Chadwick set for potentially massive W Series payday

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W Series leader Jamie Chadwick is set to enjoy a massive financial windfall if the 21-year-old wraps up this year's inaugural all-female championship.

W Series has just announced the details of its prize money roster for 2019 and it provides plenty of incentive for Chadwick and her rivals to pull out the stops in the remaining two races scheduled this weekend at Assen and in August at Brands Hatch.

The innovative all-female series boasts a total prize-money fund of $1.5 million, with $500,000 allocated to the title winner, $250,000 to the runner-up and $125,000 for third place.

Williams F1 recruits Jamie Chadwick as development driver!

All participants are set to receive a cut of the prize money fund, with $7,500 awarded to the lowest-place finishers.

Chadwick - who was nominated as a development driver for Williams earlier this year - currently enjoys a 10-point lead over rival Beitske Visser, while Marta Garcia is 23 points adrift.

Furthermore, W Series also revealed that FIA superlicence points shall be awarded to the series' competitors from 2020, a positive move by motorsport's governing body and a sign of recognition.

"Building on the ongoing success of W Series this year, next year’s W Series will be open to the top 12 points-scoring drivers in the final 2019 W Series points table, and we’re already receiving plenty of expressions of interest from other drivers who haven’t taken part in W Series so far," said W Series CEO Catherine Bond Muir.

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"The competition for the opportunity to race in 2020 W Series alongside the 2019 top 12 will be fierce but that’s what W Series is all about: a highly competitive race series in which the best female racing drivers in the world race one another in state-of-the-art Tatuus T-318 Formula 3 cars, on iconic racetracks, and thereby gain crucial on-track experience which will enable them to progress their careers on and up to more senior single-seater formulae, where they can race – and beat – their male rivals.

"And from 2020 onwards they’ll be earning Superlicence points as they do so."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.