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
.
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.
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
2012 Monza GP3 round
sprint race, and in doing so became the first female points scorer since the inception of the GP3 Series in 2010.
[9]
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 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.
[16]
Powell on her way to victory in the
2019 W Series Brands Hatch 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.
[17]
Powell returned to W Series in 2021 competing with the newly formed Racing X team.
[18]
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.
[19]
Powell finished the season with 3 wins, 5 podiums & 132 points as she went on to finish runner-up to
Jamie Chadwick
. Powell won the
Silverstone
and
Zandvoort
rounds and finished 27 points behind champion Chadwick.
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
.
Powell contesting a round of the
2021 W Series
at the
Red Bull Ring
†
As Powell was a guest driver, she was ineligible for points.
Complete GP3 Series results
edit
(
key
) (Races in
bold
indicate pole position) (Races in
italics
indicate fastest lap)
Complete W Series results
edit
(
key
) (Races in
bold
indicate pole position) (Races in
italics
indicate fastest lap)
Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results
edit
(
key
) (Races in
bold
indicate pole position) (Races in
italics
indicate fastest lap)
Complete Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy results
edit
(
key
) (Races in
bold
indicate pole position)
†
As Powell was a guest driver, she was ineligible for points.