Jamie Chadwick makes F1 debut in important Williams test

Jamie Chadwick has sampled Formula 1 machinery for the first time in a recent TPC test with the Williams team. 

The three-time W Series champion drove the 2025 FW47 machine in a test at Portimao in Portugal on Monday 21st September, totalling 32 laps as she became the first British woman since Jessica Hawkins in 2023 to drive an F1 machine. 

The last woman to drive an F1 car was Mercedes' Doriane Pin in the 2021 Mercedes earlier this year.

Chadwick, who serves as Williams' F1 Academy advisor to the team's Jade Jacquet, became the first woman to win an Indy NXT race in 2024, at Road America, and is currently competing in the European Le Mans Series. 

The Briton is the first woman to drive an F1 Williams since Susie Wolff in 2015, when she competed in multiple FP1 sessions, where, in 2014, she became the first woman in over two decades to drive a grand prix car.

The test served importance for Williams as it gathered data ahead of F1's return to Portugal in 2027.

"It was a phenomenal day and an incredible experience. Few things can prepare you for driving a Formula 1 car at speed around a track like Portimão, but it was everything I imagined and 10 times more," said Chadwick, who drove the car Carlos Sainz guided to two grand prix podiums and a Sprint third.

"I’m incredibly grateful to the Williams F1 Team for this opportunity. I remember being young and watching Susie Wolff step into a Williams F1 car and how much that inspired my own journey.

"I’d love to be able to do the same for the next generation, and the experience I gained today will make a real difference both to my own racing and to what I can pass on to the drivers coming through. I’m so grateful and incredibly happy with how the day went. 

"It’s an experience I’ll remember for a very long time - I’d go as far as saying it’s been the best day of my life so far." 

Reflecting, Williams boss James Vowles called Chadwick an "inspiration to millions."

"Jamie Chadwick is an inspiration for millions of women and girls who have broken records at every level, and she has thoroughly earned this F1 test opportunity with the Williams F1 Team," he said.

"Jamie gathered important data for the team as F1 prepares to return to Portimão next year, and her feedback and performance were impressive as we knew they would be. 

"This clearly shows there is a path for women to compete at the top level, and I look forward to seeing how Jamie uses this experience to advance her own driving and advise our young drivers on what it takes to drive an F1 car."