Jamie Chadwick believes we are “getting closer” to seeing a female driver in Formula 1 after becoming the third woman in the history of Indy NXT to win a race.
Chadwick finished first after starting on pole position for the Indy NXT race at Road America to become the first woman to achieve success on a road course in the US racing series.
Chadwick, in the No 28 VEXT car of Andretti Global, claimed her maiden victory in the feeder series to IndyCar.
She had the race in full control but was forced to show her skill in a two-lap shootout at the end following a red flag and then could finally feel the “relief” of getting a race win under her belt.
“It is always one of those feelings, you get mixed emotions afterwards. The adrenaline wears off and then you get the feeling of relief more than anything else. I am just so, so happy” Chadwick told Sky Sports.
“It wasn’t easy by any means, but from my side I was just really happy to execute the race like we did and just so happy for the team.
“We have been pushing for a result all year and to get that under our belts I am so happy.”
Chadwick, who is also a development driver for Formula 1 team Williams, is enjoying pushing herself in America and believes that, despite work still needing to be done, we are close to seeing a woman “line up on the Formula 1 grid”.
“Formula 1 is the pinnacle of the sport. There is a lot more I need to achieve than one race win at this point but I think we are getting closer,” she said.
“I think what is great is we are seeing the effect in the sport where we are really keen to push more women into it and get more women having success at high levels.
“There is a lot of work to be done, we really need to get more women involved in the sport because there is no reason, in my opinion, we can’t see someone line up on a Formula 1 grid.
“In terms of time, it is too difficult to say at this point but hopefully we are not too far away now.
“There is something in visibility in sport and showcasing to young girls that if they can see it they can be it.
“It is about just giving young girls the opportunity to try the sport in the first place.
“When I first started in karting, it was my older brother that helped me get into it and without him I probably would have never given it a go.
“I went to the kart track and I was the only girl for many of the first few years of my career.”
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