The ground-breaking all-female W Series is heading to Autosport International to meet fans for the first time ahead of its launch in Spring with a host of drivers confirmed for the show opening today.
Formula One winner David Coulthard is confirmed to attend Friday of the show as he goes on the main Autosport stage at the NEC to discuss how W Series was created and how it intends to change the face of motorsport.
Coulthard will be a judge for the series alongside former F1 driver and double Le Mans 24 Hours winner Alex Wurz as they narrow down the search in the coming weeks to find the final grid of 18 women. The single-seater series aims to give talented female drivers an opportunity in motorsport that hasn’t previously been available to them.
Having already announced the names of more than 50 drivers who will enter a selection process to claim a place on the 2019 grid, Coulthard will be joined by shortlisted drivers Esmee Hawkey, Sarah Moore and Alice Powell across the four-day event.
The shortlisted drivers will go through a rigorous pre-selection process to claim one of the 18 places on the starting grid at Hockenheim in May. For those chosen to battle it out on track, a total prize fund of US $1.5million is available, with a top prize of US $500,000.
Identical Tatuus T-318 Formula 3 cars will be provided to drivers by the series, powered by identical Autotecnica Motori inline four-cylinder 1.8-litre turbocharged engines, using Sadev six-speed sequential gearboxes and fitted with HALO safety devices.