Formula 1 has released the calendar and format for its inaugural all-female F1 Academy season, a series that will a total of seven rounds, one of which will take place at the US Grand Prix in Austin.
The Formula 4-level series, which will feature a fifteen-car grid in 2023, has been created to help develop young female drivers for the upper echelons of international single-seater racing.
An official pre-season test session will take place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 11-12 April, but the field will enjoy an additional 13 days of testing spread out through the season.
The action will kick off in earnest in Austria on 28-29 April, with drivers visiting Valencia, Barcelona, Zandvoort, Monza, Le Castellet and finally Austin in October where the F1 Academy will feature on F1's support bill at The Circuit of the Americas.
However, each round will feature three races. The weekend format will include two free practice sessions of 40 minutes each, and two 15-minute qualifying sessions.
The first session will set the grid for the first race, while the second will set the grid for the third race. To spice things up, the grid for the second race will be set by reversing the top eight finishers of the first qualifying session.
The series is still in the process of announcing its field of drivers that will join the five teams taking part in the series. ART Grand Prix, Campos Racing, Carlin, MP Motorsport and Prema Racing have all signed up for the championship.
The series' Tatuus T421 chassis will be powered by a 165hp Autotecnica engines and will run on Pirelli tyres.
F1 Academy 2023 calendar
1. 28–29 April Spielberg, Austria
2. 05–07 May Valencia, Spain
3. 19–21 May Barcelona, Spain
4. 23–25 June Zandvoort, Netherlands
5. 07–09 July Monza, Italy
6. 29–30 July Le Castellet, France
7. 20–22 October Austin, USA
