What a season finale in Austin Texas !! Happy with third in the W series championship

From P6 to P3 at the final round of the W series season 2021.
Had a mega start once again moving up to 4th and couple of laps later an aggressive overtake on Visser. I was giving the pressure to Pulling throughout the race but I didn’t have the front end grip to follow her in the “bad air” so I wasn’t able to get close enough for an overtake and she did a very clean race under the pressure so there was no mistakes to collect either. Hats off, great and strong performance for a young driver! She has talent!
I secured my 3rd place in the championship already in Saturday’s race and couldn’t have moved any higher nor lower with today’s results no matter what happened so I was just enjoying the ride and the amazing crowd. Incredible crowd it was in Texas, with ~ 400 000 people attending the F1 race. Incredible atmosphere, people cheering and being so supportive. Thank you America and @cota_official !
Third place in the championship is a really good job. Unfortunately, the first half of the season was a little bit flat for me but, luckily, I got to turn it around and it has shown me that I have the potential to win the title next year.
Congrats to Jamie Chadwick on a brilliant drive this weekend and winning the title!
I really want to thank my team Ecurie W. I have had some changes with engineers this season and it has worked really well. We were struggling so much this weekend in the practice sessions, but then we figured it out and I am so proud of my team who have worked so hard. Greetings to my other engineer, Danny, who was watching from another race meeting today. Thanks to Laney who was here with me and really supportive. I am blessed to be working with such talented people.”
Cheers to you all out there supporting me around the world! Love you!
 

Scored some valuable points – third at Zandvoort

We just didn’t get it quite right with the car today. That’s how it is in this sport sometimes, we gambled a bit with the setup and my team still did an amazing job. I was able to keep third place despite a lot of pressure from behind, so I’m happy with my performance overall and proud that I was able to settle the car down.

I definitely maximised everything I had during the race and Danny and my team was there for me all the way. So grateful for that and the good points! A podium is a good result and it’s more important points for me this season.
Now it’s time to rest, spend quality time with my daughter and have a good training period before we head to Austin, Texas for our next race in mid October.

I am third in the standings and I am still in the title fight. So I keep fighting.

(L-R) Jamie Chadwick (GBR), Alice Powell (GBR), Emma Kimilainen (FIN)
 

The first pole of the season – We all enjoyed karaoke at Zandvoort

Emma Kimilainen (FIN)

First pole of the 2021 season !

The car felt amazing, and the team did an incredible job. I am thrilled since I hardly participated in practice, only completing a few laps due to a technical issue. I am feeling confident and happy about the race. I love this track and it’s going to be awesome. While Spa was exceptional, I equally enjoy Zandvoort and, after last week’s win, I feel like I have gained great momentum.

After that pole position, I am feeling confused! It was a tight fight from the beginning to the end. My engineer Danny didn’t say anything to me for the entire final lap and then, right at the end, he said: ‘you’ve finished P3. No, wait, you are P1! Emma, you are on pole!’

I was relieved as I felt like I had driven a good lap, pushing so hard. Unfortunately, I made a little mistake in sector three, so I felt on edge as to whether I had achieved pole. I was just waiting and hoping that I might get it.

I made a bet with Danny. When you make a bet with a Finn, be prepared for the consequences…

So, Danny sang Spice Girls today!! It’s safe to say we all enjoyed that one !

 

It’s pretty special to win at Spa !

Emma Kimilainen (FIN), 1st position, celebrates in Parc Ferme

First win of the 2021 W Series season came at legendary Spa Francorchamps. What a race and what a weekend.

I have to admit, It’s pretty special to win at Spa.

It’s such a legendary track and the circumstances were tricky. It rained all weekend and it is a pity the fans did not get to see a Formula 1 race on Sunday. But I am happy, really happy. It’s a team sport so thanks to my team members in Ecurie W, amazing car and support throughout the weekend! That ment a lot to me.

It was a huge shunt in qualifying with 6 cars involved as they all lost the control of the car due to a quick weather change in the middle of Eau Rouge, a corner complex you drive flat with 6th gear. Very scary moment, but it really shows how incredibly strong and safe these cars are and how fit and strong the drivers are to survive that kind of forces. I’m really glad that all are well. 🙏

The win means I can fight for the win in the series. I will give my all.

More wins are what I’m aiming for in the remainder of the season. It hasn’t been the easiest start to the year for me, but anything can happen from here and I’m still aiming for the title, that’s for sure. If you want to win, get the Finn!

 

Happy with fifth in W Series, but next year I am aiming for the win !

What a season! It has been a roller coaster, but I am so happy to end the season on a high note with a second place at the season finale at Brands Hatch. I am also so thankful to be part of this fantastic W Series journey.

I should have been a little more tactical in qualifying at Brands and left a final attempt for pole position to the last minute, but I didn’t want to gamble. Even so, I was happy to start the race from fourth – not too far back – and I had a good start. I knew I had the pace to race for the win. I had really good pace just before the Safety Car, I was planning to push for the win at the end, but Alice did the restart really well – she blew me away actually – and that was the end of it really.

