W Series to accelerate women into F1 could collapse after this weekend's Singapore GP

The mission of powering a woman onto the Formula 1 grid has suffered a significant setback as the so-called 'W Series' is on the brink of collapse.

The Telegraph reports that the series, in which only female drivers race at the wheel of Formula 3 cars during eight F1 race weekends, may collapse after this weekend's event in Singapore.

The report said W Series owes "significant sums" to creditors and may be unable to afford to attend the last two scheduled events in Austin and Mexico.

Series boss Catherine Bond Muir tried to play down the situation.

"We've had to fight from day one," she said. "It has always been a struggle, but we're fighters. We're looking at our budgets. We're confident that we'll continue to raise money."

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No prize money?

However, the situation is so dire that it is feared runaway series leader Jamie Chadwick - who also won the first W Series championships in 2019 and 2021 - will not receive her $500 000 prize money this year.

That is because the series' accounts show that as of earlier this month, W Series owes $8.3 million euros.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali caused a stir last month when he said only a "meteorite" could accelerate the chances of a woman joining the F1 grid "in the next five years".

READ: Jamie Chadwick 'motivated' to prove Domenicali wrong and join F1 in 5 years

Chadwick, however, hit back by claiming that being on the grid in five years is her clear objective.

"As great as the W Series is, it lacked the driving time and development that it needed," the 24-year-old Briton said.

"For that reason, I think I should go straight into F2."

But W Series boss Catherine Bond Muir insists she is still