Inaugural W Series champion Jamie Chadwick believes Formula 1 wants to see a female driver break the dominance of males on the grid.
The new category received strong support from well-known F1 figures, including 13-time GP winner David Coulthard and has worked to increase the profile of women in motorsport.
F1, however, hasn’t had a female driver compete in a race since 1992, while Susie Wolff participated in two practice sessions at Williams in 2015.
“The sport’s obviously heavily male-dominated but in my view, I don’t think there’s a reason for that,” Chadwick told talkSPORT.
“I think the sport is desperate to see a female succeed. The sport does want a female racing driver but they’ve got to be there on merit.”
Also Read:
- Coulthard: F1 needs a female driver capable of fighting Hamilton & Verstappen
- Horner insists Red Bull want females to reach F1 after Marko comments
The Briton backed her point by looking at the increase in women on the pitwall and in the garage, completing tasks traditionally done by males.
“Some of the most influential people in motorsport are women. For example, my team boss at Williams is Claire Williams,” Chadwick continued.
“We’re starting to see more and more. It’s a numbers game and we just need more women to rise to the top in all degrees of the sport and hopefully, that will end this male dominance that we’ve got.”
The 21-year-old would then reflect on her own experience of getting into motorsport.
“I had my first go and fell in love with it quite quickly,” she added.
“One thing led to another and I progressed into car racing at 14. It’s been a whirlwind ever since. As soon as I took my hand in motorsport, I realised that was the one I wanted to pursue more than other sports.”