W Series racer Jamie Chadwick has insisted a five-year timeframe in which to secure a Formula 1 race seat is realistic and doable. Double, and soon to be triple W Series champion Chadwick is keen to move up the junior single-seater ladder, but has thus far been unable to find a seat in FIA Formula 2 or 3 - hence her decision to return to the all-female racing championship. Briton Chadwick is on the books of Williams in their young driver academy, and believes by 2027, she can make her Grand Prix debut - and become the first woman to race in F1 since Lella Lombardi at the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix. However, she is not limiting her options to F1 or Europe - having recently tested an IndyLights car in America - that being the main feeder series for IndyCar.
Five-year deadline for Chadwick
"I know that if I have success in right feeder series then I will be in Formula 1," Chadwick told media including RacingNews365.com. "My goal is definitely to try and make it within five years. "There is a lot I need to have in that time, but I want to go through the correct feeder series and have success in those championships to be F1. "I need to lean on people that do believe in it, and really do see it as possible, and surround myself with those voices. Chadwick also responded to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali's comments that it would take a "meteorite" for a female driver to be in F1 over the next few years. Instead of being put off by those comments, Chadwick says "it doesn't really bother me. It motivates me, if nothing else."
Options in America as well as Europe
Chadwick tested the IndyLights car at Sebring with the Andretti Autosport squad - with young drivers such as Callum Ilott turning attention to America once opportunities in Europe dry up. It is something Chadwick admitted could be an option for her in 2023. "Nothing has been confirmed, [but] I am still weighing up my options," she said. "Conversations are ongoing in both Europe and America." The last female driver to participate on an F1 race weekend was Susie Wolff for Williams in 2014 and 2015. She drove in FP1 sessions in Britain, Germany and Spain as well as in pre-season testing.
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