³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Reigning W Series champion Jamie Chadwick is looking to add the sim racing version of her title in the next 10 weeks as the series turns to eracing.

The 2020 on-road series has been cancelled, but the all-women's W Series Esports League sees drivers head for the simulators to ensure that racing continues.

"With the rate of progression over the past few years, the future could be really exciting," said Chadwick.

W Series chief executive Catherine Bond Muir confirmed that the decision to cancel the 2020 series and come back in 2021 was "difficult but ultimately unavoidable".

Chadwick, one of five British drivers in the series, is perhaps the one to suffer most, having gained 10 points of the 40 she needs for an F1 super-licence - which she needs to fulfil her ambition of racing in Formula 1 - from a fourth-place finish in Asian Formula Three before the coronavirus lockdown.

"Formula 1 is still the ultimate goal - there's still quite a lot of work to do if that's going to be on the table for me," said Chadwick, who was working with F1 team Williams before she went into lockdown in London.

Next year, there are expected to be two support races for the W Series on the Formula 1 calendar - in Mexico and US, as planned for this year.

The great thing about virtual racing is competing at several of the world's most iconic tracks in a relatively short period of time without having to worry about jet lag, passport controls or, especially in the case of the two British events, quarantine regulations.

The virtual races are every Thursday for the next 10 weeks, starting with Monza in Italy, then Circuit of the Americas (US), Brands Hatch (GB), Interlagos (Brazil), Spa (Belgium), Watkins Glen (US), Suzuka (Japan), Mount Panorama (Australia), Nürburgring (Germany) and Silverstone (GB).

There are 18 drivers from 12 different nations taking part in the W Series Esports League, five of them from Great Britain:

Ayla Agren (Norway), Sabre Cook (US), Jamie Chadwick, Abbie Eaton, Jessica Hawkins, Sarah Moore, Alice Powell (all GB), Belen Garcia, Marta Garcia, Nerea Marti (all Spain), Emma Kimilainen (Finland), Miki Koyama (Japan), Tasmin Pepper (South Africa), Vicky Piria (Italy), Irina Sidorkova (Russia), Bruna Tomaselli (Brazil), Beitske Visser (Netherlands), Fabienne Wohlwend (Liechtenstein).