The Sunday Telegraph - 11.08.2019

The Sunday Telegraph Sunday 11 August 2019^ FINAL 7

G

iven the serene style that

Jamie Chadwick has

perfected in W Series, in

which she is a strong

favourite to become the

inaugural champion at

Brands Hatch today, it is surprising to

hear how she once took a rather more

cavalier approach to her driving test.

Blithely assuming that she knew it

all at 17, having won junior races galore,

she resolved to pack two months’

instruction into a couple of days.

“I wanted to pass as soon as I could,”

she recalls. “I knew I could drive. But

I was also aware that if I failed, the

abuse I was lining myself up for would

be considerable. I didn’t stack the odds

in my favour at all.”

She passed first time, naturally. But

the episode does raise the question of

whether Chadwick’s scrupulously

measured facade is all that it appears.

Take, for example, the $500,000

(£414,000) reward on offer if she

grasps the W Series title: a sum greater

than Lando Norris’s annual salary from

McLaren in Formula One, and one that

would, she admits, have made her

“freak out” in years gone by. “It’s an

unbelievable amount of money,” she

says. “It’s no secret that the way our

sport works is painfully expensive. The

prize will make a massive difference.”

It helps Chadwick’s prospects that

she is returning to Brands, the Kent

circuit where she created her own slice

of history last summer, becoming the

first female driver to win a British

Formula Three race. Ever since, her

career has accelerated at warp speed.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Quite apart from her successes in

W Series, she has started as a junior

driver at Aston Martin and assumed

testing duties for Williams, increasing

the chances that she could yet be the

first woman to race in F1 since Italy’s

Lella Lombardi in 1976.

Judging by the first W Series race

weekend at Hockenheim, which she

dominated throughout, it had looked

as if Chadwick would sweep any rivals

aside. Three months on, her season has

not quite unfolded as expected: a

doughty adversary has emerged, in the

form of Holland’s Beitske Visser, an

alumna of the famed Red Bull academy,

who needs to overhaul a 13-point

deficit to deprive her of a coronation on

home turf. “I wouldn’t say it has been a

pleasant surprise, but it has definitely

been a lot more competitive than

maybe I first thought,” she reflects.

“I suppose, with the way this series

works, where we are all in the same

cars and all share data, it wasn’t going

to be easy. Now, it all comes down to

the last race. It pushes me on.”

Her older brother, Oliver, will be

trackside today in anticipation of her

moment of glory: an intriguing role

reversal, considering it was his exploits

in karting that persuaded her to leap

behind the wheel in the first place.

“I can’t imagine how tough it was for

him when he had to stop racing,” she

acknowledges. “But he has dealt with it

really well.”

She did not merely emulate him,

though. She surged through the ranks

so fast that she earned a Ginetta Junior

scholarship, and with it a fully-funded

seat in a national championship, aged

just 14. Looking back, she ascribes the

ease of her adaptation to her progress

in other sports.

Chadwick was an accomplished

hockey player, earning a place at trials

for England Under-17s, as well as a

talented rider and skier, equipping her

with lightning reflexes and a high level

Chadwick aims

to fuel her F1

ambitions with

W Series title

of hand-eye co-ordination. “I didn’t

specialise too early, and that was

crucial,” she says. “Those sports bring a

lot of transferable skills. Even though

I branched into motorsport relatively

late, when I was 12, I was able to pick it

up quite quickly.”

Neither of her parents imparted the

racing gene, although they did furnish

her with a family farm that allowed her

to thrash around on four wheels to her

heart’s content. Her father, Mike,

works in property, while her Indian-

born mother, Jas, made her mark in the

City. Some Indian influences do

remain: Chadwick has featured as a

cover star for Asian Wealth Magazine,

and says that “mum does make some

cracking Indian food”, including her

ideal post-race dish of tarka dhal.

But she is wary of overplaying the

connection. “Our family’s very much

British. Mum came over to the UK

when she was quite young. She went to

school here and has lived here ever

since. I only had my first trip to

India when I raced out there earlier

this year.” The occasion was the final

round of the MRF Challenge in

Chennai, where, not for the first time,

she beat all the male opponents lined

up against her.

As such, the fevered talk about her

F1 credentials persists. The setting of

Brands Hatch is resonant: this is the

track, after all, where South Africa’s

Desire Wilson took victory in the

British Aurora F1 Championship in

1980, the only win by a female driver in

an F1 race of any form.

Realistically, Chadwick still has far

to travel, since she has yet even to

compete in Formula Two. But her

relationship with Williams illustrates

that her prospects are being monitored

closely. “I know what I want to

achieve,” she says, firmly. “I’m doing

simulator work with Williams, and I’ll

be at Monza with them next month.

