Chadwick explains W Series stay

Two-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick has responded to criticism of her decision to stay in the series after all by saying she wasn’t able to secure enough funding to move up the single-seater ladder.

The U-turn prompted criticism, including from 2021 runner-up Alice Powell, who said she felt “champions should move on”. Chadwick acknowledged the frustration that she had been unable to move into FIA Formula 3 or 2, and said “in the short space of time that we had, we weren’t able to secure the funding that we needed.”

“I wanted to make that step and I made no secret of that when I won the championship last year,” she said. “Of course it was something I wanted to progress into, but honestly, there are so many factors that go into getting a seat like that, particularly a competitive one.

“W Series is another opportunity to be racing, to be trying to raise the budget and the funding to go to the next step, which I still believe is possible. Even if not in Europe, in America, I think there are so many opportunities still.”

The series is testing at Barcelona this week, with Juju Noda, the daughter of ex-f1 racer Hideki, among those taking part in a bid to gain a seat this season. Noda Jr is a race winner in Danish Formula 4.