The final three races of the 2022 W Series season will not take place, the all-female championship has announced. The cancellation of the final rounds in Austin and Mexico City sees Jamie Chadwick declared champion for the third time.
W Series has taken the decision to curtail its 2022 season after encountering financial difficulties. The championship is unable to fund the final races of its season after funding from a recent contracted investment was not received. The series’ CEO Catherine Bond Muir said that although there was “frustration” that the 2022 season will not be completed, she is confident that the championship will return next year:
“It’s with both great sadness and frustration that we announce that our much-anticipated final three races of the 2022 season in Austin and Mexico City will not go ahead. As a start-up in only our third season of racing, we are always working hard to ensure regularity of funding as we continue to grow our business, but due to recent unforeseen circumstances outside of W Series’ control, we had not been in receipt of contracted funds due to us […] While we are all incredibly disappointed that this decision has had to be made in the short term, we remain positive about the future of W Series in the long term. It is well-documented that women’s sports receive far less funding than its male counterparts, and W Series is no exception. We are incredibly thankful for the help and support we have received in recent weeks following the news of the financial difficulties we’ve been facing, which has accelerated our fundraising process and given us great optimism as we look to 2023 and beyond.”
W Series had three races left to run in 2022. The series was scheduled to visit Circuit of The Americas for the second time over the United States Grand Prix weekend, while two races were scheduled over the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend, where the championship was set to make its debut with a double-header season finale at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Chadwick declared 2022 W Series champion
W Series first raced in 2019. It debuted as a support series to DTM before joining the Formula 1 support package in 2021. The cancellation of the final three races of the 2022 season means that Jamie Chadwick secures her third W Series title in as many seasons.
Chadwick had her most dominant W Series season to date in 2022, winning the first five races of the year with Jenner Racing – the team owned by Caitlyn Jenner. Chadwick finished as runner-up to Alice Powell at the Hungarian round, before crashing out in Singapore. Beitske Visser became the third different race winner of the year at Marina Bay Street Circuit, claiming her first win in over three years.
W Series cancellation leaves sparse support offering at upcoming races
The cancellation of the remaining three races of the W Series leaves a gap in the on track schedules over the United States Grand Prix weekend and the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend. The schedules will be revised as a result, though it seems unlikely that another series will fill the vacant gaps, given the short notice.
At Circuit of The Americas, there will be two support series on offer, both featuring historic racing machinery. Masters Endurance Legends and Masters Historic will each race twice over the weekend.
W Series was scheduled to host two races at the Mexico City Grand Prix as part of its season finale. The cancellation of these races means that, like at COTA, there will be just two support races in Mexico City. GTM will race on Saturday, while the Freightliner Legends Cup will be the only racing action other than Formula 1 on Sunday.
Racing fans will be treated to some historic action in Mexico too, as the BRM car which local hero Pedro Rodriguez raced in 1970 will be taken out on demonstration laps on each day of the race weekend.
