Marta García is widely regarded as one of the drivers to watch for the upcoming W Series championship and, as the all-female series completed its first day of testing in Anglesey, the Spaniard is ready to start her title assault.
Marta García is one of the names that is most often brought up by industry experts when talking about the main 2021 W Series title contenders.
While you can never count Jamie Chadwick or Beitske Visser out – or Emma Kimilainen and Alice Powell – Marta García most certainly will be fighting for victories in 2021, after impressing everyone in her debut season.
After only one year in single seaters – a Spanish F4 campaign in 2017 and a forced hiatus in 2018, the Valencian driver made her F3 debut in W Series with a podium in Hockenheim and promptly launched herself as a consistent front runner.
Her victory at the only street circuit on the calendar – the short yet very technical Norisring – definitely further brought her back under the international spotlight.
The young Spaniard had in fact enjoyed very successful karting years, where she was often considered as one of the most interesting European prospects. But, once abandoned by the Renault young driver program, she was left without a seat and a long term plan.
Along with others, Marta García might very well become one of W Series most interesting success stories: at 19 and still with everything to prove, all she needed was a proper opportunity.
"Marta is very young obviously, she's a great racer" – told us her competitor and fellow race winner Alice Powell when asked about the drivers to watch in the upcoming season.
"She showed her potential straight from the off. She pressured me and Jamie [Chadwick] all the way to the end in the first round at Hockenheim and had her win at Norisring as well."
"She'll be definitely one to watch this year. She's a great talent and one that it's gonna be really pushing the rest of us all the way and will be there for sure as a title contender. As well as many others, Marta is gonna be one to watch." – concluded Powell.
Unlike some of the other drivers that will share the W Series grid with García this year, the driver from Valencia was again sidelined in 2020 when the pandemic hit. Her part-time schedule in the Formula Renault Eurocup was put on hold after only one test and the young driver fully focused on her preparation for the next season – which also included an intensive simulation training program.
Garcia challenged Beitske Visser until the very final races in the iRacing-based W Series Esports League in 2020 and, while it might not be very representative of what's to come, the efforts surely prove her determination in making the most out of a difficult year.
One year after her last time in the car, García completed a single-day test at Circuit Paul Ricard, France, in a Tatuus F3 car in preparation for the season opener. In a last minute turn of events, the calendar of the all-female series' sophomore season was again reshuffled, with the French round now being scrapped in favour of a double-header on the Austrian Red Bull Ring, as the series was forced to react to the Formula 1 calendar changes.
Having finally reached the remote circuit of Anglesey, north Wales, Marta García is now finally ready to start her title assault.
For the first time after almost two years, all the qualified W Series drivers – bar Tasmin Pepper – hit the track on Monday for a 5-day collective test on the scenic 3.4km racetrack over the Welsh coast.
Drivers will get to familiarize themselves with some safety and reliability improvements on the Tatuus T-318 cars and to get back into the rhythm ahead of the first official race as part of the Formula 1 weekend.
“Before going on to analyze my next season, I want to thank all the national and regional institutions, and my partners, for their unconditional support so that we continue to make this sport great – and that represents a dream for us, which might not be too far away, Formula 1." – García said.
"There is only one way to approach it: work, work and work. The level of the top drivers is very high and they have been active on track, as well as my compatriots. [Belén García and Nerea Martí, two of the six W Series newcomers]. Despite the great handicap of having been away from the track for more than a year and having completed a single day of testing at Paul Ricard a few weeks ago, I could finally see that the feeling is still there."
"My motivation and effort are at the highest level. Let's go for it!"