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Jamie Chadwick dominated the Spanish weekend with a Grand Slam that solidified her leadership in the Drivers’ Standings by 37 points on fellow Brit Abbi Pulling. While her claim to the third title seems rightfully backed by the results, her future chances remain uncertain.
Certainly, Jamie Chadwick confirmed herself as the favourite for the W Series Championship in the first three races of the season. First, the double victory in Miami proved her hungriness in continuing to win more dominantly than before. Then, Spain showed her ability to adapt to the different cars and continue her winning streak despite the possible difficulties.
While CEO Catherine Bond Muir had already declared before Miami that Chadwick will have to work for her Championship again this year beside upcoming young drivers such as Abbi Pulling and Nerea Marti, the class shown by Chadwick during these first stops of the W Series are certainly encouraging. In a qualifying session that didn’t see her protagonist at first under the sun in Barcelona, Chadwick conquered the first part of her birthday’s gift by signing the pole position almost unexpectedly and then concluded the operation on the Saturday by dominating seemingly effortlessly yet another race.
As a matter of fact, the tyre wear due to the warm temperatures allowed Abbi Pulling to close in dangerously at the start and end of the race but without ever getting close enough to attempt an overtake in a substantially static race. The Alpine junior driver consequently admitted to FormulaNerds that the implementation of a push-to-pass system could have helped in creating more action in the racing: “It was a bit of a frustrating race this weekend with the fact that the aero wash made it really hard to get close. I got pretty close to Jamie but not quite close enough to make the move. I think if I was a meter or two closer, I definitely would have thrown it on the inside.
Implementing the push-to-pass I’m definitely not against it cause you can use it not only to overtake but to defend so it would be interesting to see if that was implemented the kind of strategies behind how the drivers use it. I don’t mind how it is now, I just think it would add some extra overtakes throughout the weekend eventually but I’ve never used it so I don’t know definitely. “
Three down, seven to go…?
Take a look at our driver standings after #WSeriesBarcelona. ?#WSeries pic.twitter.com/RGQgzt2Ceu
— W Series (@WSeriesRacing) May 21, 2022
Going back to Chadwick, performances such as the latter emphasize the feeling of frustration surrounding the lack of progression in the upper series despite the obvious talent shown. Moreover, while Chadwick’s partnership with Williams is certainly crucial for her future possibilities, the speculations regarding the possibility of seeing her behind the wheel of the FW44 in 2022 have been quickly silenced by the reigning W Series Champion: “No speculations that have come from me sadly. Still some work to do I think. The gap between W Series and Formula 1 is still quite big and I haven’t even driven a modern F1 car yet so that’s the next step for me before I get to be in free practice but very much still trying to nurture my relationship with Williams to put me in the best position as possible for the future. “
A surprise birthday cake for @jamiechadwick from the team today ?
Congratulations on the win today, Jamie! ? pic.twitter.com/OT84kXsMcs
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) May 21, 2022
To maintain that best position for the future, surely the victory of another W Series title will help Chadwick reinforce her curriculum to convince sponsors into backing her in the next phases of her career. With an already interesting lead, Chadwick will have another chance to showcase her talent in front of the home crowd at Silverstone in July with a crucial plan to enjoy the break: “Just get back to training, a bit of a reset, and bring the momentum as much as possible to Silverstone.”
Headline Image: W Series Press Office