W Series, Iron Dames drivers selected for FIA Formula 3 test

Four female drivers representing the W Series and Iron Dames program will join a FIA Formula 3 test day to encourage gender diversity on the ladder to Formula 1.

Irina Sidorkova and Nerea Marti will represent the W Series at a FIA Formula 3 test day. (W Series)

W Academy drivers Nerea Marti and Irina Sidorkova, and Iron Dames members Maya Weug and Doriane Pin, will all get a taste for Formula 3 machinery at the French Magny-Cours circuit on November 9.

Organisers say the test is part of a larger diversity plan for FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3, the two top-level open-wheel series on the Formula 1 undercard.

"We hope that this test is the first step towards making the road to Formula 1 for a female driver more systematic," said FIA Formula 3 CEO Bruno Michel.

The feeder series' have previously seen female entrants with Tatiana Calderon and Sophia Floersch on recent grids, but Michel says more needs to be done to encourage female drivers into the category.

Marti finished fourth in the 2021 W Series, with Sidorkova in ninth.

Sidorkova and Marti were the first members of the W Academy. (FIA Formula 3)

Both were part of the W Academy, a new initiative for young drivers which guarantees a two-year place in the category as well as mentoring and coaching, fitness and nutrition, and media training.

At 19 and 18 respectively, they are the two youngest members of the W Series field - something which Bruno Michel says contributed to their selection for the test.

"We also agreed that the W Academy drivers are in the best age-range to eventually join the single-seater pyramid, so we selected them for this test session."

Maya Weug and Doriane Pin, both seventeen, will represent the Iron Dames program in the test.

Iron Dames is a female driver program run by Deborah Mayer, entering a team in the European Le Mans Series, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Michelin Le Mans Cup.

Weug and Pin were both finalists in then FIA Girls on Track - Rising Stars program, with Weug selected to become the first ever female driver to join the Ferrari Driver Academy.

They are also the youngest members of the Iron Dames.

Maya Weug and Doriane Pin are the youngest members of the Iron Dames. (FIA Formula 3)

Mayer said "this is another great milestone for promoting female talent in motorsport and it represents everything which I set the Iron Dames project up to do – to open doors in motorsport for aspiring women."

“We are women driven by dreams, dreams to work within motorsport at all levels and it is important that projects such as this continue to provide opportunities like this, encouraging more young talent into the sport."

Formula 3 CEO Bruno Michel said plans are already underway for further tests to promote diversity in the sport.