lol that opening kills me… Josh: “2006, Vancouver…” Also Josh: **Proceeds to show Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.**

[@thenerd8654]

I was about to comment the same thing. Simple mistake but a funny one if you’re Canadian😂

[@caphowdy666]

I have to say I agreed with Sophia Floersch on the fact that segregating drivers by gender was not the way to go, but at the same time I supported the series because I support female drivers. The biggest problem was that it has highlighted that not all female drivers are equal. The fact that the champion could not get a seat in F3 made the series look pointless, and when she has finally got into Indy NXT (lites) she has hardly set the world alight, it kinda makes all the women she beat look bad. Floersch though has made it to F3, and while performances are hit or miss, she did at least become the first female to score points in F3 ... well until she was DSQ, The series never delivered on its promises, and that is where it really did itself no favours. I really do feel sorry for the drivers though, as some of them show a hell of a lot of promise. Abbi Pulling for instance, while I am not saying she is F3/F2 champion material, I think given time she could make a decent go at those series. And Chadwick. When you are dominating a series against other females, but struggle against males, that is gonna hurt a lot of people. I just hope this new FIA series can do something better, but I don't really have much faith, and I still do not like the idea of a gender specific series. If the FIA want to help female drivers, put in place some kind of support system to run them in F3. One team with two female drivers would be better than none.

[@gabrielcho999]

I don't understand your point. You mention Chadwick beating to the pulp all the competition in the W Series, only to be beaten herself on the Indy lites is "bad optics", yet you feel like FIA should sponsor out of the kindness of their hearts a bunch of females to run on F3. Can you guess what would happen then? Would they win everything? How about at least one or two races? Clearly not. How about we base the hiring of the drivers base SOLELY on their performance/sponsor attraction level, and not on if they have a penis or a vagina? This is what happens when your vision of the world hits the barrier that is reality. Women, in general, will never reach the level of males. And that is NOT a bad thing intrinsically. I support female racers, those that reached because they were actually competitive, like Michelle Mouton and Elizabeth Junek. HUGE props to them. But this fad that acts with women as if they were big children? F that!

[@drunkenhobo5039]

"Hardly setting the world alight" is being rather generous. Chadwick is currently bottom in Indy NXT out of the full-time drivers. The only guys below her have missed at least one race.

[@nicolasoliveira4903]

​@@drunkenhobo5039Isn't this the same thing that happens whenever you pit women against men? 🤔 Biology doesn't care about colorful flags.

[@nealmiller7849]

When she entered the NXT Jamie was not physically strong enough to control the cars in the same way as her competitors. They're also much higher downforce and higher power than her previous series. Not saying she's not doing bad, but I think her second season will be much more telling on if she's got it or not

[@caphowdy666]

@@nealmiller7849 That is all gonna depend on whether she gets a second season though surely. She has to find the finances and a team has to still want to field her, and they may think she is not worth keeping.

[@kendrox0994]

Personally I’m worried these women only series do a good job at getting a ride and exposure to female driver prospects coming up, but they completely fail at actually building a talent pool. Using Jamie Chadwick as an example, she dominated W Series for 3 full years at a critical age for development. Now this year she’s running Indy NXT(American Indycar step down series). I saw her racing at Road America in person a few weeks ago, and she unfortunately had no pace whatsoever. She clearly was a talent, but hasn’t been getting the competition she needs for years. As you said, there’s no free lunch

[@mikko3]

You dont need competetion to know if you have talent. Chadwick drove in Formula Regional European Championship and it was shown she isn't good. There women only series are bad because it makes people think they are good when in fact they aren't

[@glockmat]

I will just say that the Iron Dames car went 4th in class in Le Mans this year. They lead almost 100 laps IIRC, but after a few bad stops they lost some positions. They were on track to get 3rd back, but ran out of time

[@MUCKLEECH]

Well see how they do in hypercar next season

[@glockmat]

@@MUCKLEECH Iron Dames is running a hypercar next year?

[@MUCKLEECH]

@@glockmat yes, I think they signed with Lamborghini

[@glockmat]

@@MUCKLEECH Lambo partnered with Iron Lynx, Iron Lynx do run the Iron Dames' car, but they are not one and the same, maybe they will drive a Hypercar, but I doubt it, or not, they were the best Iron Lynx finisher in Le Mans this year. I just watched Le Mans, so I dont know if it was a fluke

[@ethanpratt330]

@glockmat If I'm correct, I think they are in the lead to race Lamborghini's GT3 Evo-2 from 2024 in the LMGT3 class which is still impressive in itself, but I don't think a Hypercar drive is on the cards yet. I reckon if they do well in that class for the first year or so then they'd be first in line for a customer Lamborghini Lmdh though

[@jaykay5811]

I think most women’s league failures come down to a lack of interest from other women. Statistically primarily older men(me being one of them) watch the lowest rated sports. When u ask women about women leagues they talk about supporting it but don’t actually practice watching it(again statistically, I’m not talking about you)which is the only true way to support it. Sports is entertainment, if people don’t gain some form of entertainment out of it for whatever reasons that’s on the sport not the viewer. It’s like running a restaurant and blaming people’s taste buds for poor business.

