Alice Powell

For the American educator, see Alice Mendham Powell.

Alice Powell
Nationality	British
Full name	Alice Elizabeth Fraser Powell
Born	(1993-01-26) 26 January 1993 (age 31) Oxford, England
W Series career
Debut season	2019
Current team	Click2Drive
Racing licence	FIA Silver
Car number	27
Former teams	Racing X
Starts	20
Wins	5
Podiums	11
Poles	2
Fastest laps	4
Best finish	2nd in 2021
Previous series
2018–20 2015–16 2014 2013 2012 2009, 2011 2010 2010 2009 2008	Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy MRF Challenge Asian Formula Renault Series F3 Cup GP3 Series Formula Renault UK Ginetta G50 Cup Formula Renault BARC Formula Palmer Audi Ginetta Junior Championship
Championship titles
2010 2014	Formula Renault BARC Asian Formula Renault Series
Awards
2010 2011	BWRDC GoldStars Award BWRDC GoldStars Elite

Alice Elizabeth Fraser Powell ^{[1] [2]} (born 26 January 1993) is a British racing driver. In 2010, she became the first woman to win a Formula Renault championship and in 2012 became the first woman to score points in the GP3 Series. In 2014, she returned to racing in Formula Renault and added to her championship victories by taking first place in the International Class of the 2014 Asian Formula Renault Series. In 2019, Powell was one of the 18 women selected to compete in the inaugural W Series championship. During the course of the season's six races, Powell took four podium finishes, including a win at the series finale race at Brands Hatch, and finished third in the championship standings. Following an enforced hiatus caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, Powell returned to the W Series for the 2021 championship and won the opening race of the year, at the Red Bull Ring.

Racing career

Powell competing in the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship.

Formula Renault

Powell was born in Oxford, England. She learned to drive at the age of six, and started her career in karting two years later. ^[3] In 2009, at 16, she drove in the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship, becoming the youngest female driver in a Formula Renault race. ^[4] Powell finished the year as runner up for the Young Star Award at the Women of the Future Awards. ^[5] She was also awarded the British Women Racing Drivers Club GoldStars 'Elite' category Award. ^[6] Powell set a record in the fourth round of the 2010 Formula Renault BARC Championship by becoming the first woman to win a Formula Renault race in the UK, ^[5] and later in the year became the first woman to win a Formula Renault championship. ^[7] During the 2010 season Powell's race engineer was Sarah Shaw. Powell and Manor returned to the Formula Renault UK championship in 2011, but failed to win a race and finished the season in 9th place in the championship.

Powell returned to Formula Renault three years later, driving for FRD Motorsport in the International Class of the 2014 Asian Formula Renault Series. During the 11 race season Powell took five class victories, four of which were also outright race wins, and won the class.

GP3 Series

Powell contesting the 2012 Monza GP3 Series round.

On 15 June 2012, after only two test days in the GP3 car, it was announced that Powell would drive for the Status Grand Prix team in the 2012 GP3 Series. ^[8] On 9 September that year she finished 8th in the Monza round sprint race, and in doing so became the first female points scorer since the inception of the GP3 Series in 2010. ^[9]

Formula 3

Powell competing in the MSV F3 Cup at Brands Hatch in 2013.

Powell joined F3 Cup for 2013 having been unable to continue in the GP3 Series. ^[10] She took part in the opening round of the 2013 British Formula 3 season at Silverstone, driving the Mark Bailey Racing run Dallara F306, which she also raced in the MotorSport Vision Formula Three Cup. ^[11]

In the 2013 MotorSport Vision Formula Three Cup, Powell finished second in the championship behind Alex Craven, having won five times during the season including three of the first four races.

Formula 1

On 12 November 2014 Powell was reported as trying to raise funds to drive a Caterham Formula One car, in a free practice session at the end of season Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. ^[12] The Caterham team had gone into administration in October 2014 and had not attended the previous two Grands Prix. ^[13] It was later reported that Powell had abandoned the idea as it was unlikely that the appropriate superlicence could be obtained. ^[14]

Powell has served as the Talent Identification & Development Mentor for the Alpine Academy since 2022. ^[15]

Formula E

In 2020, it was announced that Powell, now an ambassador for Dare to Be Different, would take part in the Rookie Test after the 2020 Marrakesh ePrix, driving for Envision Virgin Racing, partnering Nick Cassidy. She has served as the Simulator and Development Driver for the team since the 2021–2022 season. ^[16]

Powell also took part in the May 2024 Berlin rookie test and November 2024 Jarama pre-season women's test for Envision Racing. ^{[17] [18]}

MRF Challenge

Powell signed up to compete in the first race of the 2015–16 edition of the MRF Challenge. At the first round in Abu Dhabi, Powell scored four top ten finishes out of four races, with a best finish of eighth in the final race, after being out of single seaters for nearly a year. ^[19]

W Series

Powell on her way to victory in the 2019 W Series Brands Hatch round

Powell contesting a round of the 2021 W Series at the Red Bull Ring

Powell competing in the 2022 W Series Silverstone round.

