Britain’s Alice Powell won the W Series season-opener in Austria on Saturday and compatriot Sarah Moore celebrated an LGBTQ+ first as the all-female championship began a new link-up with Formula One.
The series, which hopes to help a female driver graduate to the Formula One grid for the first time since 1976, did not hold any races last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic after a 2019 debut.
Powell won the last race of 2019, with nearly 700 days between her victories, and she triumphed from pole on Saturday.
Moore was second and Liechtenstein’s Fabienne Wohlwend third. Defending champion Jamie Chadwick was seventh after fighting back from 16th following a second lap incident.
W Series founder Catherine Bond Muir said on Twitter that Moore, an ambassador for the Racing Pride movement, had become the first openly LGBTQ+ driver to stand on a podium during a Grand Prix weekend.
The Red Bull Ring is hosting the Styrian Formula One Grand Prix this weekend.