[@dewaadisandjaja]

It's a bitter truth. Women just like, "Yea support women on sports" but noone really watch it.

[@arekkusu888]

It’s like Bill Burr says: women will say they fully support WNBA, for example, and then you ask them to name 1 player or team and they go blank.

[@julesbrunton1728]

We.all have limited time to spend on entertainment. If women are really serious about supporting female sports they need to spend less time watching male sports. But those tight shorts on those firm muscled bums are too hot to not look at. Oops, did I just say that?

[@effinjamieTT]

@@arekkusu888 Yet shit like the Kardashians and real housewives make billions. The fact of the matter is the vast majority of women aren't interested in sport, they say they are, but the proof is in the pudding.

[@SuxxenOkard]

I'll say that women's soccer/football in the Anglosphere, France, Germany and rugby league in Australia/NZ are a lot higher up than many other spors. And people forget that women's tennis was only equal with mens since the 80s, and without trailblazers like Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Margaret Court and feminism in general... the 2017 Australian Open final wouldn't have been between the Williams sisters, but between Mrs. Alexis Ohanian and Miss. Venus Williams (if venus was even allowed to compete as an unmarried woman.) Note for those unaware, Serena is married to Alexis Ohanian, a reddit co-founder. No, he is not /u/spez, that's Steve Huffman. Alexis left Reddit years ago.

[@anirudhr6052]

The organisers should realise one thing, that entering F1 at an early age is better, like by 23-25 years an aspiring driver should be in F1( if they wanna become world champion) cuz adapting to f1 at later stages in life is demanding af(and no team takes older drivers). This means that the drivers in F1 academy have to speedrun their careers, which is again hard.

[@bleachedrainbow]

If you aren't born into a billionaire family, don't even THINK about trying a F1 racing career

[@anirudhr6052]

@@bleachedrainbow that's primary

[@CrunchyMotorsport]

Personally, F1 Academy is going to be much more worse than W-Series. The fact it is not broadcast means that no-one will watch it unless they seek it out, whereas the W-series actually broadcast the races at the same time F1 is on so inbetween sessions, race would take place and people would watch it. F1 Academy will die soon, W-series at least had funding from broadcast but F1 Academy does not.

[@DorrySkog]

2024 season should be run on f1 weekends as support race, so i hope it will be broadcasted since the media will be there already

[@Lora_Beolab]

did you know, that things can happen in the future that are'nt happening now?

[@dbzcollector9963]

You just said the w series was broadcast? So how come it still failed? It’s just lack of interest even tho there’s tons of chads saying how they can’t believe F1 academy isn’t broadcast and how they “would watch it if it were” they still wouldn’t watch it resulting in low views and less money being made….

[@zemethius]

​@@dbzcollector9963Just 2019 was broadcast, I think. Then COVID hit and the broadcasts never came back. Frankly, I didn't even realise it came back in 2021 due to the poor marketing. Can't watch if you don't know something exists.

[@dbzcollector9963]

@@zemethius the thing is a few people saying they would of watched it or didn’t know really wouldn’t have made a difference. To be fair they pretty much mentioned the w series every time in the pre show and after cause there was always one of the drivers from the series on the show. They would even show highlights on KZbin but people still wouldn’t watch it.

[@ReduxGarage]

The opening shots aren’t from Vancouver. They’re from Edmonton and from what I remember, realizing after event, that the organizers did a crap job of telling us plebes that it was actually happening.

[@rockstar6790]

Let’s not forget that after her recovery, Abbie Eaton went back to racing. She is one tough women.

[@mid-packhack8130]

It was always cursed by being an end product instead of the proper stepping stone to a better seat. Hopefully it's just a brief stumbling block that helps newer series and drivers get the right path forward

[@DjFIL007]

The real question I have is what's the next step? If you win F1 Academy (or W Series) what did that guarentee... nothing? They need to be willing to invest at least for one more step above their own series. Either a scholarship type reward (like Road to Indy provides with their ranks of USF Juniors, USF 2000, USF Pro 2000 and NXT as a final step in to IndyCar) or they should look at funding a team with a seat or two in the next series up (Formula 3 in this case) with the winner getting a guarenteed seat. Sure they'd be on their own to progress above, but it's something to help and give reason for fans to watch them strive for big goals. Because without the next step in the sights, the outspoken female drivers against W Series segration was 100% right. Otherwise thanks for reminding me to check the F1 Academy series standings, cause following it has been very difficult with their lack of real exposure. I can watch the smallest of regional amateur racing series LIVE on KZbin, but why not F1 Academy?

