Jamie Chadwick will become the first woman in over a decade to test an IndyCar in September.
The British driver moved to America to join Andretti in IndyNxt in 2023 and will now take to the track on September 30 at Barber Motorsports Park.
She becomes the first female driver to receive an IndyCar test since 2011, with the hope being that she will secure a full-time seat in IndyCar in 2025.
Speaking to Sky Sports News ahead of the announcement, Chadwick said: “Being an IndyNxt driver, the goal is IndyCar.
“So to get the opportunity to drive the IndyCar for the first time and be it with Andretti, one of the biggest teams on the grid with such a huge amount of history, is going to be a super special experience.
“Looking towards 2025, giving us that kind of ability to explore options and hopefully aim for the big series of IndyCar.
“Personally, it’s a big, big thing. I think for me, it’s by far the highest level I would have driven at or tested 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.”
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Jamie Chadwick became the first woman to win in Indy NXT for 14 years, and third woman to win in the history of the sport.
Chadwick is currently fifth in the IndyNxt standings, with one win and two top five finishes, improving on her first year 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 said.
“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 part of me that feels happy with the progress we’ve made. But then on the flip side, I think there’s still a lot we can do and achieve this season.”
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Three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick claims victory at the Indy NXT Road America, becoming the first woman to do so in 14 years.
Chadwick praises “impressive” Mercedes dispute DQ
Reflecting on the recent Belgium Grand Prix in Formula 1, Chadwick was full of praise for fellow Brits Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, despite the latter losing top spot after being disqualified following the race’s conclusion.
Russell was denied the victory due to his car coming in 1.5kg underweight after a stewards inquiry, ultimately 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 said.
“And seeing them win the weekend before, obviously Ferrari being the mix earlier in the season, it’s cool for the championship and great for F1.
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George Russell has been disqualified from Belgian GP due to an underweight Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton moves up from second to take the win.
“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 think if you equate it to actual lap time performance, I think it’s 0.005 or something like that. And actually, when you equate that to a whole 70 lap race distance or whatever the race distance is, it’s actually quite a significant amount. So that’s one factor.
“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 think it’s one of those things that it has to hurt for someone like George. He led that race, won that race, but rules are rules and it’s the way it goes sometimes.”
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Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Bernie Collins explains why she thinks Carlos Sainz has chosen to commit to Williams.
Looking ahead to the 2025 F1 season, Chadwick said things are falling in place now with Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez’s seats confirmed for next year.
She said she is “excited” to see Hamilton drive for Ferrari and Williams have a “fantastic driver of Carlos’s calibre, which is “super exciting”.
Formula 1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on August 23-25, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