Powell participated in the inaugural W Series Championship in 2019. She won the season-ending race at Brands Hatch along with three other podium finishes, finishing 3rd overall in the standings. ^[20]

Powell returned to W Series in 2021 competing with the newly formed Racing X team. ^[21] Powell dominated the first race of the season at the Red Bull Ring, taking her first pole position, setting the fastest lap and leading every lap to take the race win. ^[22] Powell finished the season with 3 wins, 5 podiums & 132 points, as she went on to finish runner-up to Jamie Chadwick.

Powell moved to Click2Drive Bristol Street Motors Racing for the 2022 season. ^[23] She finished 3rd in the standings, with one win, four podiums, one pole position, and one fastest lap.

Commentary career

Powell joined the Sky Sports Formula 2 commentary team when the 2020 season resumed in July 2020, after delays and cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She has commentated at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and currently works for Whisper Entertainment's F1 on Channel 4. ^[24]

Personal life

Powell attended The Cotswold School. ^[25] In 2014, she was included in the BBC series 100 Women . ^[26]

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2007	Ginetta Junior Championship	Tockwith Motorsport	11	0	0	0	0	62	16th
	Ginetta Junior Winter Series		3	0	0	0	0	?	5th
2008	Ginetta Junior Championship	Tockwith Motorsport/Muzz Racing	24	0	0	0	4	326	9th
2009	Formula Renault UK	Manor Competition	20	0	0	0	0	88	18th
	Formula Palmer Audi	Motorsport Vision	3	0	0	0	0	33	25th
2010	Formula Renault BARC	Hillspeed	12	2	2	0	7	288	1st
	Formula Renault UK Winter Series	Manor Competition	7	0	0	0	0	53	12th
	Ginetta G50 Cup	Tockwith	14	0	0	0	0	163	16th
		CDR	3	0	0	0	0
2011	Formula Renault UK	Manor Competition	20	0	0	0	0	258	9th
	Formula Renault 2.0 NEC	SL Formula Racing	2	0	0	0	0	24	35th
	MRF Formula 1600 Delhi	?	2	0	0	0	2	33	2nd
	InterSteps Championship	Motaworld	1	0	0	0	0	12	14th
2012	GP3 Series	Status Grand Prix	16	0	0	0	0	1	19th
	Formula Ford 1600 – Walter Hayes Trophy	?	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	12th
2012–13	MRF Challenge Formula 2000	MRF Racing	10	0	0	1	2	79	5th
2013	GP3 Series	Bamboo Engineering	2	0	0	0	0	0	31st
	MSV F3 Cup – Class A	Mark Bailey Racing	18	5	1	11	8	396	2nd
	British Formula 3 International Series – National B		3	2	2	3	2	0	NC†
2014	Asian Formula Renault Series – International Class	FRD Racing Team	11	5	5	1	9	242	1st
	British Formula 3 International Series	Carlin Motorsport	3	0	0	0	1	16	15th
	MSV F3 Cup – Cup Class	Mark Bailey Racing	4	2	1	1	4	116	11th
2015	Silverstone 24 Hours – Class 3	Andrew Palmer	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	4th
2015–16	MRF Challenge Formula 2000	MRF Racing	4	0	0	0	0	9	18th
2018–19	Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy	Jaguar VIP Car	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
2019	W Series	Hitech GP	6	1	0	0	4	76	3rd
	WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD	Heinricher Racing with Meyer Shank Racing	1	0	0	0	0	19	59th
2019–20	Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy	Jaguar ran racing eTROPHY Team Germany	10	0	0	1	2	70	4th
	Formula E	Envision Virgin Racing	Test driver
2020–21	Formula E	Envision Virgin Racing	Simulator/Development driver
2021	W Series	Racing X	8	3	2	4	5	132	2nd
2021–22	Formula E	Envision Racing	Simulator/Development driver
2022	W Series	Click2Drive Bristol Street Motors Racing	7	1	1	1	4	86	3rd
2022–23	Formula E	Envision Racing	Simulator/Development driver
2023–24	Formula E	Envision Racing	Simulator/Development driver

^† As Powell was a guest driver, she was ineligible for points.

