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“Once I got out on track, racing just felt natural”: Two-time W-Series Champion Jamie Chadwick opens up about how she got into motorsports in a male dominated society

Somin Bhattacharjee
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"An end to Chadwick's dream of making it to Formula 1?": Jamie Chadwick cites funding problems as the reason behind her return to W-Series despite winning the Championship twice

Two time W-Series Champion Jamie Chadwick opens up about her early racing days and growing up in a male dominated society. 

Chadwick is arguably the most famous female motorsport athlete in the world today. The Brit has two W-Series titles under her belt and is a part of the Williams F1 team as reserve and development driver.

Despite winning the W-Series twice, Chadwick never got the opportunity to make the step up to F3 or F2. After winning her second title, she highlighted her desire to move up the ladder, but funding issues forced her to return to the all-female racing series.

In a recent article on The Players Tribune, Chadwick opened up about her life as a young female racing driver. She starts her story by saying she was one of just four girls in her school batch, and she spent most of her time with the boys.

“At the time, I wasn’t particularly aware of it, but looking back it’s kinda strange to think that I was basically a lone girl playing football in a field with 100 boys,” she wrote.

The Williams academy driver then goes on to talk about how she got into racing. She cites her elder brother Ollie as the reason behind her getting into racing. Before that too, the 23-year old had a fond interest in cars.

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Used to do whatever my elder brother Ollie did, says Chadwick

Chadwick describes herself as being ‘Tomboyish’. She used to copy what her older brother Ollie used to, and that’s how she eventually found her way into kart racing.

“I used to just copy my older brother, Ollie,” she continued. “If he was kicking a football in the garden, I was kicking a football in the garden.

“If he wanted to play with cars, then I wanted to play with cars. So, of course, when Ollie started doing a karting championship at our local race track in Castle Combe on Sundays, I was going to do it too.”

“I remember getting so nervous that I couldn’t eat anything the morning before my first race. If you can imagine, I was like 11 or 12 and kitted out in all Ollie’s old hand-me-downs. I looked completely ridiculous!”

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Jamie Chadwick was first behind the wheel of a car aged just five years old!

Chadwick then wrote about her earliest memory behind the wheel of a car. Surprisingly, it came at just the age of five. She describes how she sat on her fathers lap as they steered their car around the paddock of their home.

“I was really little, like five years old, and I would sit on his lap and do the steering. Basically just trying not to hit anything!”

She went on to talk about her growing interest in car. As soon as she was tall enough to reach the brake pedals, she took near-full control of the vehicle.

As the two time W-Series Champion got the hang of driving, she became more and more confident about her ability behind the wheel.

“I would go really slow,” she added. “Like first gear, second gear, get into third and then straight back down into second. “But once I got out there on that track at Castle Combe, racing just felt natural.”

About the author

Somin Bhattacharjee

Somin Bhattacharjee

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Formula 1 Editor Somin Bhattacharjee fell for the sport as well as Fernando Alonso on the same day — during the Spaniard’s thrilling victory at the German GP in 2010. Over the years, the passion magnified manyfold, and metamorphosed into a writing career in 2021. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. He has penned over 2,700 articles for TheSportsRush, presenting a diverse range — news reports, opinions, and exclusives. A true Tiffosi, Somin never gives up on a chance to defend the Ferrari boys as a fan. As a sports writer though, he remains objective to the core and relishes opportunities to follow and engage in dissecting the action during races. That’s where the real thrill lies for him. Beyond the racetrack, Somin plays different sports including soccer. He enjoys exploring other sporting events and proudly supports Spanish soccer club Real Madrid.

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