It took about seven hundred days, but the second season of W Series has finally kicked off. And in a weekend where title favourites failed to score big, Alice Powell was supreme, taking home the treble.

Things literally could not have gone better for 28 year old Alice Powell. She got pole at Spielberg, won the race and to top it off she drove the fastest lap. And to add to that, title favourites Jamie Chadwick and Beitske Visser (2019’s number one and two in the championship) had bad weekends. Chadwick qualified a lowly 8th (she seemed to suffer a technical problem) and when she got hit during the race she had to fight back to finish 7th. Visser got spun around by Emma Kimilainen and finished outside of the points.

Powell build a decent gap before it got reduced to nothing because of a safety car. “I saw Marta’s car on the side of the track and I was dreading the safety car coming out, but I managed to keep control. I knew I had the pace, so it was just about staying consistent and bringing it home. I struggled for the first couple of laps to push but I knew the pace would be there, and I was just focused on going forward. It’s the perfect start and an amazing feeling, better than I had in 2019, so a massive thanks to W Series and F1 for such a great weekend.”

Sarah Moore took her first W Series podium at the Red Bull Ring with second behind Powell. “I stalled on the formation lap but managed to get away well at the start of the race to keep a little bit of pressure on Alice. The safety car came out and I was under pressure from behind at the restart, but Beitske’s spin gave me some room at the end of the race. Coming off the back of 2019 and the way that ended, this is such a boost.”

Fabienne Wohlwend rounded out the podium with third and the driver from Liechtenstein could not be happier. “That’s the best race of my career. It’s such a mega feeling to come from ninth on the grid and finish on the podium. I set myself fifth as a target so I excelled myself to finish third and I can’t wait for the rest of the season now. Beitske’s spin was so close because I had to run wide to avoid her, but I just made it. It was an amazing drive and to do to it on this stage in front of these fans was so exciting.”

Round 2 is this weekend, again at Spielberg.