Ad Diriyah test driver profile: Jamie Chadwick

The official in-season test in Ad Diriyah promises to make history in motorsport. Find out who is who in the first of a series of driver profiles for the female entrants.

The countdown for the beginning of a brand new season of the ABB Formula E Championship is on, and with less than a month to go until the Ad Diriyah E-Prix the entry list for the in-season test has been revealed.

The Gen2 car will certainly shine bright, but the fact that seven out of twenty drivers will be female is already stealing the show.

On December 15, Formula E will continue its innovative path as it visits Saudi Arabia for the first time, a country that began to issue the first licences for female drivers only a few months back, when in June the law that banned women from driving was revoked.

In a series of articles, we’re going to introduce you to each one of the talented women that will be driving in the official in-season test, set to take place a day after the Ad Diriyah E-Prix.

The female drivers that have been confirmed are:

Amna Al Qubaisi (UAE) – Envision Virgin Racing
Beitske Visser (NLD) – BMW i Andretti Motorsport
Carmen Jorda (ESP) – Nissan e.dams
Jamie Chadwick (GBR) – NIO Formula E Team
Katherine Legge (GBR) – Mahindra Racing
Simona de Silvestro (CHE) – Venturi Formula E Team
Tatian Calderon (COL) – DS Techeetah

It is also understood that GEOX Dragon is looking for a female driver to participate in the test.

The first of our series will focus on up-and-coming British racer Jamie Chadwick. On December 16, the 20-year-old will be behind the wheel of the NIO 004.

Chadwick first made headlines when she became the first and youngest female driver to win the British GT4 Championship back in 2015, alongside team-mate Ross Gunn. The car was an Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 that formed part of the Beechdean Motorsport team.

But the British driver was only getting started as last August Chadwick, who had started from fourth on the grid, became the first female driver to win a British Formula 3 race, the legendary victory happening at Brands Hatch.

Regarding her upcoming all-electric debut, Chadwick said:

“I am delighted to be teaming up with NIO for the official Formula E test in Riyadh. Formula E is fast becoming the future of our sport and the Gen2 car looks fantastic. I am incredibly grateful to NIO for the opportunity and I’m excited to work closely with the team to ensure we have a successful test.”

Couldn’t be more excited to be teaming up with @NIOGlobal for the official @FIAFormulaE test in Ad Diriyah next month ?⚡️ Such an amazing opportunity so cannot wait to get out there ??? #NIO #ABBFormulaE pic.twitter.com/4dJjogoizF

— Jamie Chadwick (@JamieChadwick55) November 20, 2018

NIO Team Principal Gérry Hughes welcomed Chadwick to the team and hopes to see her thrive in the NIO 004.

“At NIO we are extremely proud to be promoting and nurturing ‘home grown’ female driver talent and what better way to demonstrate that than putting Jamie into one of the Generation 2 NIO 004 race cars for the aforementioned test event.

“I have only known Jamie for a short period of time but, in that time, she has exhibited a very mature and methodical approach to the task in hand and, as such, I am very interested to see how she fairs out on track.”

.@JamieChadwick55 talks challenges and her excitement for testing with the NIO Formula E Team in Riyadh. https://t.co/v3Bb9QhIia #borntopushlimits pic.twitter.com/CfEq46wEwS

— NIO (@NIOGlobal) November 20, 2018