When the seven-time world champion was asked about whether F1 should step in to help a championship like the W Series, he was unequivocal.
“100 per cent,” he said. “Particularly the W series. There has not been enough focus on women in sport the whole of the F1’s life and there’s not enough emphasis on it now.
“They’re not magnifying enough the great work that has been done there. There’s not enough representation across the board within the industry.”
The W Series, which declared Jamie Chadwick a three-time champion after its early curtailment, has come in for some criticism for segregating female drivers, but Hamilton said he felt it was a necessary women to get into the sport.
“There’s not really a pathway for those young amazing drivers to even get to F1, and then you have some people who say we’re never going to see a female F1 driver ever, so that’s not a good narrative to be putting out,” he said.
“I think we need to be doing more. With F1 and Liberty doing so well, it’s not a lot for them to be able to help out in that space.
“The work I’m trying to do with Mercedes, for example, we’re trying to get like 8000 young girls into the sport – but every team should be doing that.”
Hamilton has previously said F1 needs to do “way more” to provide future opportunities for drivers moving on from W Series
W Series
Hamilton has also previously commented on the difficulties for high-achieving W Series drivers to move on to higher championships after being successful in the female-only category.
“For them, I really feel it is great that we have the W Series, but we as a sport need to do way more for young girls getting into the sport and for these women, if there is no progression from there, from W Series,” he said after visiting the drivers in Hungary.