[@ChadSimplicio]

At least Jamie Chadwick is getting exposure in the U.S. as an Indy NXT driver. I do hope F1 Academy grows, and see how well Filipina Prema driver Bianca Bustamante develops.

[@sking2173]

Who ?

[@edubvb5193]

@@sking2173 Bianca Bustamante

[@OmegaF77]

@@edubvb5193 Bianca Bustdeeznuts.

[@ernestogasulla7763]

Are you sure finishing 10th as a best result is good exposure?

[@darkfluxo]

I'd watch it if it was on F1 TV, I watch all the other series available on the off weeks of F1... It can't be that hard for them to do this...

[@ThmsDouglas]

Same here

[@jacekatalakis8316]

I'd rather cheer on the Iron Dames in sportscars than an all female glorified F3 regional series where the winner isn't adapting well to Indy NXT. When you have a more underwhelming US career than Kat Legge, well.... I mean, iron Dames are there and insanely quick and talented, on merit. You had the all female entry at the Rolex 24 a few years ago with the aforementioned Kat Legge. You've had legends like Shirley Muldowney, who had her own brutally hard 80s racing simulator that was all RTFM, now go drive in a straight line, if the revs get even one pixel into the red, boom, there goes several grand. You've had several in various levels of ARCA and NASCAR over the years. This focus on oh we need a emale in F1, is flawed. Where, do tell, is this female racer going to end up then? All the seats are taken, there's not a new team entering, is there that I'm not aware of?

[@m1che_]

11:29 Chilling that another name has been added to that list quite recently RIP Dilano Van’t Hoff 😔

[@TheProkonover]

This is the reality: is not funding, is not exposure, it's speed. It's the speed what they lack and the physical endurance to be fast over an entire race distance. Because they can argue whatver they want and give a female driver hundreds of millions in sponsors if that female driver cannot go past Top 10 every race in F3 or F2, then they wont make it further. The moment a female driver shows up being extremelly fast consistently, then that female will rise through the ranks and find sponsors like every other of the male drivers. Because trust me, sponsors are hungry to find the next female "Alonso/Hamilton/Verstappen". With the focus on women that the world has currently, a fast female driver is good publicity.

[@sammartinez1149]

Danica built an entire brand around modest on track accomplishments

[@KenzieRetro]

I already miss it. Especially since the f1 academy isn't shown live here at the moment

[@renatatostada3318]

It's not shown live anywhere, to my knowledge

[@azura_2437]

As an endurance and GT fan it's great so see teams like the Iron Dames and many other female drivers. Great vid keep it up.

[@Nswix]

No one watched the rugby game in Vancouver because Canadians dont watch Rugby. Kiwis turned up, because Kiwis watch rugby.

[@sportstrap4285]

This is a little unrelated but I love the touch of having each drivers flag on the rear wing and I wish it would carry over into F1. Unfortunately it won’t happen cause that’s prime sponsor space and the FIA best not dare take away those precious dollars but still

[@frozenuruguayball6436]

I think check does that

[@rafa57games]

There were some things as well: W series was supposed to be a low coast series, but then they decided to race in America, Asia and Middle east. This is a logistical nightmare for F1 teams with huges budgets

[@FabJK4]

I totally forgot about the strange drivers selection at the beginning of the series. Then, i remembered how they treated Irina Sidorkova: she was basically pulled aside from W Series beacuse of her nationality. Unbeliavable.

[@HappyVibes535]

Does she support the invasion of Ukraine?

[@CrunchyMotorsport]

14:37 Bet Josh felt the pressure to make the joke

[@willyb218]

Chadwick is the undisputed best W series driver, that isn't questioned. Today she drives in Indylights (NXT) and is a mid fielder on her best days. I think that should highlight the biggest problem with how the FIA approaches this as just one form of diversity. Other motorsport organizations like NASCAR have broader diversity programs and this massively benefits everyone as it does increase competition.

[@jeremythurman5261]

NASCAR and the NHRA are way beyond these other organizations in regards to diversity. Ironically, the two most stereotypical redneck racing organizations.

[@hisham_hm]

I don't know a lot about American motorsports, but isn't Indylights/NXT like F2? (as in the next level below the main Indy series?) - if she's being a midfielder there I think that's not too bad (we've had F2 midfielders ending up in F1 because of money, after all...)

