Jamie Chadwick will turn out to be the primary girl in over a decade to check an IndyCar in September.
The British driver moved to America to affix Andretti in IndyNxt in 2023 and can now take to the observe on September 30 at Barber Motorsports Park.
She turns into the primary feminine driver to obtain an IndyCar take a look at since 2011, with the hope being that she’s going to safe a full-time seat in IndyCar in 2025.
Talking to Sky Sports activities Information forward of the announcement, Chadwick mentioned: “Being an IndyNxt driver, the goal is IndyCar.
“So to get the chance to drive the IndyCar for the primary time and be it with Andretti, one of many greatest groups on the grid with such an enormous quantity of historical past, goes to be an excellent particular expertise.
“Wanting in the direction of 2025, giving us that type of potential to discover choices and hopefully intention for the large collection of IndyCar.
“Personally, it is a huge, huge factor. I believe for me, it is by far the best stage I might have pushed at or examined at.
“So having that opportunity in itself is really exciting. But also I ultimately want to get to IndyCar at some point in my career. So it’s kind of the first step to kind of feeling that out, having that opportunity to test, seeing how that goes.”
Chadwick is at present fifth within the IndyNxt standings, with one win and two prime 5 finishes, enhancing on her first 12 months with Andretti.
“Coming off the back of a difficult 2023, we knew what needed to be worked on, what the kind of steps were to progress forward. And I think we did a reasonable job with that. I feel like everywhere we’ve gone, we’ve been competitive,” she mentioned.
“We’ve had highlights of the win and things. But ultimately, I still want to achieve more in this year. And I want to be able to get more podiums and more results to put me in a better place in the championship.
“There’s a part of me that feels proud of the progress we have made. However then on the flip aspect, I believe there’s nonetheless so much we are able to do and obtain this season.”
Chadwick praises “impressive” Mercedes dispute DQ
Reflecting on the current Belgium Grand Prix in Formulation 1, Chadwick was filled with reward for fellow Brits Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, regardless of the latter shedding prime spot after being disqualified following the race’s conclusion.
Russell was denied the victory resulting from his automobile coming in 1.5kg underweight after a stewards inquiry, in the end handing Hamilton the win.
“It was an incredible performance by Mercedes in general to lead the race or be in prime position to win it with one of the two cars. So either way, aside from the disqualification, I think super impressive for Mercedes,” she mentioned.
“And seeing them win the weekend earlier than, clearly Ferrari being the combo earlier within the season, it is cool for the championship and nice for F1.
“Firstly, underweight is point blank. So I think as soon as we saw that that was something that was on the cards, that it’s going to be an instant disqualification. And 1.5 kilos doesn’t sound like a lot, but in a Formula One car, it’s a huge amount.
“I believe should you equate it to precise lap time efficiency, I believe it is 0.005 or one thing like that. And truly, if you equate that to a complete 70 lap race distance or regardless of the race distance is, it is truly fairly a big quantity. In order that’s one issue.
“But then I think on the flip side of that, there’s a few things you can do to try and gain weight on an in-lap, for example. George didn’t have that in-lap. So I don’t know.
“I believe it is a kind of issues that it has to harm for somebody like George. He led that race, received that race, however guidelines are guidelines and it is the best way it goes generally.”
Looking forward to the 2025 F1 season, Chadwick mentioned issues are falling in place now with Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez’s seats confirmed for subsequent 12 months.
She mentioned she is “excited” to see Hamilton drive for Ferrari and Williams have a “fantastic driver of Carlos’s calibre, which is “tremendous thrilling”.
Formula 1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on August 23-25, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream each F1 race and extra with a NOW Sports activities Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime