British racing driver Abbie Eaton will return to W Series, completing the 18-driver grid for the upcoming 2022 race season. She will be joining the top eight qualifiers from the 2021 drivers standings as well as nine drivers who completed pre-season tests in Barcelona and Arizona, five of whom will make their W Series debut next month.
Eaton made her debut with W Series in 2021, racing with Écurie W and achieving four top-10 finishes within six races. Unfortunately Eaton’s racing season came to an end after she endured a back injury at race one of the seasons double header finale at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin last October.
The 30-year-old has been working during the off-season to recover from her accident. She is an on screen test driver for ‘The Grand Tour’ on Amazon Prime and an ambassador for Racing Pride, a movement breaking down stereotypes and promoting LGBTQ+ inclusivity within motorsport.
She is now set to join fellow British racer Sarah Moore in making up the full Scuderia W team and will appear at the highly anticipated season opener in Miami on 6-8 May 2022. W Series will continue its partnership with Formula One, supporting eight Grand Prix weekends with 10 races visiting Spain, France, Mexico and Japan for the first time. The season will open with a double header in Miami at the Miami International Autodrome and will finish with two races at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.
Credits: W Series Media
Abbie Eaton commented, “To have another opportunity with W Series is what I’ve wanted ever since I broke my back six months ago, so I’m relieved that all my hard work has paid off. I’m super excited to be back and hoping to get stronger as time goes on, but the tests and races I’ve done over the last few weeks have been promising and I’m looking forward to the first race in Miami.“
“I want to say a huge thank you to all of my friends, family, physios, trainers, donators, and neurosurgeon for helping me get back so quickly, and to W Series for giving me another chance“.
The full 2022 18 driver line-up is as follows:
| Number | Driver | Nationality | Team |
| 27 | Alice Powell | UK | Click2Drive Bristol Street Motors Racing W Series Team |
| 21 | Jessica Hawkins | UK | Click2Drive Bristol Street Motors Racing W Series Team |
| 5 | Fabienne Wohlwend | LIE | CortDAO Racing W Series Team |
| 19 | Marta Gracia | ESP | CortDAO Racing W Series Team |
| 55 | Jamie Chadwick | UK | Jenner Racing |
| 8 | Chloe Chambers | USA | Jenner Racing |
| 7 | Emma Kimiläinen | FIN | Puma W Series Team |
| 63 | Tereza Babickova | CZE | Puma W Series Team |
| 32 | Nerea Martí | ESP | Quantfury Racing W Series Team |
| 22 | Belén García | ESP | Quantfury Racing W Series Team |
| 49 | Abbi Pulling | UK | Racing X |
| 97 | Bruna Tomaselli | BRA | Racing X |
| 26 | Sarah Moore | UK | Scuderia W |
| 44 | Abbie Eaton | UK | Scuderia W |
| 95 | Beitske Visser | NED | Sirin Racing W Series Team |
| 4 | Emely De Heus | NED | Sirin Racing W Series Team |
| 91 | Bianca Bustamante | PHI | W Series Academy |
| 10 | Juju Noda | JPN | W Series Academy |
| 17 | Ayla Agren | NOR | Reserve Driver |