[@wellanyway4]

@@hisham_hm yeah it is the F2 equivalent

[@hammerhiem75]

yeah Nascar gave a female driver a consistant top 5 car for 6 season and she managed a handful of top 10s.

[@charmingpeasant9834]

Diversity programs are a ridiculous concept in the first place.

[@ricardopetrere]

I think, from a sponsors' perspective, it's just business, there wasn't much appeal to the public, which means less earnings. But from a fans' perspective, it was boring seeing Chadwick winning every time, there was barely a good livestream to watch (and F1 Academy is doing it even worse now), the cars (and most drivers) were slow and inexperienced. It was a feeder series, and the mainstream audience don't care about feeder series

[@gonehazgaming3093]

I honestly didn’t know this entire series existed. Thanks for widening my knowledge

[@CyanRooper]

It went from being the W Series to the L series.

[@callmeshelton4544]

I got a friend into F1 in March and she was so stoked when I told her about f1 academy. We’ve both been so disappointed the lack of support F1 has given it.

[@peterjones6456]

But at best, it's a Formula Regional or Formula 4 level category. How many other series at that level have dedicated coverage from the F1 youtube channel? None. Given the profile of the series, there's a hell of a lot of coverage

[@r.j.williams]

@@peterjones6456 however freca and f4 are streamed live on youtube while f1 academy isn't streamed live anywhere, making it more difficult to get into because you aren't able to watch the full races as they happen. by the time all of the highlights come out, you already know the results, meaning there's less intrigue. i think it would really benefit from live coverage so people would be able to see it play out in real time instead of waiting a couple of days to watch it, by which time interest from the race weekend may be starting to die down

[@izanefe4231]

as far as I know the reason why f1 academy isn't broadcast anywhere is because the series was set to debut in 2024, but they rushed it to 2023 with the death of W series, so they might be in the process of signing a broadcast deal for 2024 and if they streamed it on youtube it might hurt the negociations

[@peterjones6456]

@@r.j.williams F1 is no stranger to that. Anyone forced into watching channel 4 most likely already knows the results before it's accessible to them as well

[@r.j.williams]

@@peterjones6456 imo the difference there is that f1 already has the prestige and excitement around it to make it seem worthwhile. i personally do watch the channel 4 coverage, but i listen to the bbc radio coverage live. with the f1 you can still follow it live with commentary even if you're not able to watch the sky coverage. f1 academy doesn't even have that radio coverage and definitely doesn't have the reputation of f1 to carry it

[@ninjameerkat]

i legit forgot about this series lol

[@OtavioOctopus]

I've always thought that the winner of a W series or an F1 academy should be helped by the organisation to find a seat in another junior category like Formula 3

[@sking2173]

Perhaps you can fund that F3 seat …

[@mikko3]

Why when there are boys driving karts who are better than these "Academy" drivers

[@DorrySkog]

I just hope that the next season of F1 Academy will be broadcasted since it should be run as support races on f1 weekends

[@meowiguess903]

How are they going to fit it on schedule, I wonder? I mean, there would be f2 & f3 too...

[@seanonraet8327]

​@@meowiguess903not every race weekend has f2 and f3. I'm sure they could make it work

[@Dexter037S4]

​@@seanonraet8327it'll probably kill the Porsche Supercup sadly

[@WiffGiff]

It sad though that it so common today to find people online that hate women that are playing any sport.

[@nicoofthenight8403]

I grew up seeing Alice Powell and Jamie Chadwick going from Ginetta juniors so seeing them on a big stage was amazing I hope the series or continues or they get further in the racing world

[@martinweaver9373]

Related to the intro, I just went to a womens rugby match this past weekend in Canada (USA vs AUS, CAN vs NZ) and there were 10,092 people in attendance. It might not seem like a lot but it was a Canadian record for womens rugby and a sport where people know nothing about here. It is growing.

[@atomiccorpse]

Happened to work on their website in late 2019/early 2020, promise that had nothing to do with their collapse... honest.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

