Indy Lights a possibility for West racer Jamie

WEST racer Jamie Chadwick says she is ready to defy Formula One boss Stefano Domenicali’s claim that a female driver will not make it on to the grid within five years, writes Philip Duncan.

Chadwick is the dominant force of the all-female W series, established in 2019 to serve as a springboard to Formula One, and could secure a hat-trick of championships wins in Singapore next weekend.

It has been 46 years since a female – Italian Lella Lombardi – took part in an F1 race and eight years since Susie Wolff, who is married to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, competed in a practice session.

Speaking last month, Formula One CEO Domenicali said: “Unless there is something like a meteorite, I don’t see a girl coming into F1 in the next years. That is very unlikely.”

But responding to Domenicali’s claim, Chadwick, 24, said: “It doesn’t really bother me. It motivates me, if nothing else. I know that if I have success in the right feeder series then I will be in Formula One. My goal is definitely to try and make it within five years.

“There is a lot I need to achieve in that time, but I want to go through the correct feeder series, and have success in those championships to be in Formula One. I need to lean on the people that do believe in it, and really do see it as possible, and surround myself with those voices.”

Chadwick, above, a development driver for Williams, has won five of the six W Series races staged this season. She will seal her third consecutive title in Singapore if she finishes ahead of her three closest challengers – Alice Powell, Beitske Visser and Abbi Pulling.

However, despite her W Series success, Chadwick has been unable to lock down a seat in either of F1’s feeder divisions, Formula Two or Formula Three.

A move to America is an evergrowing possibility and, on this week, Chadwick took part in an Indy Lights test with Andretti Autosport at Sebring in Florida.

Looking ahead to next year, Bathborn, Cheltenham College-educated Chadwick added: “Nothing has been confirmed. I am still weighing up my options. Conversations are ongoing in both Europe and America.”