Obviously this season has been a bit mixed for me – I missed the first half basically. By only 3 race finishes I became 5th in the championship, which is pretty good!

Congratulations to Alice Powell for the win and Brands and to Beitske Visser for the 3rd place.

And huge congrats to Jamie Chadwick for the first ever W Series championship win!

I will be back next year and I am aiming for the Championship!

 

Pole, fastest lap and victory at Assen

Pole, victory and the fastest lap at Assen. It was a really great weekend. From the first free practice session I knew I had the speed to win and, after a bad start, I was soon looking for a good moment to take back the lead.

After the first race of the season, at Hockenheim, I was hugely disappointed to find out that I had been injured and I didn’t know how long it would be until I could race again.

But at the same time, with the help of the best ever healthcare specialists, Hintsa Performance and my own doctor, I was able to come back stronger. It’s because of you all, I’m back behind the wheel. Thank you

Ultimately, I’m so glad and so pleased to be back racing – and winning.

As we say in Finland, if you want to win, hire a Fin.

 

Feels so good to be back in the car!

Ended the race in P5 with the fastest lap of the @wseriesracing race at Norisring! I was unlucky in the qualifying when yellow and red flags ruined my quick times with new tires. My fastest lap was my tire warm up lap and I ended up in P8 with it. Had a blast in the race! I nearly didn’t survive the first corner because I got pushed but I saved the spin and didn’t lose any positions. My rear back pushrod bent in the accident but the car was still good to drive and I started to push. Made some nice overtakes and enjoyed the time behind the wheel. I had the pace to win the race but couldn’t do any better from that starting position. The car worked well throughout the weekend and I had a really good mechanic Umberto and engineer Thomas from whom I learned a lot. But to be honest, being able to compete and feel fine again is my biggest victory.

Now the focus is on the two last race weekends of the series. I have good memories from Assen. I did one of my best races in the Formula ADAC Masters series in Assen. I would have won the race, but my team mate Kevin Magnussen managed in a close fight to push me off track on the last lap. That is forgotten now Kevin😊 I did well in the FPA-series at Brands Hatch, so fond memories also from Brands Hatch.

I’M BACK!  It feels fabulous to be 30! A new era begins now!

 

Zolder – the right decision was made

I didn’t race at Zolder. It was a difficult decision to make, but I know in my heart we made the right decision. As an athlete it’s hard to describe the disappointment because lots of feelings are involved and you are always prepared to give your absolutely everything to compete.

But as a mother I know that health comes first. My situation after Hockenheim has been tricky because an old injury was activated by the shunt. The medical experts at @hintsaperformance made their decision together with the @wseriesracing that it’s better for me to extend the time for recovery. It’s always tricky with injuries and it’s hard to define whereabouts on the recovery curve you actually are. And if the injury is active, there’s way too many risks. In my case even a little new shunt would have been crucial. So better to recover over one race than possibly hang the helmet for a really long time or the rest of my life.

Now it’s all about recovery and I’m so lucky and privileged to have the best team of experts to help me. Next time I’ll be ready to show my full potential up to chequered flag! Thanks to all of you who are supporting me on this journey and have sent messages.

We will end up winning races, don’t worry. And let’s block the title next year !

 

The fight is on!

The W Series made history at Hockenheim. I didn’t.

It was the first and inaugural W Series race. I was so excited before qualifying and could barely wait to get started. Fourth in qualifying was not what I expected. I had the speed to do better. Some setup issues and a red flag made it difficult to fight for the pole.

If the W Series made history at Hockenheim, I didn’t. When I got away, after almost stalling the car (tech issue) on the grid, the car felt very good. I was happy with the setup. I overtook some cars and was set to take up the fight to make it up to the front. Then I was hit hard turning in to a corner. It was, what I would call, an unfortunate elimination. The race was over.

Now the championship win is harder but my career has been quite a survival story so far so it may continue to be like that. One thing is for sure, I’m never going to give up and I’m grateful for W Series and for this amazing event and opportunity. At Zolder I’ll know which car + mechanic + engineer combo I will get. Heads up and towards the win at Zolder in two weeks time!

Congratulations to all W Series drivers and especially to Jamie, Alice and Marta. Well done.

The fight is on!

 

W Series kick-off at Hockenheim

On Saturday it is time for the first ever W Series race. I really look forward to the race weekend.  After a solid three day testing at Lausitzring in Germany, where I learned a lot more about the new Tatuus T-318 Formula 3 car, it is time to go racing. It is ten years since I raced in a single seater series, but I feel comfortable in the car and I enjoy working with the Hitech engineers and mechanics. The competition is though, but I have always loved the head to head racing, so I really look forward to the qualifying and race on Saturday.

You will all be able to watch the race live as W Series have signed a deal with Channel 4 in the UK and in the Nordic countries all the races are broadcasted by Viasat.

I am so grateful for this opportunity. Let the W Series 2019 journey begin !

Copyright, 2019, Colin McMaster/LAT Images/W Series.