Just two months on from the opening round at Hockenheim, the inaugural W Series championship has already reached the midway point of its first season - with Jamie Chadwick leading the standings by a margin of 13 points over Beitske Visser.

That it's Chadwick and Visser leading the way at the sharp end of the field is not particularly surprising - both are established names in single-seater racing and it's certainly more than likely that Chadwick would have been able to continue her steady career trajectory as the next great female Formula 1 driver hope with or without W Series.

But, as has been said so many times before, the role of W Series isn't merely to find the next female F1 hope that exists right here, right now and be done with it - but rather to catalyse a wider change within motorsport to inspire a generation of younger hopefuls, who mean the wait for the next female racing icon isn't as long as the last one.