The official driver line-up for the upcoming W Series season has been announced.

After a thrilling 2021 tournament, the top eight drivers automatically qualified for their seats this year, leaving space for nine more drivers on the roster.

Pre-season test events in Arizona and Barcelona determined who will take the remaining spots, and the 17 drivers competing in the 2022 Championship have now been locked in.

Last year was the most competitive W Series season yet, featuring a nail-biting title race that went right down to the wire.

Jamie Chadwick secured her second title after the final race in Austin, Texas, but not before she found herself neck-and-neck with compatriot Alice Powell heading into the final weekend.

The two entered the double header at the Circuit of the Americas level on points, something the Championship had never seen before.

This year, the duo will return to the grid for what promises to be another season full of action.

Joining the British stars through automatic qualification are Emma Kimiläinen, Nerea Martí, Sarah Moore, Fabienne Wohlwend, Abbi Pulling and Beitske Visser.

Pulling finished seventh in the overall driver standings, despite featuring in just four of the eight scheduled races. The 19-year-old will make her first full W Series debut this year.

After the pre-season tests, Racing Director Dave Ryan selected nine further competitors to join the eight already qualified.

Bruna Tomaselli, Jessica Hawkins, Marta García and Belén García will all return to the competition along with five drivers set to make their W Series debuts.

The five newcomers are all rising teenage stars, with the youngest being 16-year-old Juju Noda from Japan. She will have the opportunity to race on home soil in W Series' first ever Asian Grand Prix weekend when the Championship travels in Suzuka in October.

Noda will be joined by Tereza Babickova, Bianca Bustamante, Chloe Chambers, and Emely de Heus.

The full 2022 driver line-up is as follows:

As well as a batch of new drivers on the grid, the Championship will be visiting exciting new locations. The season will get underway in Miami, before visiting Suzuka and Mexico City. W Series will also support Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends in Barcelona, Silverstone, Le Castellet, Budapest, and Austin.

The action will kick off on May 6th for practice and qualifying sessions in the USA before opening up the campaign with the Miami Grand Prix.