Jamie Chadwick impressed with impact F1 Academy has had on female participation
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Jamie Chadwick believes motorsport can afford to be patient in its bid to end the long wait for a female Formula One driver. The former three-time W-Series champion thinks the raft of talented young drivers coming through shows that the wider aim of increasing female participation is working.
Abbi Pulling, 21, has made no secret of her desire to be the first female F1 driver since 1976 after winning the second season of the all-female F1 Academy last year and earning herself a fully-funded seat in GB3. Chadwick thinks the F1 Academy, which will start its third season in Saudi Arabia in April, is helping drivers to enter various categories and highlights the progression.
“The sport is tougher than ever but there are so many drivers filtering through,” Chadwick told the PA news agency. “F1 Academy was fully a part of the F1 package last year, having the F1 teams involved made such a big difference. Their investment into the young drivers is going to rapidly impact their development, which is critical.
“For someone like Abbi going into GB3 supported by a big team, the right testing etc is really important to give her the right platform. Time will tell if that pathway works. There should not be that pressure for it to work immediately. “F1 Academy is still new in a lot of respects. We are going to see a lot of female talent come through and I think we can afford to be patient.
