W Series cancels final three races of 2022 season due to funding issues

The final three races of the 2022 W Series season have been cancelled due to ongoing funding issues.

The female-only open-wheel racing series was due to race in Austin before a double-header in Mexico City alongside Formula One’s visits to the North American circuits.

However the series failed to receive a round of funding owed from a recent investment, leading to the curtailment of the 2022 season after seven races to cut costs. The 2023 campaign is scheduled to go ahead as planned.

British driver Jamie Chadwick has been confirmed as W Series champion for a third time as a result.

W Series CEO Catherine Bond Muir said: “As a start-up in only our third season of racing, we are always working hard to ensure regularity of funding as we continue to grow our business, but due to recent unforeseen circumstances outside of W Series’ control, we had not been in receipt of contracted funds due to us.

“Therefore, we have been forced to make the unfortunate decision not to complete our scheduled calendar this season.”

She added: “We have worked hard to raise the required funding to enable us to finish the season. Unfortunately, it was not possible to do this in the short time frame required following the failure of contracted funds to arrive and the global economic downturn.

“However, while we are all incredibly disappointed that this decision has had to be made in the short term, we remain positive about the future of W Series in the long term.”