F4 Alumna One Step Closer to F1 Dream

Sabre Cook encroaches on history, advancing to final W Series evaluation round

Vying against notable female drivers from around the world in a three-day on-and-off-track assessment, Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda alumna Sabre Cook was selected to advance to the final round of evaluations for the inaugural Formula 3 W Series.

In the next sages, Cook will travel to Almeria, Spain, March 21-28 for a four-day test, competing against 27 other finalists for one of the 20 spots on the inaugural W Series grid. The all-female driver competition was launched by the FIA last October to promote and provide a stepping stone to Formula 1 in effort to overcome motorsport’s gender gap.

"The W Series evaluations were a fantastic experience,” said Cook, who also won the 2018 Infiniti Engineering Academy scholarship. “The training challenged every possible skill a complete driver needs to have, but they did it in a way that made it an enjoyable learning process too. The whole event was very professional, well managed and the camaraderie, even between competitors, was great. Being surrounded by so many like minds, all focused on a common goal was very special experience. I just tried to keep focused and do my best. My best was enough for now, but now it's back to working even harder to be ready for the Almeria test in March."

More than 100 female drivers applied for groundbreaking opportunity with 55 competitors moving on to the first round of evaluations in Melk, Austria. The setting created was unlike anything Cook experienced before in her racing career.

“The environment was surprisingly more supportive than I could've ever expected,” Cook continued. “We supported each other at every step, creating a special energy and connection that our male counterparts normally don't in the same setting. For me finding out there are more women like me out there makes me full of excitement. It gave me a sense of belonging and confidence to be who I am. It was an unforgettable and empowering experience for sure.”

Similar to F4 U.S., the W Series will be a spec championship, however, the Formula 3 cars are all owned by the series. Maintenance, repair, and setup adjustments will be the responsibility of technicians hired by the organizers, and every car will run on the same Hankook tires, burn the same fuel and be greased with the same oil in an effort to eliminate mechanical inequalities as well as cheating.

The entire racing season for all the drivers, including accommodations and travel, is paid for by the W Series.  Not only is W Series a free-to-enter competition, but a total prize fund of $1,500,000 has been assigned, with the overall series winner taking $500,000.

Since the inception of Formula 1, more than 900 drivers have competed in the championship, only two of whom have been female. It’s been a staggering 43 years since the last female entered an official F1 race and Cook is determined to change that.

Fans can follow Cook’s progress through social media at:

Sabre Cook- @SabreCook