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The F1 Academy, the new all-female feeder series, has confirmed its seven-race calendar for 2023 and championship details.
Females are slowly breaking into the male-dominated world of motorsport. W Series ran for three seasons, but unfortunately it has yet to be confirmed as to whether it’ll have a fourth. Tatiana Calderon raced in Formula 2 in 2022 and Sophia Florsch has returned to Formula 3 for this year.
Now, debuting in 2023 is the F1 Academy. It’s the all-female feeder series that aims to help female drivers make the move into F3, then F2 and ultimately Formula 1.
Today, F1 Academy announced its 2023 race calendar, which will consist of seven rounds. One of these rounds will also be at a grand prix weekend, supporting Formula 1.
The details of F1 Academy
F1 Academy will consist of seven round, which will include three races each. In total, the 15 drivers will compete in 21 races. Only six drivers have been confirmed so far and they are: Lena Buhler, Bianca Bustamante, Nerea Martí, Jessica Edgar, Carrie Schreiner and Abbi Pulling.
The championship will begin at the end of April with the first round being in Austria. Following round one, will be two weekends in Spain in the cities of Valencia and Barcelona; F1 Academy will race in Valencia on May 5-7 followed by Barcelona two weeks later.
F1 Academy will also race at the likes of Zandvoort in June as well as the iconic circuit of Monza in July. The penultimate round of the debut season will see the female drivers race at Le Castellet.
The aim of the calendar is to have the series compete at as many F1 circuits as they can, giving the drivers the experience of an F1 circuit but also help them develop. The final round of the 2023 F1 Academy season is at COTA at the same time as the United States Grand Prix. This does mean there is over a three month gap between the final two rounds.
CONFIRMED: THE @f1academy calendar for 2023!! #F1 #F1Academy pic.twitter.com/CZmOm8g949
— FormulaNerds ?? (@Formula_Nerds) February 23, 2023
The format of a race weekend
Ahead of the season, there will be some pre-season testing in Barcelona. Throughout the season, more testing days will occur as well.
The race weekend format will be similar to the old format of F2 and F3. Each round will see three races at each circuit. There will be two free practice sessions of 40 minutes ahead of two Qualifying sessions of 15-minutes each.
The grids for the races will be determined as follows:
- Race 1 grid determined by Qualifying 1
- Race 2 grid determined by reversing the top eight from Qualifying 1
- Race 3 grid determined by Qualifying 2
The first and third races will consist of a 30-minute on-track session, whilst race two will be 20 minutes on track. In terms of points, there will be a point for fastest lap in each race, but only if the driver achieves a top 10 finish.
Races 1 and 3 will see 25 points awarded to the winner, followed by Formula 1’s current points format for the top 10. Second place will receive 18 points, third will get 15, fourth will get 12 and so on.
Race 2, however, sees the winner receive 10 points. Second place will be awarded eight, third place will get six, fourth place will receive five and so on down to eighth place, which sees the driver receive one point.
Bruno Michel’s comments
Bruno Michel is the General Manager of the F1 Academy. Speaking on the calendar, Michel said:
“Our goal was to be able to race on as many Formula 1 Grand Prix tracks as possible, with circuits that could be a great challenge for the drivers. The teams know these layouts very well, so they will be able to help their young talents get to grips quickly.”
Michel has mentioned before that he isn’t a big fan of having long gaps between rounds. He spoke about the big gap between Rounds 6 and 7 and said:
“There is quite a gap in between Rounds 6 and 7, but that is mainly due to the fact that we will be sending the cars and equipment by ship, to save on logistical costs.
“Additionally, there will be 15 days of testing to add to the track time in 2023, with the first two days in Barcelona on April 11 and 12. We will reveal the rest of the dates in due time.”
The F1 Academy inaugural season begins in April 28th for the first round in Spielberg, Austria.
Headline Feature Image: formula1.com