Chadwick becomes first woman in 11 years to drive Williams F1 car
Jamie Chadwick has become the first woman in more than a decade to drive a contemporary Williams Formula 1 car, having recently completed a test at Portimao.
Chadwick drove 32 laps behind the wheel of Williams's 2025 car on Monday September 21, her first taste of modern F1 machinery.
Chadwick had previously demonstrated historic Williams cars at Goodwood, such as Nigel Mansell's championship-winning FW14B car (1992) and Keke Rosberg's title-winning FW08 (1982).
But this marks Chadwick's first proper F1 test, having joined Williams in 2019.
Chadwick's CV includes three W Series titles and race wins in IndyCar's support series Indy NXT and the LMP2 class in the European Le Mans Series.
The F1 test took place as part of Williams's Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) programme that currently allows teams to use pre-2026 machinery in up to 20 test days across the year, with race drivers limited to 1000km total mileage.
Susie Wolff - who participated in several practice sessions for Williams in 2014 and 2015 - was the last woman to drive a Williams before Chadwick.
"It was a phenomenal day and an incredible experience. Few things can prepare you for driving a Formula 1 car at speed around a track like Portimao, but it was everything I imagined and 10 times more," Chadwick explained.
"I'm incredibly grateful to Williams for this opportunity. I remember being young and watching Susie Wolff step into a Williams F1 car and how much that inspired my own journey.
"I'd love to be able to do the same for the next generation, and the experience I gained will make a real difference both to my own racing and to what I can pass on to the drivers coming through.
"I'm so grateful and incredibly happy with how the day went."
Chadwick added: "I'd go as far as saying it's been the best day of my life so far."
Williams team principal James Vowles called Chadwick "an inspiration for millions of women and girls who has broken records at every level" and said she had "thoroughly earned this F1 test opportunity".
He said Chadwick helped the team gather important data ahead of F1's return to Portimao in June next year, the circuit having last held a race in 2021.
Vowles concluded: "This clearly shows there is a path for women to compete at the top level, and I look forward to seeing how Jamie uses this experience to advance her own driving and advise our young drivers on what it takes to drive an F1 car."
Alongside being a team ambassador for Williams, Chadwick also advises Williams-backed young driver Jade Jacquet in F1 Academy and French Formula 4, where Jacquet recently became a race winner.
Chadwick is one of only three women to drive an F1 car in the 2020s, after F1 Academy champion Doriane Pin (Mercedes, 2026) and Jessica Hawkins (Aston Martin, 2023).
