An influx of new young talent has entered the W Series for 2022, with five of the 17 seats going to teenagers.
Nine newcomers have been selected by the promoters to join the eight returning drivers who automatically qualified for the new season, which will start in May.
The series has run 18 cars per round in previous years. However the line-up for 2022 has been cut to 17 drivers. Russian racer Ira Sidorkova, who was present at the Barcelona test but replaced by Jem Hepworth, “will not compete in W Series until further notice”, the organisers said in a statement.
Sidorkova was guaranteed a seat for 2022 as part of the W Series Academy programme. However Russian drivers have been excluded from competing by several national motorsport federations, including the UK.
Russian Formula 3 driver Alexander Smolyar competed in last weekend’s F2 races in Bahrain after entering as an Authorised Neutral Driver and signing the FIA’s drivers agreement for Russian competitors. It remains to be…