W Series champion Chadwick to join IndyCar ladder in '23 | GRR
Triple W Series Champion and former British GT4 Champion, Jamie Chadwick will race in the Indy NXT championship in 2023 with Andretti, it has been announced. The series, formally known as Indy Lights, is the rung below IndyCar's top level and provides a direct route into the top rung of American open-wheel racing.
The deal will see Chadwick race with DHL branding, as Romain Grosjean does in the IndyCar series and was previously carried to the championship title with Andretti by Ryan Hunter-Reay. It will be Chadwick's first steps into American motorsport after several years racing in European series.
After winning the GT4 category of the British GT Championship in 2015, Chadwick progressed through Formula 3 in the UK before the beginning of W Series allowed her to establish herself as possibly the leading female driver in world motorsport. Alongside her time in W Series, she has also been a test driver for Formula E and raced in Extreme E. In 2020 she was signed as a development driver for the Williams Formula 1 team, a role she has continued ever since.
Speaking about the new drive Chadwick said: "My aim is always to challenge myself and continue my progression.
"This represents not only a big step up but also a big step towards my goal of competing in the highest categories of single-seater racing. I have followed the racing in the US a lot over the last few years.
“I went to the 500 in 2019 and I had a new-found respect and interest in IndyCar especially. There are a lot of opportunities in the States for a lot of drivers and for female drivers, it seems to be a proven pathway, a lot of female drivers have had success over there.”
Despite the successes of various female drivers in IndyCar, including Danica Patrick, the move will make Jamie Chadwick the first female driver to race in Indy NXT for 13 years.
Lead image courtesy of Motorsport Images