Alpine Academy appoint W Series racer Powell as mentor

W Series racer Alice Powell has been appointed Talent Identification and Development Mentor for the Alpine Academy and Affiliate Programme.

Powell will act as a mentor to Alpine Academy Affiliate Abbi Pulling this year. Pulling made history in March by driving a Formula 1 car in Saudi Arabia, and she will embark on her first W Series campaign beginning in Miami.

Also gearing up for this season's W Series having finished second to Jamie Chadwick in 2021, Powell will mentor other female drivers signed up to the Alpine Academy, guiding them on fitness, career paths and opportunities.

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"I’m delighted to join the team. More and more opportunities for women within motorsport are emerging now, but budding drivers often lack guidance and experience in the early days of their career. The Alpine Academy is an extremely useful stepping stone for all drivers," said Powell.

"It provides a sense of credibility and has a defined place on the motorsport ladder. Mentoring is very important. We need to change the mindset of young women that these opportunities do exist, but to also give them the resilience to reach out and grab these opportunities with both hands."

Pulling added: "I’m really happy to be working closely with Alice. I’ve found the Affiliate programme already to be very beneficial. I’ve recently had my first drive in a Formula 1 car and enjoyed some other track time ahead of my W Series campaign thanks to the Affiliate programme.

"It’s a really supportive environment which is also really useful for me to hopefully show other young women that the opportunities in motorsport are there, you just need the drive and motivation to seize them.”

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Julian Rouse, Alpine Academy Director, said: “We are committed to developing our pool of talent and bringing even more drivers through to F1. Through this programme we want to ensure women have an equal opportunity to do so. Alice will be a great asset to the team as we move forward with our Academy and Affiliate programme. Her role of identifying young racers, particularly female, and then guiding them through her extensive experience is incredibly useful and reassuring for the emerging potential talents we are seeing now.”

The 2022 W Series makes its debut this weekend in support of the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, with Chadwick hunting a third title.