2021 Spa-Francorchamps W Series round

2021 W Series Spa-Francorchamps round
Event 5 of 7 of the 2021 W Series
Race details
Date	28 August 2021 (2021-08-28)
Official name	2021 W Series Spa-Francorchamps round
Location	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Wallonia, Belgium
Course	Permanent circuit
Course length	7.004 km (4.350 miles)
Distance	12 laps, 84.048 km (52.200 miles)
Pole position
Driver	Jamie Chadwick	Veloce Racing
Time	2:18.074
Fastest lap
Driver	Emma Kimiläinen	Écurie W
Time	2:43.401
Podium
First	Emma Kimiläinen	Écurie W
Second	Jamie Chadwick	Veloce Racing
Third	Marta García	Puma W Series Team

The 2021 W Series Spa-Francorchamps round was the fifth round of seven in the 2021 W Series, and took place at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on 28 August 2021. The event was an undercard to the 2021 Formula One World Championship round at the same circuit.

Report

Background

Irina Sidorkova returned a positive coronavirus test prior to first practice and was replaced in the W Series Academy team with Gosia Rdest.

Jamie Chadwick led the championship on 73 points, 1 point ahead of Alice Powell.

Race

A six-car crash involving Sarah Moore, Ayla Ågren, Belén García, Abbie Eaton, Beitske Visser and Fabienne Wohlwend at Radillon de l'Eau Rouge marred the qualifying session held the previous day. Ågren and Visser were taken to hospital for precautionary checks where it was revealed the Dutchwoman had suffered a minor leg injury; both drivers were withdrawn from the race.

The race began under safety car due to inclement conditions, but after 4 laps it pulled in and Chadwick led the field away to green. Caitlin Wood, who had qualified fourth and started third in her second event of the season, cut across the top of Radillon and allowed Emma Kimiläinen to draw close and eventually pass at Bruxelles. Wood's team-mate Marta García capitalised on the Finn's pass and made an initially unsuccessful move herself into Pouhon before sealing fourth around the outside of Campus.

Wohlwend – who had sat on provisional pole prior to the crash in qualifying – initially struggled in the conditions having outbraked herself in a move on Vittoria Piria for 10th at La Source, but recovered quickly and took the place a lap later. This began a charge through the field for the Liechtensteiner, disposing of Bunker team-mate Sabré Cook and Miki Koyama with ease. Kimiläinen and Marta García also had pace to burn, reeling in the leading duo by 2 seconds a lap – the former passing a grip-limited Alice Powell for second before setting off after Chadwick. The weekend was not going to plan for Bruna Tomaselli – the Brazilian was given a two-place grid penalty for missing the paddock entry gate at the end of practice, and was now dropping back behind the hastily-repaired cars of Eaton and Moore at a rapid rate.

Having cleared Powell, Kimiläinen was unleashed – with lap times 3 seconds quicker than Chadwick, she stormed around the outside of the Veloce Racing entry at turn 13 with four minutes remaining to take the lead. García meanwhile had struggled to get around Powell initially but undercut the Brit at Stavelot for the final podium place on lap 10. Wohlwend's fightback wasn't finished either, rounding up Nerea Martí on the last lap for seventh in an identical move to Kimiläinen's for the lead.

Kimiläinen took her first win of the season in dominant style, finishing eight and a half seconds ahead of Chadwick. Marta García closed on Chadwick after her move on Powell but ran out of time to improve her position, while Powell lost ground in the title race with her fourth place finish. Caitlin Wood rounded out a fine weekend in the top five some seventeen seconds behind Powell, with Jessica Hawkins barely hanging on to sixth ahead of Wohlwend. Tomaselli dropped behind Belén García before the flag to finish 15th, with Gosia Rdest the last car across the line nearly 1 minute 15 seconds behind the leaders on a difficult return to the championship.

Classification

Practice

Session	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Source
Practice 1	55	Jamie Chadwick	Veloce Racing	2:31.966

Qualifying

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time/Gap
1	55	Jamie Chadwick	Veloce Racing	2:18.074
2	27	Alice Powell	Racing X	+0.721
3	32	Nerea Martí1	W Series Academy	+1.127
4	20	Caitlin Wood	Puma W Series Team	+1.163
5	7	Emma Kimiläinen	Écurie W	+1.484
6	19	Marta García	Puma W Series Team	+1.752
7	21	Jessica Hawkins	Racing X	+2.018
8	11	Vittoria Piria	Sirin Racing	+2.019
9	54	Miki Koyama	Sirin Racing	+2.087
10	97	Bruna Tomaselli2	Veloce Racing	+2.180
11	37	Sabré Cook	Bunker Racing	+2.566
12	3	Gosia Rdest	W Series Academy	+2.742
13	5	Fabienne Wohlwend	Bunker Racing	+5.134
14	17	Ayla Ågren	M. Forbes Motorsport	+7.013
15	95	Beitske Visser	M. Forbes Motorsport	+7.462
16	44	Abbie Eaton	Écurie W	+7.528
17	26	Sarah Moore	Scuderia W	+8.331
18	22	Belén García	Scuderia W	+11.597
Source:

• ^1 – Martí received a four-place grid penalty for a cooldown lap procedure infringement at the previous round.
• ^2 – Tomaselli received a two-place grid penalty for failing to follow the race director’s instructions at the end of practice.

Race

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	7	Emma Kimiläinen	Écurie W	12	35:21.478	4	25
2	55	Jamie Chadwick	Veloce Racing	12	+8.489	1	18
3	19	Marta García	Puma W Series Team	12	+11.949	5	15
4	27	Alice Powell	Racing X	12	+18.182	2	12
5	20	Caitlin Wood	Puma W Series Team	12	+35.832	3	10
6	21	Jessica Hawkins	Racing X	12	+39.596	6	8
7	5	Fabienne Wohlwend	Bunker Racing	12	+40.095	13	6
8	32	Nerea Martí	W Series Academy	12	+40.880	7	4
9	54	Miki Koyama	Sirin Racing	12	+41.757	9	2
10	44	Abbie Eaton	Écurie W	12	+42.989	14	1
11	37	Sabré Cook	Bunker Racing	12	+43.701	10
12	11	Vittoria Piria	Sirin Racing	12	+46.332	8
13	26	Sarah Moore	Scuderia W	12	+47.178	15
14	22	Belén García	Scuderia W	12	+47.780	16
15	97	Bruna Tomaselli	Veloce Racing	12	+58.499	12
16	3	Gosia Rdest	W Series Academy	12	+1:13.855	11
DNS	17	Ayla Ågren	M. Forbes Motorsport	0	Qualifying crash
DNS	95	Beitske Visser	M. Forbes Motorsport	0	Qualifying crash
Fastest lap set by Emma Kimiläinen: 2:43.401
Source:

Championship standings

Pos.	Driver	Pts	Gap
1	Jamie Chadwick	91
2	Alice Powell	84	-7
3	Emma Kimiläinen	60	-31
4	Nerea Martí	41	-50
5	Fabienne Wohlwend	40	-51

See also

• 2021 Belgian Grand Prix

External links

• Official website Archived 2022-04-14 at the Wayback Machine
• Race replay