F1: Jamie Chadwick joins Williams Racing Driver Academy

Chadwick joins Williams Academy

British female racing star Jamie Chadwick has joined Williams as a development driver.

The 21-year-old is currently competing in the W Series where she won the inaugural race at Hockenheim earlier this month.

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She previously won the British GT4 title in 2015 and became a British Formula 3 race winner in 2018.

Chadwick said: “It is a great honour to be joining the Williams Racing Driver Academy. The time in the simulator is a fantastic opportunity to aid with my development.

“I look forward to spending time in the factory at Grove, immersing myself within the team and assisting wherever I can. Being a part of the Driver Academy is an amazing platform and I’m excited to get started.”

Claire Williams, deputy team principal, added: “I have had the pleasure of watching Jamie race first hand in Hockenheim where she claimed victory at the season opening W Series race.

“Alongside her on-track commitments, Jamie will undertake simulator work for Williams, be immersed both trackside and at the factory with the team and will participate in marketing activities.

“Promoting women in motorsport is extremely important and having a female role model as part of our Driver Academy will hopefully inspire young girls to take up racing at a young age.

“We hope to show that motorsport is inclusive and exciting, be that as a driver or on the engineering side. Jamie is a great talent and I look forward to working with her.”

McLaren won’t buy Indy 500 spot for Alonso

McLaren and Fernando Alonso failed to qualify for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.

It had been suggested that McLaren may buy a rival team’s entry for the race, but CEO Zak Brown said: “We’ll come back fighting. We don’t want to buy in. We want to earn it. Anyone can buy in. We want to get in on merit.”

McLaren sporting director Gil de Ferran publicly apologised to Alonso and the team’s fans after missing out on the Indy 500.

De Ferran said: “I want to apologise to you because we didn’t give you a car that was fast enough.

“You know, you drove like the champion that we know you are. Particularly these last three days, it’s been incredibly tense and very difficult, and we couldn’t have asked anything more from you, Fernando.

“So I’m sorry, man. You’re an amazing driver.”

F1 news headlines

What the media is writing about in the world of Formula 1:

• Hamilton: ‘F1 cars are not hard enough to drive’ (Planet F1)
• Silverstone deal must be ‘win-win’ (Sky Sports)
• Verstappen and Gasly hit the track at Zandvoort (Formula1.com)
• Why is Monaco Grand Prix practice on Thursday? (GP Fans)
• Verstappen didn't expect Red Bull to beat Ferrari (GP Fans)