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W Series officially goes into administration

  • Darshan Chokhani
    • W Series

    The all-female feeder championship W Series has officially filed for administration, appointing Evelyn Partners to sort its future.

    Having started with solid marketing in 2018, with the idea of providing a platform to only female drivers at the junior level, it ran for multiple seasons before running into funding trouble last year. The series ended abruptly with the flyaway round in Singapore.

    The remaining three rounds didn’t take place with no funding in place as the promised money never arrived. Since then, the directors have been working out to seek funding behind the scenes to no avail. There has been radio silence for much of 2023.

    But with nothing working out, W Series finally decided to plunge into administration and rope in Evelyn Partners to sort its future. “The news will be upsetting for the Company’s employees and drivers together with the worldwide supporters of the championship,” said Kevin Ley, one of the Joint Administrators.

    “The Company had been unable to commit to the 2023 race season due to its liquidity position. The directors had been in discussions with various parties to provide additional funding together with a potential sale of the business. Unfortunately, these discussions did not progress.”

    Meanwhile, Henry Shinners added: “The Joint Administrators will explore all available options to allow the W Series to restart in the future. We are seeking expressions of interest in the business and assets of the Company. We would ask that any interest is registered with us as quickly as possible.

    “Staff had been made redundant or had left the business before our appointment and it has unfortunately been necessary to make the remaining staff member redundant. The Joint Administrators will be looking to support any staff impacted by the Administration, given the financial position of the Company, with making and progressing any claims with the Redundancy Payments Office.”

    Since the closure of W Series, the FIA and F1 Management moved to open its own female-centric championship named ‘F1 Academy’. They have taken a restricted marketing approach with leading feeder outfits with three rounds already completed.