I'll always fondly remember being at Brands Hatch for the 2019 W Series season finale. It just felt like a huge breath of fresh air, seeing so many female racing fans show out and get excited by it all, and the W Series paddock was one of the most relaxed and friendly places I've ever been in motorsport. Drivers up to and including Jamie Chadwick just chilling out and meeting and hanging out with fans, everything was open and the atmosphere was just so much more relaxed and less snobby than most motorsport paddocks/garage areas. The racing was really good too, I remember being stood at Paddock Hill Bend when Visser threw that hail mary pass on Chadwick and the entire crowd went NUTS, and I LOVED the idea of the top 12 in the standings getting a guaranteed ride for the following year - it made things super exciting at both ends of the championship table, and I'll always remember seeing Jess Hawkins climb out of her car and embrace her family in floods of tears, having driven a clutch performance to just sneak into the top 12 at the death. Having started as a cynic of the series, I was a believer by the end of that season. I'll be honest, I can't help but feel like the series moving onto the F1 bill was its death knell. It went from being able to stand on its own and shine, having it's own unique spot, to basically being a sideshow, an afterthought beneath not just F1 but F2 and F3 as well. They were pushed into the corner, not given any focus or attention, and fans weren't given any reason to care about them - we're seeing that exact same issue with F1 Academy now not even being TELEVISED, ffs. The fact Lewis Hamilton was the only F1 driver to even visit their paddock or acknowledge their presence wasn't great either. Then you add in the negative PR from Caitlyn Jenner's presence, as well as Chadwick dominating the series yet seeming to imply women weren't even strong enough to drive F1 cars in one ill-fated interview around the time of the 2022 British GP, and...yeah. It sucks, because it had great intentions and I loved the things it was trying to do not just for women in racing, but racing as a whole. Maybe they flew too close to the sun, but I admire the efforts nonetheless - and the fact that I now know about drivers like Chadwick, Hawkins, Alice Powell, Beitske Visser, Sarah Bovy, Caitlin Wood and Abbi Pulling, as well as getting to see folks like Abbie Eaton in competitive rides, means I can't call it a complete write-off.

[@rhodrage]

Ah yes. Jamie Chadwick and Friends.

[@AZZACraft]

Jamie after winning the Championship in 21 had planned to progress onto Formula 3, but her attempt was unsuccessful due to not being able to procure enough funding and sponsorship to secure a seat in one of the teams, W Series were lenient and decided to let her race in the 22 season, ultimately in attempts she'll progress next season, in someway she has as she's currently racing in the Indy NXT with Andretti Autosports and whilst she's currently 17th in the standings after 6 rounds, she has shown signs of improvement, I'm just hoping this is a step in the right direction into Formula 3 or IndyCar.

[@fuzzy1dk]

A female driver in F3 or even F1 would be major PR scoop for team and sponsor, but only if she's competitive. I guess noone believed she would be

[@NapiLP]

chadwick had already been in f3. wanna know who finished in front of her in the standings? mazepin. yes, one of the worst drivers to come into f1 beat the woman who was dominating the w-series. this alone is enough to understand why the series failed so embarrassingly. if the people at the top get clowned on by shit drivers its destined to fail.

[@AZZACraft]

@NapiLP that series which is the F3 Asian Championship 2019-2020 which in she finished 4th behind Mazapin who came 3rd, of which he then went into F2 in 2020 finishing 5th and getting a seat for Haas in 2021, remember Callum Ilott who came 2nd and Robert shwartzman who came 4th, both didn't get a seat in F1, Callum subsequently doing other series after 2020 F2 series, whilst Robert finished 2nd in F2 2021, Mazapin had the money to get himself somewhere, if only Others around him had that luxury, but hey Chadwick came behind him in that series she's obviously gotta be crap.....yeah no Chadwick has won multiple series British GT Championship GT4 2015, Silverstone 24 hours 2015, MRF Challenge Formula 2000 2018-19 and of course all 3 W series, now Mazapin has won nothing no series, the best position he's ever got was 2nd in the GP3 series of 2018 and Anthoine Hubert still beat him even with a DSQ and Retiring in the last race. So no W series was didn't fail because a joke of an F1 driver beat her in a series before W series, it failed because of what was explained in the video.

[@Barni2212]

If she wants to progress, she needs to be better than almost last. Being 17th from 20 people isn't that convincing.

[@Racing_Fox]

@@fuzzy1dkI mean Williams did that whole thing with Suzie Wolff They just sent her out for a couple of FP1 sessions and raked in the praise without ever actually giving her a race seat.

[@Ps1napse]

Josh, I absolutely am loving your videos. Keep it up dude.

[@Sebastianraikkonen_actualname]

Chadwick returned after season one because basically she pleaded the prize didn't pay enough when in reality, she blew it on extravagant lifestyle. Obviously because now she'd returned once, they were kinda forced to keep her for season 3 as she was, arguably, the Lewis Hamilton/Max Verstappen of the series. But yeah, even the CEO of W Series was pissed with Chadwick at the time. How do you think she funded her Extreme E etc? She just felt, I'm rich now this'll how it'll always be, quite sad really. Should have left W Series and gambled the money on FE or F3 to prove her worth, now she's a backmarker in IndyLights

[@mikko3]

She was in F3 and sucked

[@Ihaveanamenowtaken]

The issue was that it was a feeder series for... What? It could've been an interesting option if they had had a superior category to go to.

