Multiple W Series drivers haven't received their prize money

A number of W Series drivers have not been paid the prize money they are owed for 2022, throwing their racing plans - and potentially some livelihoods - into turmoil.

The all-female series went into administration two weeks ago, eight months after last season’s calendar was cut short due to financial problems caused by the loss of a contracted deal with an investor.

W Series was unique for a single-seater championship as entry for the drivers was free, and a $1.5 million prize fund was split based on the title standings at the end of each campaign.

That money could then be used by each driver to help fund the next step in their racing careers, or simply to earn a living. But it gave its most successful stars the kind of financial backing they’d otherwise find virtually impossible to earn on the motorsport ladder.

When the 2022 season was brought to an end it was reported that CEO Catherine Bond Muir was still hopeful that everyone eligible for prize money would be paid in full, but that hasn’t happened.

Two former drivers - five-time race winner Alice Powell and multi-podium finisher Abbi Pulling - have told TopGear.com that they're yet to see any of the money they're owed for their results last year.

Powell and Pulling finished third and fourth in the standings respectively, meaning they should've received $125,000 and $100,000 apiece from the prize pot.

And they’re not alone: sources have confirmed to TopGear.com that multiple other drivers - as well as suppliers and employees of W Series - have been left out of pocket, with three-time champion Jamie Chadwick allegedly among those who haven’t been paid.

Based on the prize money structure W Series launched with in 2019, Chadwick is due $500,000, with sums for the lowest-ranked drivers and the reserves coming down on a sliding scale to $7,500.

With money failing to arrive, anyone affected would have seen their racing plans for 2023 fall into jeopardy, or on a more basic level, faced an income shortfall totalling thousands of dollars.

The situation is very delicate, because many of the drivers involved in W Series are still grateful for the role it and its organisers have played in their careers, despite the recent problems. Indeed, Powell said this week that W Series had “kickstarted” her motorsport career after several years away from racing.

However, TopGear.com has learned that other drivers are reluctant to speak publicly for fear of limiting the opportunities they might get elsewhere in the future.

“There’s two sides to it,” Powell explained. “A lot of people at junior category levels - let’s say F2, F3, Formula Regional - they don’t get prize money. They don’t get paid down the order to last position. So in that sense you could say ‘Well, you’ve not missed out.’

“But obviously then at the same time, that [the prize money] was a big thing for the championship. And then that money would then go towards helping you move up the ladder, which is what W Series wanted to achieve.”

It’s not clear if the drivers will ever receive the money they’ve earned, although the administrators are still hopeful that a buyer for the company will be found and that W Series can be salvaged.

“The Joint Administrators will soon be announcing the start of a formal sale process of the business and assets, and it is hoped that an interested party may seek to re-start the W-Series under new ownership in the future," said Kevin Ley, Joint Administrator of W Series Limited and Director at Evelyn Partners, in a statement released to TopGear.com. "Once this process has been completed and we know the level of revenue generated from the sale, we will be in a much clearer position as to the monies available to return to creditors.

"We recognise this remains an unsettling time for the many parties involved and our priority as Joint Administrators is to complete the process as quickly as possible, while at the same time maximising as much funds as possible on behalf of creditors that are owed money.”

Separately, after Bond Muir said last year it was her “expectation” that everyone would be paid, it isn’t known what changed after the end of the season to prevent that from happening.

TopGear.com has approached Bond Muir for comment.

Whatever you think about W Series, spare a thought for everyone who’s been left in a very difficult situation…