Formula One has decided to create their own feeder series for women that they will partially find in order to increase female participation in motorsports.

After a few years of the W Series being in operation but not promoting any drivers up the motorsport pyramid, Formula One has decided to have their own take at the women-only feeder series game.

Called F1 Academy, this series will sit below F2 and F3 in the route to F1 and will have seven rounds with three races each along with 15 days of official testing to ensure female hopefuls have sufficient track time.

The drivers will run the Tatuus T421 chassis, with Autotecnica supplying turbocharged engines that will deliver 165 horsepower while tyres will be supplied by F1’s official tyre supplier Pirelli.

The series will be run by the CEO of Formula Motorsport Bruno Michel who has extensive experience in junior categories from managing F2 and F3.

As one of the main barriers to entry is cost, each driver (or their academy) will put up €150,000 each with the other half being covered by Formula One.

Although this is cheaper than other series, W Series has no entry fee and has prize money so may be more appealing to young female motorsport talents.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said, “Everyone should have the opportunity to follow their dreams and achieve their potential and Formula 1 wants to ensure we are doing everything we can to create greater diversity and routes into this incredible sport,

“That is why I am delighted to announce the F1 Academy that will give young female drivers the best chance to fulfil their ambitions through a comprehensive programme that supports their racing careers and gives them everything they need to move into F3 and hopefully to F2 and then the pinnacle of Formula 1.

“The more opportunity there is the better and this is designed to provide another route for the drivers to succeed.”

Many have expressed support for this decision although some have questioned how wide the talent pool is and whether it will help in the ultimate quest of getting a female driver to F1.

Do comment your thoughts below.