2019 W Series Championship

The 2019 W Series Season, otherwise formally known as the 2019 W Series Championship, was the inaugural season of the W Series Championship, held between 4 May and 11 August 2019 across six rounds. The season would see twenty female drivers take to the circuit in identical Tatuus-Alfa Romeo T-318 Formula 3 cars, in a bid to claim a $500,000 prize.

There would be an initial selection process for the inaugural Championship, with 60 applicants being filtered through a selection process, staged between January and March 2019. Of those 60, eighteen were eventually chosen to compete in the Championship, with two more drivers held on a reserve list.

After W Series Limited signed a deal to support the DTM Championship, the W Series would complete six rounds, with an additional non-Championship race in Assen. The season began with a trip to Hockenheim, and would conclude with a battle around Brands Hatch on 11 August 2019.

The inaugural Championship would see Jamie Chadwick quickly emerge as the favourite, taking two pole and two wins in the opening three races. Chadwick would go on to finish on the podium in five of the six races, before securing the title at the season finale with fourth place, defeating Beitske Visser after a season long battle.

Other drivers to claim victories were Visser, Marta García, Emma Kimiläinen and Alice Powell, with Chadwick the only repeat winner in the opening season. In terms of entrants there would be no teams championship, with all cars run by Hitech Grand Prix after they signed an exclusive deal to operate the series.

The British Racing & Sports Car Club (BRSCC) was listed as the Championship's organising body for its maiden campaign. After the completion of the 2019 Championship the FIA formally recognised the W Series, and would award FIA Super Licence points from the 2020 season onward.

Schedule
The full calendar for the 2019 W Series Championship is shown below:

Season Entry
The full 2019 W Series Championship entry list is outlined below:
 * R Indicates a driver was placed on the reserve list.

Round I: 2019 Hockenheim Race
Qualifying for the opening round of the W Series Championship would see Jamie Chadwick claim the first ever pole position of the Championship, beating Fabienne Wohlwend in wet conditions. It was sunny on race day but damp off the racing line, meaning that those on the clean side of the grid got a better start than those on the damper side. As a result, Chadwick was able to sprint into an early lead ahead of Alice Powell, while Wohlwend slipped to fifth.

A Safety Car was scrambled soon after that, for Emma Kimiläinen and Sabré Cook had stalled on the grid, although Kimiläinen would limp away only to be collected by Megan Gilkes at the hairpin. As that collision happened Chadwick would slide wide to gift the lead to Powell, meaning it was the elder Brit who led at the restart. However, the restart would not go too well for Powell, as Chadwick got a run on her into the first corner and duly seized the lead.

Chadwick eased clear after the restart, although she would be stalked by both Powell and Marta García, the latter having passed Sarah Moore at the restart. The duly finished nose-to-tail to complete the podium, Chadwick claiming the inaugural victory, while Beitske Visser passed Moore late on to secure fourth. Elsewhere, Esmee Hawkey would spend most of the race as a bottleneck in eighth before being elbowed down the field late on and out of the points.

Round II: 2019 Zolder Race
Chadwick and Visser would duel for pole position for the race in Zolder, with the Brit emerging ahead by a little over a tenth. However, it was Visser who got the upper hand on race day, sprinting ahead of Chadwick at the start to claim the lead, while Gosia Rdest made a jump start and gained two positions. Elsewhere, debutante Sarah Bovy would suffer an engine failure on the grid and was stranded, resulting in the safety car being scrambled on the opening lap.

The restart saw Visser quickly escape from Chadwick, while the rest of the field fought in their wake. This ultimately, would result in a second SC as Hawkey took Rdest out of the race, making a mistimed lunge that resulted in both sliding into the gravel with terminal suspension damage. Cook and Vivien Keszthelyi, racing in place of an injured Kimiläinen, would also make contact but would continue.

Once the second SC withdrew, whowever, there would be no stopping Visser, who duly sprinted clear to secure a dominant victory ahead of Chadwick. Chadwick herself was harassed by Powell to the chequered flag, while García tussled with Moore to the line to claim fourth.

Round III: 2019 Misano Race
Fabienne Wohlwend would secure pole position for the trip to Misano, beating Chadwick by just 0.044s in a tense battle. Yet, having beaten Chadwick in qualifying Wohlwend would not manage to beat the Brit at the start, with Chadwick streaking past. Visser would also blast past Wohlwend to claim second, while Powell's attempts to pass the Liechtensteiner ended with the Brit getting flicked onto two wheels before crashing down in the gravel.

The race was immediately brought under SC control, with the restart seeing Chadwick lead Visser and Wohlwend away from the start. Those three duly began fighting amongst themselves as they pulled clear from the rest of the pack, while Moore formed a queue behind her for eighth. In the middle of the queue Hawkey would make a mistake and slipped behind Naomi Schiff, only for Schiff herself to spin to the back on her own.