[@tschibbs]

Have to add in the impact Abbie Eaton had on women racing drivers through her role on The Grand Tour

[@francislancedavid629]

Well to be fair if it wasn't for W-Series, I wouldn't know about Bianca Bustamante

[@mrboast2826]

Who

[@francislancedavid629]

A Filipino driver, which I barely see any of in motosport

[@Lizard_22]

I’m actually suprised that there isn’t enough attention on that ocean gate sub joke 😂

[@temy4895]

I remember the halcyon days of 2019 and the first series. Free to watch on Channel 4, allowing me to catch up on races afterwards. Then it went on to Sky and that was the end of that. One of the more interesting links between W series & F1 Academy is Megan Gilkes, who was in the 1st series of W series (winning the non Championship reverse grid race, holding off a charging Alice Powell), and is currently driving in F1 Academy a few years older and wiser.

[@Dexter037S4]

Gilkes is dreadfully slow, the money is in GT Racing now

[@jayd2517]

I'm a big Chadwick fan but her struggles in Indy NXT despite being with a big team are very concerning!

[@megumei044]

It was so frustrating that there was no progression system. We need to have that or the series will be stagnant. I want to see my fellow sisters get a shot at getting their foot in the door BUT also have to stand on their own two feet to show off their talent once they win the championship. Having a feeder series for women is a good thing when done right. If they are a good driver they will progress on their own merit if the talent is there! Also....why aren't they broadcasting the new series live....arghh 😢

[@ljphoenix4341]

Someone tag Alanis King, Elizabeth Blackstock and Nolan Sykes, and let them know about this! Donut Racing Show should make a podcast about this, give F1 Academy as much exposure as it can

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

Chadwick was the only apparent talent but this year she is coming dead last out of the full time entries in Indy NXT/Lights.

[@Hugh____Jass]

But you also have to take into account that in almost every round she'd be running in the top ten and then would get hit by another driver (most of the times the contact isn't even her fault) and drop back a bunch of places. It's true that her qualifying needs work but her race pace is there

[@Pascaffa]

2:40 wasn't jamie chadwick part of prema in some f3 regional. her teammates got 1st, 2nd and 3rd while she got 9th.

[@shaunfaloon9861]

I wonder why a series fully subsidised with no revenue generation would fail. Baffling.

[@sammartinez1149]

But but but “we” NEED more female drivers! Why, you may ask? Well, because women good so women racing good and men racing not good.

[@Garagefoxx]

The 121 series actually was a reason of why I decided to buy one of those Egg shaped gems for myself lol. Did not expect to see it get mentioned!!

[@danielcgomez]

You do such a great job at laying out the cards in your videos Josh ...thanks for that. I enjoyed following the W Series while it lasted ...was a bit miffed about it's existence because I too felt that it was defeating itself by the segregation. It's unfortunate that it went away ...and it's even MORE unfortunate that the F1 Academy that has replaced it?? seems to have started off on a very odd footing ...Being that it is being run by ab ex racer(Susie Wollf), and F1 has their name all over it! ...and having the W Series actually participate on several F1 Race weekends, should have at least left them with the best parts of the blue prints. Why the hell is there NO LIVE COVERAGE of the races?? ...I mean having to wait a couple weeks for a 15 minute KZbin video of the entire race weekend?!?! Come on... I would really love to see a woman in F1 ...in a great team too! ...all these geniuses out there and no one can come up with a solution! Thanks again Josh!

[@samsefaradio]

The womans rugby final was sold out because they were giving tickets away.

[@dankmemesmeltexistentialdr2769]

Ultimately, I find myself watching these series, going “oh damn she’s fast” then googling their stats and they’ve been absolutely fucking bodies in male dominated series. There is something about modern single seater cars that provide a seemingly insurmountable challenge to the overwhelming majority of women. They can succeed in rally, they can succeed in GT and LMP racing, but barring Danica Patrick, and perhaps Simone De Silvestro, there has been zero evidence to suggest there are women capable of competing at the highest levels of open wheel motorsport. I suspect the reason is biological, perhaps to do with how our bodies react to G force, I don’t believe it’s that the women lack the knowledge or mental ability to do it.

[@drunkenhobo5039]

The thing is, the same is true for almost all men. Over the last decade about 0.000002% of the world's male population has raced in F1. For women it's 0%. The difference is basically non-existent. Women are physically inferior in basically every single aspect so they're just not going to edge out the very elite of men.

[@nicolasoliveira4903]

Or maybe have something mental or cerebral. Remember that in online games we don't have G-force and the physical body is irrelevant, yet no woman can compete with men in E-Sports.

