“Take Me Home, Country Roads, To the place, I belong”. When Jamie Chadwick sings his favorite music on the rainy roads of southern England, John Denver’s lyrics give him a familiar echo. An hour’s drive separates Bath, his hometown 20 kilometers from Bristol, from Grove, home of the Williams Racing team. “For any young driver, it’s a dream to join a Formula 1 team as a development driver. But for me, it’s even stronger,” says the Briton, who is making her own way in a very masculine discipline.
Brown eyes fixed on the asphalt, the 23-year-old dreams of sharp trajectories and distances swallowed up in a breath. A few weeks ago, she won her second W Series title in Austin, Texas, an all-female circuit. But his goal, “it’s doing Formula 1. “
First woman to win a race in British Formula 3 (in 2018), GT champion in Great Britain (in 2015) and youngest winner of a 24 hour car race, Jamie Chadwick’s CV speaks volumes about the profile unpublished from the new queen of motorsport. “I wouldn’t say I’m a trailblazer. I set myself goals and I give myself the means to achieve them. It doesn’t matter what kind. But for sure if it can push more girls to get into the discipline, then that’s great. ”
It must be said that women have long been largely absent from motorsport. Since the Formula 1 circuit has existed, only two of them have taken the start of a final of Grand Prix. The most recent, Lella Lombardi, signed twelve starts from 1974 to 1976 and remains to this day the only woman to appear on the world championship list.
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“For my part, I never saw the absence of a female figure as a barrier. As a child, I did not dream of Formula 1. It was just a hobby, a serious hobby, but not something that I saw it as a career “, nuance on his side Jamie Chadwick, passed from hockey to kart under the influence of his big brother.
If they are already present in rally and GT, women are struggling to break through in Formula 1, the most prestigious showcase of motorsport. “Formula 1 is the donkey hat of parity. There is an ultra masculine domination which is repeated from generation to generation and which maintains misogynistic behavior on the track “, explains sports historian Marion Philippe.
However, physically, nothing prevents women from being competitive. Small dynamic size of 1m60 for 57 kilos, Jamie Chadwick simply adapted his physical preparation: “It can help to be light in a car. At the same time, it is a physical sport, and the preparation that it requires is quite difficult. The size is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage. “
Congratulations to @JamieChadwick on an incredible weekend in Austin, as she becomes the 2021 @WSeriesRacing champion! #USGP #WSeries pic.twitter.com/S9YVDbwqRq
– Formula 1 (@ F1) October 25, 2021
If women have been absent from the circuit for so long, it is above all for issues of image in a sport where misogynistic road trips are common. “Risk and cars are associated with men, explains the sociologist of sport and gender, Natacha Lapeyroux. In Formula 1, once you have your helmet on, it’s impossible to know who you’re dealing with: a man, a woman? Gender benchmarks are confused. Historically, we therefore haveasked women pilots to compensate, to show a certain femininity. “
Jamie Chadwick’s social networks still bear witness to these perceptions, underlines historian Marion Philippe: “Chadwick shows up on Instagram with a dynamic, feminine face that appeals to sponsors and teams. She plays gender codes, because she has no choice but to find the supports necessary to obtain a F1 seat. ”
An image often double-edged, as in 1983, when the South African Désiré Wilson was entered in Formula 1 with the sole aim of achieving a publicity stunt. The struggling Tyrell team hoped to attract the media and sponsors. Jamie Chadwick says she is focused on driving. And nothing else. “I want to be recognized as a pilot, not as a female foil “, she slices.
The Briton is giving herself the means to achieve her ambitions. It is no coincidence that his favorite circuit is the Nürburgring Nordschleife, renowned as one of the most difficult in the world. So, when entering the W Series, a single-sex championship, Jamie Chadwick hesitates.
The circuit, created in 2018 under the impetus of the FIA, wants to offer women equal opportunities and eliminate the financial barriers that have historically prevented them from reaching the upper echelons. “The risk with this kind of competition is relegating women to a separate, second-rate circuit.” warns Natacha Lapeyroux.
“I got involved in the W Series because it’s fully funded and because it’s a platform that provides visibility that I was lacking. When I got into the first season of the W Series, I didn’t I didn’t really have any other options in single-seater. I didn’t have the budget available to be able to progress and evolve in the higher categories. “
Jamie Chadwick, on his participation in the W Seriesto franceinfo: sport
Doriane Pin, a young French woman finalist last year in the FIA Girls On Track – Ferrari Driver Academy program, has a qualified opinion on the question: “Chadwick, she is a good driver, she has a good steering wheel and is always good in the media. She made the choice to line up in the W Series with the goal of arriving in Formula 1. For my part, I have a different vision. I always wanted to fight against men. Arrive and do the same championships with the best drivers of the moment. For me, from the moment you put on the helmet, we are all the same. ”
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But this year, the circuit has taken on a whole new dimension. By sticking to the same calendar as Formula 1, female drivers have gained visibility. Moreover, 15 Super License points (the certification out of 40 points which gives access to F1) were allocated to the winner. Enough to take Jamie Chadwick to a new dimension.
In Jamie Chadwick’s wheel, a new generation of pilots is emerging. “Just in selections, we are more and more present, testifies Doriane Pin, who has just joined a women’s GT team under the colors of Iron Dames. I think there will be women one day among the twenty seats in F1. But not for questions of representativeness. There will be women, because they will go fast, because they will have won their place by their work, their merit, and will aim for podiums. ”
At least that’s what Jamie Chadwick hopes. When you ask the Briton where she sees herself in the next few years, her answer is immediate. : “In five years, in a Formula 1. In ten years, champion in an F1 Grand Prix.” Enough to go beyond the clichés.