Racewear brand Puma Motorsport announced it will continue to support W Series in the championship's second on-track season and, for the first time, its racing suits will be specially designed and tailored for the female body.
After global tyre supplier Hankook, another founding partner of the first ever all-female formula championship W Series announced the renewal of their support for the 2021 season: the 18 drivers will again wear technical racewear from Puma Motorsport in the upcoming season.
Puma – which is also partner of several other elite teams in motorsport, such as Mercedes AMG, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Ferrari in Formula 1, as well as BMW and Porsche in their Formula E and sportscars operations among the others – will supply its high-performance, flame-retardant racewear and triple-layer Nomex racing overalls, to grant the W Series drivers F1 standards of safety and comfort.
For the first time, the racing suits will specifically be designed and tailored for the female body – a significant achievement for the technical sportswear manufacturer that has also recently launched a new campaign called 'She Moves Us', aimed at celebrating inspiring women in sports and culture around the world.
The link with W Series was thus a natural step for Puma, which will gain from the series' increased exposure in the Formula 1 environment.
"A racing driver has to feel comfortable in the car, and feeling relaxed in what we are wearing goes a long way to achieving this." – commented Abbie Eaton, one of the five selected British drivers and a new addition to the W Series grid.
"PUMA and W Series are aware that this is important for the drivers, and that generic, unisex racewear modified for female racers does not lend itself to optimum performance. These new race suits are tailored to fit my body shape, allowing me to focus on racing hard." – she explained.
"Motorsport is in PUMA's DNA, just like our brand's principles of equality, diversity and inclusion." – added James Clark, Head of Sports Marketing Motorsport & Operations at Puma. "Hence W Series is a perfect fit with the values we share. For us at PUMA, it is irrelevant whether a driver is male or female, the only thing that matters is the passion for motorsport. We are very proud that we have been the official racewear supplier of W Series since 2019 and that this will continue in 2021."
"We want to make sure that W Series' drivers feel safe, competitive, and comfortable in the cockpit, and so PUMA has designed tailor made race suits for female drivers to ensure a perfect fit."
As the number of young women steadily rise at grassroots levels, racewear specifically designed for the female body is hopefully going to be gradually implemented on a larger-scale production.
W Series will make its long-awaited return to the track from 17-21 May at Anglesey Circuit, Wales, for its only pre-season test. The 2021 championship is scheduled to start at Le Castellet, France, on 26th June.