[@fairsaa7975]

Literally not even true, otherwise their wouldn't be women in *the air-force*. You reckon military airplanes carry more G-force than an F1 car? I do, and women fly those. But I guess we should listen to a guy, who I doubt is a biologist or physicist "suspect" something that has been in consideration for years, and clearly wasn't such a problem to allow women to fly in far more G producing vehicles.

[@dankmemesmeltexistentialdr2769]

@@fairsaa7975 The jets largely fly themselves, and they wear flight suits specially tailored to their physiology. It is an apples to oranges comparison.

[@nicolasoliveira4903]

@@fairsaa7975 Woman Fly jets, they dont compete in thoso. There is a big difference between driving and racing, only if there is some kind of competition between jets, to get an idea if women were able to compete against men. Women in the military are there more as models than combat.

[@markuskeller4281]

Thank you so much Josh for everything! I'm sure that we will see a Woman in an official F1 session very soon! Maybe even this year...

[@russellmc8470]

The fact that Iron Dames are doing/did more for women in motorsports then W-Series did

[@sdx3918]

"There were a series of modules dished out to the competitors such us racecraft, fitness level, sponsorship pictures, media relations, hostage negotiations" *"Oh coo- wait what?"*

[@Barni2212]

The broadcast availability was atrocious. I wanted to watch it, but I couldn't find a good source to watch it. If I remember correctly, the whole thing was region locked and also tied to a specific broadcaster.

[@chookyboy]

0:02 - Edmonton, it was held in Edmonton not Vancouver.

[@tradingmedic]

WTF happened? Few wanted to watch people drive slower than other people could

[@todd.sherley]

Great video mate. And enjoyed racing against you last week on Iracing 🔥

[@wolfhead74]

I would assume that one of the reasons they did not use it as a feeder so Chadwick would not be back and give another driver a chance could be a case of where the feeder series went to? If there was no defined route like we have F3-F2-F1 then WSeries just led to nowhere?

[@thedonsz9186]

From what I've seen from those girls racing, it's criminal this isn't broadcasted. It's absolutely fantastic

[@chungus4327]

You made a mistake at the start of the video, that rugby game was in Edmonton, not Vancouver. Idk if it matters or not but I just wanted to point that out.

[@GCChrist]

Correction for the beginning of the video: Commonwealth Stadium is in Edmonton, not Vancouver. Which is also a possible reason for the lack of fans

[@NakulDalakoti]

Please do a "WTF happened to A1GP "?

[@Carbuino]

"Vancouver", shows Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton

[@LeDanDan_]

For me it started to fall apart when Chadwick was back for a 3rd season, there was just no progression. You win W series, then what? Surely you could use that momentum to get a F3 seat or something but there was just, nothing... It's a shame really, because I did want to see it provide a chance for female drivers to progress up the ladder but it just never surfaced.

[@nezdot]

I want the fia to do an extra race at the end of the season where the top 3 from each series f4 to f1 race each other in equal performance to see the skill level 😅

[@byfo1991]

The gap would be insane between the series I think. Especially top 3 in F1 vs. top 3 in F2.

[@nezdot]

@@byfo1991 yeah

[@A.F.Whitepigeon]

@@rachelwood4664 Put 'em in Spec Miatas for a better race than any of their regular ones.

[@ericb3593]

As you said at the end, the W Series did accually made more people aware that women is capable and the interest from girls/women have risen since. Look at Iron Dames in WEC. They are doing really well and have been for a while. Their journey should be highlighted more I think to promote it even further

[@user-ux2kk5vp7m]

Did it? Even the best W Series drivers could barely compete if put in F3

[@EricBurns1]

I'm hoping Chadwick can make it to IndyCar. Sadly she's 17th out of 20 in Indy NXT now but she is a rookie so we shall see.

[@Pandillatime3]

Now Jamie Chadwick is struggling in Indy NXT being in 17th out of 20th in points driving for Andretti So its not really working out too well for the 3-Time Champion. Hopefully things improve but you fail to mention that in your hopium at the end.

[@HappyVibes535]

Women in motorsport should only be grid babes, and that's it.

[@zero_burrito]

I hadn't even realised F1 Academy had started racing until i saw the highlights on YT. How are they expecting anyone to care if they give it absolutely no publicity or exposure?

[@ZannyG_StandFree]

There was no lack of potential, just lack of desire to make it a major junior series. Definitely needs someone who wants to extract that potential

[@markcraggs6471]

Wasn’t a fan of the concept initially, I was on the Floersch/Mann side of the argument. However, I kept an eye on the championship and was at Brands for the finale, and I loved it! Racing was brilliant, the drivers got a boost in profile and you could see how much in inspired young girls at the track. Hopefully they start showing the F1 Academy, highlights look promising and there are some drivers who are really prospects, it would be great to see the races live and I for one would tune in every race!

