OPINION: Why Jamie Chadwick F3 move is the litmus test for the W Series

Prema have announced that they have signed W Series champion Jamie Chadwick to race in the Formula Regional European Championship this season.

As she was the class of the field in the all-female W Series last year, it is fair to say that there is a lot riding on Chadwick’s relative success in the series. The inaugural season of the W Series saw for the first time female racers pitted against one another in Tattus-built Formula 3 race cars.

Last year, Chadwick took two wins and five podiums in the six event race series, beating Netherlands racer Beitske Visser to the championship crown by ten points.

After facing the prospect of being left without a 2020 race programme following the cancellation of W Series, Chadwick has replaced Roman Stanek in the FREC at Prema. The Italian outfit confirmed that they had parted ways with the already-signed Czech racer, providing Chadwick with the opportunity.

She will be racing a Tattus T-318 Formula 3 car powered by Autotecnica Motori-tuned Alfa Romeo 1.8-litre turbocharged engine, which is exactly the same car she used in the W Series last season.

So from the car-side of things, she has no excuses and impressed when she tested for the team in last week’s pre-season Mugello test in place of Stanek.

“We are delighted to welcome Jamie to our Formula Regional European team for the upcoming season.”

“She achieved brilliant results in her career so far and we are looking forward to seeing her step up to this challenging international championship.

“Coming from the W Series, she knows the machinery quite well and her experience will definitely be a valuable asset. We are absolutely committed and will give our 100 per cent to help her succeed.”

Rena Rosin, Team Principal of Prema

Also, in Prema, she has signed for undoubtedly the best team on the grid as the squad ran FIA F3-bound driver Frederick Vesti to the inaugural FREC crown. This follows many seasons of dominance in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship, with past champions including Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll and Mick Schumacher.

This deal materialized after she revealed a new long-term partnership with Rodin Cars – manufacturer of the high-performance Rodin FZED single-seater race car.

David Dicker, Founder of Rodin cars said: “Jamie is an exceptional racing talent. We are taking a long-term view on this in fully supporting her journey as she moves up the ladder towards F1.

“We want to see Jamie flourish and hone her abilities as a world-class racing driver in competitive racing on the global stage and she is joining the Rodin family because I believe she has the skills needed to contribute to the development of the forthcoming FZERO – a car that aims to be faster than an F1 car around a track.”

Chadwick will join Ferrari juniors Arthur Leclerc and Gianluca Petecof as well as Dane Oliver Ramussen in the four-car line-up.

But with the promise of W Series to help produce a platform for a new generation of female racers to flourish and compete with the men on an equal footing, this is the true litmus test of the series that was founded with the best intentions.

After comprehensively beating the field of female racers, the question is how does Chadwick stack up at the equivalent level against men?

W Series CEO Catherine Bond Muir believes that the series will allow women to once day race in F1 again.

“What we did in the first season is gave 20 drivers more experience, a lot of coaching to help improve their motor racing skills and hopefully in the second year we can do more of that. But also what is starting to happen is a whole variety of other brands and series are looking very carefully at our drivers.

“So I think we are already starting to achieve our ambitions. We are closer to getting women into Formula 1.”

Catherine Bond Muir

Lella Lombardi was the last woman to compete in a Formula 1 race at the 1976 Austrian GP with RAM Racing.

W Series constructed a funding system to try and allow women to access the upper echelons of motorsport, with $500,000 being given to the champion and a further $1 million distributed among the rest of the field dependent on their championship position.

As for Jamie, she has proved herself time and time again, and with sponsorship backing her path to F1, her dream has been slightly more possible.

Taking to the twitter, Jamie Chadwick was delighted to have been given the opportunity.

“I am really excited to announce that with the backing of Rodin cars, this year I am going to be competing in the Formula Regional European Championship with Prema”

“With such an amazing calendar, what looks to be a very competitive grid and, of course the support of the Prema team, I really cannot wait to get back racing in August.”

Jamie Chadwick

Racing alongside the brother of Ferrari F1 racer in the shape of Arthur Leclerc, Chadwick knows that she has to perform if she is to ever realize her ambition.

For W Series, this is the first test to see if all the training, the development as part of racing in W Series translates into success on the track and can truly separate the women from the boys…