Sometimes, in the cutthroat world of junior series driving, careers putter out long before they should. That’s especially for women, who often work with lower budgets and fewer opportunities than men in their relative positions.
As 2019 W Series runner-up Alice Powell put it, when asked why she’d taken an extended break from racing: “I didn’t run out of talent.”
The drive to find a female driver capable of reaching Formula One seems stronger than ever, but the most proven woman driving in single seaters today, soon-to-be-three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick, can’t seem to get out of the regional Formula 3 series and move further up the ranks.
W Series is almost unique among junior series by not forcing the champion to move on. If you win Formula 3 or Formula 2, you’re barred from coming back the following season. It’s a system with its own problems, often condemning talented drivers to a year making tea at the back of an F1 team’s garage before a spot might open up for them to progress.
As a consequence of W Series’ way, though, Chadwick has found herself contesting — or really, taking almost totally uncontested — a third title. Her future looks uncertain, though, and she heads into the summer break (the championship reconvenes on Sept. 30 in Singapore) with a question mark over what she will do next. Or how she’ll take that step to make progress out of what’s intended to be a stepping-stone championship.
“My goal is always to keep progressing,” Chadwick said ahead of the break. “I really want the step up. I know I need to perform still this year but I’ve still got one eye on the future as well.
“Any feeder series is the goal, so Formula 3, Formula 2, but also I’m actually looking at American opportunities and potentially Indy Lights as well. So I’m just exploring all options. We’ve got a nice big break after Budapest so there’d be some time to really understand what we’re capable of and what the best opportunity is.”
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It seems very clear that Chadwick cannot return for a fourth season in W Series, for her sake and the championship’s. It’s much less clear where she goes from here, though, having just turned 24 and with the professional part of her career tantalisingly beckoning but seemingly out of reach.
The past two women to drive in Formula 3 and…
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