[@brammachu725]

„Felt apart like an OceanGate Submarine“ 💀

[@hanswurst6712]

They managed to make this allready questionable series completly pointless.

[@gallandogx]

I was at the Hockenheimring in 2019 and watched the race. Boy I can tell that absolutely nobody cared about it. I remember that Claire Williams tried to hype the crowd with the future of Motor Racing. Yeah it didn’t worked in the end.

[@bpe4532]

You should talk About SVG and his debut in Nascar

[@edtow46]

I really enjoyed the W series, some of my favourite drivers and personalities. I also always wanted one of those W series necklaces that Naomi Schiff used to wear.

[@MetalCharlo]

My name is Sebastian Vettel and I was challenged with naming the first 5 W Series World Champions: 1- Jamie Chadwick 2- Jamie Chadwick 3- Jamie Chadwick 4- 5-

[@chunyiliu]

This is the fastest 19min in my life. Well written as always!!!

[@aifrench14]

Personally Chadwick not moving up to F3 or F2 was the problem for me :/ I'd imagine someone would have given her a chance and she was/is in the Williams academy so there was potential there. I remember them showing the highlights on Channel 4 and it was literally "Jamie Chadwick, Jamie Chadwick, Jamie Chadwick" I know that happens in F1 all the time but F1 has been around for over 70 years, W series was what into it's third season and already super predictable... shame. Hopefully one day we see a competitive woman at the highest level of motorsport, just not sure how long the wait will be... I was convinced Williams were going to give Susie Wolff a race outing rather than a FP1 gig or too at some point but it never happened

[@thechannelimashamedof2361]

Chadwick did re-enter the regular F1 feeder ladder via a lateral move to the Formula Regional European Championship in 2020. There she had familiar equipment (same Tatuus chassis and Alfa engine), and was part of the dominant Prema team. She finished 9th in the championship while her teammates finished first, second, and third. I think that, in combination with returning to W series rather than pushing on and adapting to the co-ed field, cooked her chances of moving up the feeder series ladder.

[@Nico_6967]

11:11 if you zoom in, the red car’s driver’s head was saved by a forward impact

[@shelbystaples6721]

Great video! As a newer f1 fan, I was interested that there was no female drivers. Fun to get the history on f1’s attempts to get women in!

[@kocimietka1337]

Their skill lvl is not even near boys karting lvl.

[@sultanoftippoo3857]

@@kocimietka1337 And do you think that might be for every 1000 boys who asks their parents to get them into Karting there is maybe 1 girl asking the same? This is one reason why W Series and Formula Academy are so important. Not just to get those 1 in 1000 girls already racing in those series into higher formulas but to get a better ratio than 1000:1. Maybe then with a much bigger female talent pool to draw from we’ll see more females in F3, F2 and one day maybe F1. Although judging by lots of the comments here, many males would like things to stay just the way they are.

[@quigglyz]

@@sultanoftippoo3857 Lol no. It's literally a skill issue.

[@sultanoftippoo3857]

@@quigglyz think there’s a new Andrew Tate video out craving your attention you 🔔 end.

[@nicolasoliveira4903]

​@@sultanoftippoo3857Why change? Why would I care about the drivers gender? Nobody cares, unless women were prohibited from competing, which is not the case.

[@ze_rubenator]

Abbie Eaton's injury made me so fucking angry. Entirely preventable and unnecessary. The people responsible for those curbs should be forced to drive over them at speed. The survivors should be tasked with removing them all.

[@dizzyduck44]

My great hope from this series now is to say I saw Abbi Pulling from the beginning. She was the right she coming in, got snapped up by the Alpine Academy as a teenager and that is the progression a lot of the boys get, so fingers crossed.

[@RoyMatzem]

But she already too old to achieve anything... All of them are, except Maya Weug

[@dizzyduck44]

@@RoyMatzem she’s not yet 20

[@RoyMatzem]

@@dizzyduck44 She did 20 in march. 20years in F4 is way too old. Most boys do F4 with 15y. If she spend 2 years in each tier. Will reach F2 with 27 (if she does well)

[@anuarsiman2228]

Great video, congrats Josh 🎉

[@Left4Coragem]

The idea that there isn't "enough" women in racing is not only ridiculous, but it also shows a desire to social engineer society in order to "fix it". First of all, women are massively less interesting in cars than men. Then they are also less interested in competition as entertainment, and even less in racing. The tiny female interest in motorsport and the number of female drivers is a result of the natural differences between males and females. Then comes the fact there's no logical reason to create different categories for men and women. A car does not goes faster if a man is driving it. So when you create a "W series", what you're saying to the public is that 'these are the drivers that can't make the cut'. Why would anyone prefer to watch that?