Chadwick races towards W Series title

August 9, 2019 0 Comments

Jamie Chadwick, who wears a Stilo ST5 FN 8860 helmet supplied by Nicky Grist Motorsports, leads the W Series as the inaugural all-female racing championship heads to Brands Hatch this weekend for the final round.

The 21-year old from Gloucestershire, who is a British F3 race winner and Williams F1 team development driver, has 98 points – 13 points more than second-placed Beitske Visser (The Netherlands).

Chadwick has won two races and goes into her home round having finished on the podium in every W Series race so far this season. Visser has won one race and made three podium appearances, and is the only other driver that has a chance of winning the title.

And in addition to the honour of winning the inaugural W Series, the champion will receive a cool US$500,000 in prize money.

Next season the rewards will be even higher, as the FIA will award super licence points to W Series drivers, which is a major step in getting a female racer back into Formula 1.

Lella Lombardi was the last woman to race in Formula 1, taking part in 17 Grand Prix – the last of which was way back in 1976. She is still the only female F1 driver in history to have scored a top six finish in a World Championship race, which she did at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, driving a March 751.

Forty super licence points are required to race in F1, with 25 required to take part in a free practice session. Katherine Legge is the only woman currently racing with enough points, but those points are about to expire.

The final W Series race will be broadcast live on Channel 4 – coverage starts a 14.30 on Sunday (11 August).