I’m immersed in learning from the

best. I hope, after this weekend, that

I can lean on them for something

more.”

Chadwick, bombarded with offers,

will shortly decide whether to commit

to a second season of W Series next

year. What could sway her thinking is

the promise that her involvement will,

from 2020, yield FIA Superlicence

points, mandatory for anybody

targeting a move up to F1. It is the latest

signal of W Series’s expansion,

although Susie Wolff, the last female

test driver before Chadwick at

Williams, argues that motorsport

should not be segregated. “I spent my

career racing against men,” she has

said. “I showed that it was possible.”

It is not a criticism for which

Chadwick has much time. “I can see

what she’s saying, but racing men is all

I’ve ever known, too,” she explains.

“This is the first year I have been in a

series like this – it’s not like I’ve gone

into it blindsided. If anything, I’ll feel

better prepared as a result of these six

races. You can’t substitute seat time.

Equally, there are so many girls who

wouldn’t be racing without this.”

For all that she keeps an unwavering

focus on her task today, she has derived

inspiration from other chapters of a

transformative year for women’s sport.

She refers, in particular, to the glorious

Wimbledon run of Cori Gauff. Prior to

her race last month in Nuremberg, she

watched transfixed as the 15-year-old

saved two match points against

Slovenia’s Polona Hercog en route to

reaching the last 16. “It was just my

manager and I in an Italian restaurant

• we watched the whole thing,” she
  says. “I can relate a lot to it when I see
  Coco win at Wimbledon. I get more
  emotional about that than I do about a
  sad situation in my personal life.”
  Win this afternoon, and Chadwick’s
  own place in an unforgettable summer
  will be assured.

Driving force: Jamie Chadwick hopes to seal the W Series championship at Brands Hatch and land the £414,000 winner’s cheque

British driver on brink of

championship win tells

Oliver Brown why landing

first prize is so important

Alice Powell 4th

Sarah Moore 8th

Jess Hawkins 14th

Esmee Hawkey 15th

“If I had to

change anything,

I’d say having

more rounds and

longer races

• maybe 45
  minutes instead
  of 30.
  “But speaking
  to a lot of people
  and reading
  comments
  online, many
  have said it’s
  shocked [them]
  how well it’s
  doing and the
  racing’s been
  really good and
  they’re a fan
  now. Some

females,

especially in

karting, aim to

get to W Series

now because it’s

racing a good

car, but also the

big thing is the

funding that you

don’t have to

bring.

“A season in

the same car in

F3 is ridiculously

expensive

• we’re so
  fortunate.
  There’s a bright
  future with lots
  of applicants
  waiting.”

“For those of us

who had not had

much single-

seater

experience, it

was a challenge

to start with. The

seating position

was probably a

problem for

most of us. It’s

awkward, we all

ended up with

bruises on our

elbows.

“But,

physically,

coming from GT,

they’re a hell of a

lot easier to drive

than a Formula

car. So,

physically, I had

to change my

training a lot,

also because

I come from

endurance.

“That was the

issue to start

with. I think

we’ve all adapted

and attacked our

seats. I’ve fallen

in love with the

car. My ultimate

goal is Le Mans,

but I would be

very happy to

continue down

the Formula

route.”

“The W Series

has opened

doors. I have

a good

relationship

with a touring

car team, but

they probably

never would

have looked at

me for being in

their seat. Now

I know they’re

watching me.

I probably won’t

be able to get

there until I

finish higher up

and earn more

money, though.

“I’d probably

be in a different

position if I

actually won, but

I would say that

if you won the

championship,

in my view you

shouldn’t be able

to come back

once the super

licence points

come in [next

season].

“Because what

is the aim of the

W Series? To

create a women’s

F1 or to create a

platform where

women can go

up the ladder?”

“It’s been quite a

difficult year for

me, a lot of ups

and downs, but

getting to drive

in a free car has

been a great

experience.

“It’s been

amazing. If I

qualify, I’d come

back next year.

“It would be

great to have a

reverse grid at

every race, and

get points for it.

That would

make it more

interesting.

“I’m really

looking forward

to Brands Hatch

because it’s my

backyard.

Turning up to all

the races this

year I’ve not

actually known

any of them, so

it’s the first time

I’m going to a

track I know like

the back of my

hand.

“It’s important

that I get a lot of

points this race

to put myself in

the top 12.”

