W-Series was an all-female single-seater racing series that had high hopes for the future but failed miserably. Matt Bishop, who was a part of the W-Series paddock, feels that its replacement, F1 Academy, is taking the right steps to ensure it doesn’t make the mistakes of the past.
F1 Academy, headed by Susie Wolff has taken off strongly, with existing F1 teams sponsoring the drivers who take part in this all-female racing venture. Its predecessor, the W-Series which was more centrally controlled and didn’t have the involvement of teams, made several blunders. There were three W-Series championships (2019, 2020, and 2021) after which they went into administration. This is when F1 Academy came forward.
Bishop, who saw the mistakes W-Series made, feels that F1 Academy is headed in the right direction. In an exclusive interview with The SportsRush’s Tanish Chachra, Bishop said, “Everything that is done in that area in order to promote females in motorsports. Whether it is to make the sport more appealing to women and girls if they are fans. Whether it is to encourage them to be mechanics or engineers working in the sport, whether it is to encourage them and facilitate better opportunities to become drivers, or journalists, or photographers or videographers.”
I was the launch Comms Director of #WSeries, I worked for it from the start until November 2020, & I loved every minute of it. I’m gutted to hear that it’s gone into administration, but working with these wonderful women was & will always be one of the highlights of my career. pic.twitter.com/Z1nDWqUbpo
— Matt Bishop ️ (@TheBishF1) June 15, 2023
Bishop added that F1 is not a men-only place anymore. He emphasizes how women should be made more welcome. For that, he credits F1 Academy. In his words, “Whatever can be done, is being done.”
Matt Bishop hails pioneers of women in motorsport
Even though W-Series failed, it created some superstars whom the entire racing community held in high regard. In the interview with The SportsRush, Bishop named some women who he felt were pioneers of encouraging female participation in motorsports.
He mentioned Jessica Hawkins, Jamie Chadwick, Alice Powell, Baitzke Visser, Emma Kimmelinen, and Sarah Moore. However, he decided not to take any more names. Not because they weren’t any more deserving of the title. But because there were too many.
Preparations are well underway here in Jeddah, but this is only the beginning!
Hitting 7 countries across 3 continents, this is F1 Academy
Save the 2024 calendar so you never miss the action ️#F1Academy pic.twitter.com/bfCNGg15It
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) March 6, 2024
Matt Bishop insisted that everyone who took part in the series was a pioneer. Reaching F1 for them might be out of reach because of their age. But being a part of the motorsports community and looking after the young girls today, who dream of making it, is equally important.
