Jamie Chadwick tests F1 car for first time with Williams: ‘An inspiration for millions’

British motorsport star Jamie Chadwick has tested a Formula 1 car for the first time with Williams at Portimao in Portugal.

Team Ambassador and F1 Academy Adviser Chadwick successfully completed 32 laps of the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve during the team’s TPC test this week.

Chadwick drove the FW47 car which clinched three podiums during the 2025 season and secured the team’s best Constructors’ Championship result since 2017.

The Briton becomes the second woman to test an F1 car this year after reigning F1 Academy champion Doriane Pin drove a 2021 Mercedes at Silverstone in April, and the first British female to do so since Jessica Hawkins ran an Aston Martin in 2023.

Chadwick, who races in the European Le Mans Series, joined Williams in 2019 as a development driver. She has won all three seasons of the all-female W Series and, in 2024, becoming the first woman to win a road course race in the US-based Indy NXT series.

‘It was a phenomenal day and an incredible experience’ Chadwick said.

‘Few things can prepare you for driving a Formula 1 car at speed around a track like Portimão, but it was everything I imagined and 10 times more. I’m incredibly grateful to Atlassian Williams F1 Team 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 today 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. It’s an experience I’ll remember for a very long time – I’d go as far as saying it’s been the best day of my life so far.’

James Vowles, Team Principal, Atlassian Williams F1 Team said: ‘Jamie Chadwick is an inspiration for millions of women and girls who has broken records at every level, and she has thoroughly earned this F1 test opportunity with Atlassian Williams F1 Team.

‘Jamie gathered important data for the team as F1 prepares to return to Portimão next year, and her feedback and performance were impressive as we knew they would be.

‘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.’