The fight for the lead, meanwhile, would see Visser throw everything she had at Chadwick, after Wohlwend had slipped up and dropped off the back of the Dutchman to settle for third. Yet, Chadwick would repulse all of her advances to secure victory ahead of the Dutchman, extending her Championship lead to thirteen points. Wohlwend was a lonely third ahead of Miki Koyama, while Vicky Piria beat García to fifth.

Round IV: 2019 Norisring Race
Marta García would secure pole position at the shortest circuit of the year, beating Jamie Chadwick and Fabienne Wohlwend, with the entire field bar Alice Powell covered by a second. García duly aced her start to claim an early lead, while Visser surged up from fifth to challenge Chadwick for second at the first corner. Visser duly scrambled ahead of Chadwick to secure the position, while Gosia Rdest broke her front wing trying to elbow her way past Wohlwend.

The race soon settled, until Sarah Moore spun at Grundig Kehre and smashed into Shea Holbrook, destroying her car and puncturing Holbrook's left-rear tyre. Vivien Keszthelyi and Caitlin Wood would also lose time in the accident, while Holbrook and Rdest, who was flagged to pit with her broken wing, both received drive-through penalties for speeding in the pitlane. That was a relief to Esmee Hawkey who had been fending off Rdest's approach, although the Brit's pace collapsed late on.

Out front, meanwhile, Chadwick was throwing everything she had at Visser for second, allowing García to establish a fair margin and, ultimately, victory. Visser just managed to keep Chadwick at bay for second, reducing the Championship difference to ten, while Wohlwend kept a charging Emma Kimiläinen to hold fourth.

Round V: 2019 Assen Race
Kimiläinen's form carried over to the round at the TT Circuit Assen, as she stormed to pole position ahead of Alice Powell, who needed a strong race to keep her title ambitions alive. Yet, Kimiläinen would not manage to covert pole to the lead, as instead Powell powered past to secure the lead, while Chadwick tried a lunge at turn one to pass both. That was repulsed and hence left her in third, before a collision between Tasmin Pepper and Miki Koyama called out the Safety Car.

The restart saw Powell sprint into the lead ahead of Kimiläinen, who was otherwise occupied with Chadwick on her tail. They duly sprinted away from fourth placed Caitlin Wood, who would find herself fending off Visser for most of the race, with a queue forming behind the squabbling pair. Wood's resistance would be broken midrace, as behind Gosia Rdest broke her front wing on a kerb, Shea Holbrook bounced across the gravel, while Sabré Cook was pinned with a drive-through.

Out front, meanwhile, Kimiläinen would seize the lead with ten minutes to go, elbowing her way past Powell before powering clear to secure victory. That left the Brit to fend off the attentions of Chadwick for second, although Visser's appearance in the latter's mirrors allowed Powell to secure second. Chadwick duly claimed third after Visser made a late mistake and slipped back, meaning she would head to the season finale with a thirteen point lead over the Dutchwoman.

Round VI: 2019 Brands Hatch Race
Chadwick would strike first ahead of the season finale in Brands Hatch, sweeping to pole position as Visser could only muster fifth. Chadwick duly eased away at the start to secure the lead ahead of Powell, while Esmee Hawkey, who had started in a season best of third, stalled and caused chaos. That allowed Kimiläinen and Visser to squeeze up ahead into third and fourth, with the rest of the field filtering past without collecting the stranded Brit.

Chadwick made an early break ahead of Powell, as behind Kimiläinen led Visser onto the back of the lead duo as the top four broke clear. Yet, Powell would respond and elbow her way past Chadwick for the lead, a move that also allowed Kimiläinen to sneak through for second, leaving the two title pretenders nose-to-tail. However, before Visser could make a move the race was brought under the Safety Car's control, as Miki Koyama stopped on track.

The race resumed two laps later as Koyama had managed to get going again, as Visser went on the attack knowing she had to get past Chadwick. She duly forced the Brit into a mistake at Westfield before squeezing past at Dingle Dell, running onto the grass as she did so. However, their fight had allowed Powell and Kimiläinen to escape up the road, and Visser ran out of time to challenge them in the closing stages.

With that the race, and the Championship, were over, with Powell securing victory ahead of Kimiläinen, while Visser's third place was not enough for her to overcome fourth placed Chadwick's points tally. Chadwick hence became the inaugural Champion with 110 points to Visser's 100, as twelve drivers secured automatic qualification for the 2020 Championship.

Sporting
Outlined below is a full breakdown of the point scoring system for the 2019 W Series Championship:

2019 W Series Championship for Drivers
The full standings for the 2019 W Series Championship for Drivers is outlined below: