Jamie Chadwick still dreams of becoming a Formula One driver - and has made another leap in pursuit of her ultimate goal.
Chadwick has cemented her status as the leading talent in women's motorsport after winning all three W Series titles since its inception in 2019. And the Brit has now made another exciting step in her career by joining the US IndyNXT Championship, where she will debut for new team Andretti in 2023.
The 24-year-old's move will allow her to compete directly against men once again, in a highly competitive field that serves as the feeder for the iconic IndyCar racing series. Chadwick's long-term ambition has been to eventually take an F1 seat and become the first woman to make the grid since Lella Lombardi in the 1970's.
And she believes that a switch to the high-level competition, formerly known as Indy Lights, will prove beneficial on her long path to the pinnacle of her sport.
"My goals are still really open. I'd love to race in IndyCar one day but ultimately Formula One is a big goal of mine," Chadwick told Sky Sports.
"But that gets said a few times and there's a lot I need to achieve before F1 is even on the cards. I think Indy Lights is a really good opportunity if I have success in it to actually give me a chance of getting a good seat over in something like Formula 2 or Formula 3. I see it still being quite fluid, my career path has never been particularly traditional so this is another route that I'm looking at."
Chadwick carries huge expectation as the next female driver who could make it into F1, and she has held the Williams development driver position since 2019. She is also focusing on the prospect of testing the Williams F1 car in a practice session as she looks to accelerate her progress.
"My aim is to try and get in the car for a practice session," she added. "Obviously nothing confirmed yet or anything like that but ever since the last couple of years that's been something I've been pushing hard for so hopefully - it's still a big step up driving an F1 car from where I was in the W series. But I'm hoping that being involved in a championship like IndyNXT can step us a bit closer."
Chadwick will debut in the Indy NXT series in Florida on March 5 - and Andretti Autosport chairman Michael Andretti was thrilled to confirm his new addition to his team.
"Jamie's successful career speaks for itself, but the Indy NXT series gives Jamie the opportunity to continue her development in a new type of racing," Andretti said. "We've turned out five Indy NXT champions over the years and look forward to continuing our role in developing new talent."