Trailblazers Four W Series

drivers on the first season

Tomorrow 4:00pm

6

1

3 2

4

5

7

8

9

Location

Brands Hatch

Track length

3.916 km

W Series leaders

(after five out

of six races)

1 Jamie Chadwick

(GB) 98pts

2 Beitske Visser

(Holland) 85

3 Marta Garcia

(Spain) 62

4 Alice Powell

(GB) 51

5 Fabienne

Wohlwend

(Liechtenstein) 41

Grand finale Drivers gear up for climax at famous track

Tigers told to

relax in race

for play-offs

Castleford put their play-off bid back

on track with a scrappy win over Lon-

don that left the Broncos rooted to the

bottom of Super League.

Relegation-threatened Hull KR hurt

the Tigers’ top-five hopes last week

and it looked as if London would boost

their survival chances before Castle-

ford did enough in the second half to

return to the play-off places.

“We need to relax and find a way of

enjoying ourselves because we’re not

at the moment,” head coach Daryl

Powell said. “We played on a Saturday

night, the crowd was low and it wasn’t

a great atmosphere. We have to find

some energy and a way of enjoying

ourselves again.

“We let ourselves down against Hull

KR and I went after that a little bit

which I don’t think helped through the

week. It’s tight there and we’ve got a

tough run-in. I can see why players are

a little bit nervous. I think I need to re-

lax a little bit and they need to relax a

little bit and see where it gets us.”

Castleford gifted the Broncos field

position early on through sloppy errors

and were punished in the 21st minute

when Jordan Abdull put half-back

partner Brock Lamb over on the back

of Luke Yates’s break.

Castleford quickly hit back as Tuoyo

Egodo finished a well-worked move in

the corner but the Broncos held a nar-

row half-time lead.

That changed when half-back Jake

Trueman made the break and Oliver

Holmes was on hand to finish. Further

tries from Jacques O’Neill and Egodo

sealed the win that leaves London two

points adrift of their relegation rivals.

Teenager Andreescu thrills home

fans to reach Rogers Cup showpiece

Bianca Andreescu beat Sofia Kenin 6-4,

7-6 in Toronto to become the first Ca-

nadian woman to reach the Rogers Cup

final since 1969.

Andreescu, who shot to prominence

with her Indian Wells triumph in

March, extended her dream run in her

home country when she fired a back-

hand winner on a fifth match point

against her American opponent.

For the 19-year-old, who made her

return to action in Toronto after miss-

ing the last few months with a shoulder

injury, the win was her first two-set

victory all week after having spent

more time on court than any other

player.

“I’ve been through so much the past

two months, and all I can say is I’m so

happy to be back on court,” an emo-

tional Andreescu said on court.

“I’m glad it was two sets today, but it

wasn’t easy. I was so, so nervous and I

just felt like crying after because I’m

just so happy. I’d say this is even bigger

than winning Indian Wells.”

The unseeded Canadian has knocked

out some big names this week, includ-

ing Dutch fifth seed Kiki Bertens in the

last 16 and Czech third seed Karolina

Pliskova in the quarters, where she

needed a medical time-out to tend to a

groin injury.

Andreescu had not competed since

the Kenin beat her in the French Open

second round. She was due to face the

winner of last night’s other semi-final

between three-times champion Serena

Williams and Czech qualifier Marie

Bouzkova in the final.

Williams moved into the semi-finals

with a maiden career victory over

Naomi Osaka, their first meeting since

the American’s infamous row with an

umpire overshadowed last year’s US

Open final. Osaka, however, was still

ensured the world No 1 spot next week

because of Pliskova’s defeat. Osaka re-

places Ash Barty as No 1.

Unlike at Flushing Meadows last

year, where Osaka won her first grand-

slam title, there were no fiery ex-

changes with the umpire, no smashed

rackets, no game penalties – just a rock-

solid performance from Williams.

The 37-year-old is looking to shore

up her hard-court game for the US

Open this month. She had slow starts in

her previous two outings last week but

came out much stronger for this one

and delivered a serving masterclass to

Osaka. “We haven’t played since New

York, which was a really good match

for her, and I wanted to come out and

try to win a set this time because she’s

beaten me twice so I just wanted to do

the best I could today,” Williams said.

There was a scary moment in the

second set when the American ran into

the net post while trying to chase down

an Osaka drop shot but, despite nurs-

ing her right arm, Williams confirmed

that no serious damage had been

suffered. “Tennis players don’t really

get too dirty and ugly on the court. So

that was one of a few moments where

those kind of injuries can happen or

whatever,” said Williams.

Emotional 19-year-old sees

off Kenin in Toronto semi

Williams beats world No 1

Osaka for the first time

AP

Overwhelmed:

Bianca Andreescu

breaks down in

tears after reaching

the final of the

Rogers Cup in front

of her home

support yesterday

TENNIS RUGBY LEAGUE

Castleford Tigers

20

London Broncos

6

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