Complete GP3 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	DC	Points
2012	Status Grand Prix	CAT FEA Ret	CAT SPR 11	MON FEA 11	MON SPR 22	VAL FEA 18	VAL SPR Ret	SIL FEA 17	SIL SPR Ret	HOC FEA 19	HOC SPR Ret	HUN FEA 19	HUN SPR 20	SPA FEA 18	SPA SPR 12	MNZ FEA 12	MNZ SPR 8	19th	1
2013	Bamboo Engineering	CAT FEA	CAT SPR	VAL FEA	VAL SPR	SIL FEA	SIL SPR	NÜR FEA	NÜR SPR	HUN FEA	HUN SPR	SPA FEA	SPA SPR	MNZ FEA	MNZ SPR	YMC FEA 19	YMC SPR 20	31st	0

Complete W Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	DC	Points
2019	Hitech GP	HOC 2	ZOL 3	MIS Ret	NOR Ret	ASS 2	BRH 1			3rd	76
2021	Racing X	RBR1 1	RBR2 8	SIL 1	HUN 2	SPA 4	ZAN 1	COA1 3	COA2 6	2nd	132
2022	Bristol Street Motors Racing	MIA1 Ret	MIA2 2	CAT 3	SIL 14	LEC 5	HUN 1	SIN 2		3rd	86

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Class	Make	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Rank	Points
2019	Heinricher Racing with Meyer Shank Racing	GTD	Acura NSX GT3	Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6	DAY	SEB	MDO	DET	WGL	MOS	LIM	ELK	VIR 12	LGA	PET	59th	19

Complete Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	D.C.	Points
2018–19	Jaguar VIP Car	Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY	G	ADR 5	MEX	HKG	SYX	RME	PAR	MCO	BER	NYC	NYC	NC†	0
2019–20	Jaguar ran racing eTROPHY Team Germany	Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY	P	ADR 33	ADR 33	MEX 85	BER 65	BER 76	BER 55	BER 55	BER 106	BER 55	BER 44	4th	70

^† As Powell was a guest driver, she was ineligible for points.

References

1. "Alice Elizabeth Fraser POWELL – Personal Appointments". Companies House service. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
2. "ALICE ELIZABETH FRASER POWELL – CHIPPING NORTON – RACING DRIVER/STUDENT/DIRECTOR". Check Company. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
3. "F1 is Alice's wonderland". The Oxford Times . 24 July 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
4. "Gloucestershire racer Alice Powell sets another record". BBC News. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
5. "Award for teenage racing driver". BBC News. 13 November 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
6. "Female racing driver honoured". BBC News. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
7. "Alice Powell wins Formula Renault BARC title". Girlracer. 18 October 2010. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
8. "Status Grand Prix sign Alice Powell". GP3Series.com. 16 April 2012. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
9. "Ellinas wins as Evans becomes Champion". GP3Series.com. GP2 Motorsport Ltd. 9 September 2012. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
10. "GP3 racer Alice Powell signs up for 2013 F3 Cup". MotorSport Vision Formula Three Cup . Motorsport Vision. 20 March 2013. Archived from the original on 11 July 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
11. "British F3 lines up for super Silverstone start". British Formula 3 Championship . Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 22 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
12. "Alice Powell hopeful of Caterham F1 debut in Abu Dhabi". BBC Sport. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
13. "Caterham F1 manufacturer goes into administration". BBC Sport. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
14. "Caterham to race in Abu Dhabi finale after fundraising success". BBC Sport. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
15. "F1 News: Alice Powell, Alpine Academy - Alpine". www.alpine-cars.co.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
16. "Alice Powell joins Envision Virgin Racing as official simulator and development driver". The Official Home of Formula E (in German). 21 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
17. "Powell And Vanthoor Set For Formula E Rookie Test With Envision". The Official Home of Formula E. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
18. "Pulling Fastest In Formula E's First Women's Test". Formula E . 8 November 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
19. "Abu Dhabi MRF Challenge: Fittipaldi wins finale, Calderon beats Reddy for second". motorsport.com. 31 October 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
20. "2019 Standings". W Series. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
21. "W Series introduces new team structure from this season".
22. "Powell leads every lap to take second series win".^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
23. Gascoigne, Roger (28 February 2022). "Alice Powell latest to confirm W Series return". Formula Scout. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
24. "WHISPER WINS BEST ENTERTAINMENT SHOW WITH F1 ON CHANNEL 4 - Whisper". whisper.tv. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
25. "Racing driver Alice Powell receives top award". BBC Gloucestershire. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
26. "Who are the 100 Women 2014?". BBC News. 26 October 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2016.

External links

• Official website
• Alice Powell career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Kieren Clark	Formula Renault BARC Champion 2010	Succeeded by Dino Zamparelli
Preceded by Julio Acosta	Asian Formula Renault Series Champion 2014	Succeeded by Dan Wells