Jamie Chadwick tests F1 car for first time with Williams run in Portugal in 'best day of my life so far'

Jamie Chadwick has tested a Formula 1 car for the first time with Williams at Portimao in Portugal - describing it as the "best day of my life so far".

The Williams ambassador and Sky Sports F1 pundit, who races in the European Le Mans Series, completed 32 laps in their podium-finishing 2025 car at the circuit in the Algarve under F1's Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) rules on Monday.

British 28-year-old Chadwick is the second woman to test an F1 car this year after reigning F1 Academy champion Doriane Pin drove a 2021 Mercedes at Silverstone in April, and the first British female to do so since Jessica Hawkins ran an Aston Martin in 2023.

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Chadwick, who first joined Williams in 2019 as a development driver, has enjoyed a successful career in motorsport so far, winning all three seasons of the all-female W Series and, in 2024, becoming the first woman to win a road course race in the US-based Indy NXT series.

"It was a phenomenal day and an incredible experience," said Chadwick.

"Few things can prepare you for driving a Formula 1 car at speed around a track like Portimao, but it was everything I imagined and 10 times more.

"I'm incredibly grateful to Atlassian Williams F1 Team for this opportunity. I remember being young and watching Susie Wolff step into a Williams F1 car and how much that inspired my own journey.

"I'd love to be able to do the same for the next generation, and the experience I gained today will make a real difference both to my own racing and to what I can pass on to the drivers coming through.

"I'm so grateful and incredibly happy with how the day went. It's an experience I'll remember for a very long time - I'd go as far as saying it's been the best day of my life so far."

Susie Wolff is the last woman to drive in Friday practice in F1, completing in four sessions across the 2014 and 2015 seasons for Williams, while Italian Lella Lombardi in 1976 was the last woman to start a Grand Prix.

Williams team principal James Vowles said: "Jamie Chadwick is an inspiration for millions of women and girls who has broken records at every level, and she has thoroughly earned this F1 test opportunity with Atlassian Williams F1 Team.

"Jamie gathered important data for the team as F1 prepares to return to Portimao next year, and her feedback and performance were impressive as we knew they would be.

"This clearly shows there is a path for women to compete at the top level, and I look forward to seeing how Jamie uses this experience to advance her own driving and advise our young drivers on what it takes to drive an F1 car."

How did Chadwick prepare for the test?

Speaking to Sky Sports before heading to Portugal, Chadwick detailed how her preparations for the test had gone.

"I did half a day in the sim, the seat fit and all the kind of procedural stuff that you do beforehand," she said. "And then I have actually been upping the neck training a lot.

"Obviously racing LMP2, I train my neck anyway, but that is naturally stepped up for an F1 test.

"George Russell's been helping me a little bit with the preparation. I woke up the next morning after the first proper day of neck training I did with him, and I could barely move my head!

"So it's incredible, actually, when you realise what they are going through in terms of not just in the car, but also the training that they have to do for the necks at the moment. It's crazy."

Chadwick had previously driven the Portimao track in European Le Mans, and added: "I've spoken to quite a few drivers about it.

"Ollie Bearman said mentally it's one of the toughest tracks, actually. Just this flow of it is very undulating. There's a lot going on. In the mind it's very busy.

"But most have just said to enjoy it.

"I feel like I learn a huge amount from Formula 1 just generally in the role that I have with Sky Sports, which has helped me a lot in all the other stuff that I'm doing.

"But I think this is going to take a new, extreme one from that."

Racing on a Saturday! The 2026 Formula 1 season continues live on Sky Sports F1 this week as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix kicks off a triple-header of races, with the Baku race taking place on Saturday at midday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Jamie Chadwick tests F1 car for first time with Williams run in Portugal in 'best day of my life so far'