W Series reveals 2021 calendar, eight events as F1 support selected

The all-female driver championship was set to join the F1 support bill in 2020 for two races as part of its second campaign, which had to be cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The championship, which ran alongside the DTM for its inaugural season in 2019, announced last month that it would join the 2021 F1 support package after the Formula 2 and Formula 3 series were moved to run at separate events in a bid to save costs.

The 2021 W Series calendar will start at the French GP on 26 June, then move with F1 to the Austrian GP a week later at the Red Bull Ring on 3 July.

Two events will then take place in the rest of July - one at Silverstone (17 July) and then the Hungaroring (31 July) - before W Series joins F1 again at the Belgian GP after the summer break on 28 August.

The last race in Europe will take place at the returning Dutch GP (4 September) before the two flyaway events close out the season at Austin (23 October) and Mexico City (30 October).

Further details on W Series' schedule for each round - F2 and F3 events will have three races each during their time on the F1 support bill - will be announced in due course, per a championship statement.

"The prospect of seeing W Series race alongside Formula 1, the world's premier motor racing series, has become even more tantalising as a result of today's announcement of our 2021 race calendar," said Catherine Bond Muir, W Series' CEO.

"The eight races will allow our fast and fearless female racing drivers to showcase their skills on some of the world's most iconic racing circuits, in Europe and the Americas, and literally follow in the tyre tracks of the greatest racing drivers in the world today.

"W Series' mission will always be to further the interests and prospects of female racing drivers, and to inspire girls and women everywhere.

"Our 2021 race schedule in partnership with Formula 1 will significantly increase our global reach, impact and influence by placing W Series on motor racing's greatest stage and taking us to new audiences and territories.

"Our drivers are ready and raring to race and entertain, and the 2021 season curtain-raiser in France next June cannot come soon enough."

F1 sporting boss, Ross Brawn, added: "We are delighted to announce the eight Formula 1 races that W Series will join in 2021.

"There is a really exciting mix of circuits that will showcase the exceptional talent of the drivers in the series.

"We believe that it is incredibly important to give everyone the chance to reach the highest levels of our sport, and partnering with W Series shows our determination and commitment to building greater diversity across Formula 1."

2021 W Series calendar

26 June Le Castellet, France
3 July Spielberg, Austria
17 July Silverstone, UK
31 July Budapest, Hungary
28 August Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
4 September Zandvoort, Netherlands
23 October Austin, USA
30 October Mexico City, Mexico