'Driving an F1 car for the first time is surreal'

Racing driver Jamie Chadwick has just joined an elite club, becoming one of only a dozen women to take the wheel of a Formula 1 car in an official capacity.

The 28-year-old driver, from Bath, completed 32 laps of testing in a Williams car around the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve circuit in Portugal on Monday.

In doing so, she became the second ever woman to drive a car produced by the iconic Oxfordshire-based F1 team - following in the footsteps of her hero, former Williams test driver Susie Wolff.

Speaking to reporters, including from BBC Oxford, Chadwick said it had been "pretty surreal driving out the pit lane the first time" in an F1 car.

"You don't really fully know what to expect, you kind of hope it is everything and more - and it was," she said.

"It can't really compare to anything I've ever driven before."

Chadwick has a rich racing pedigree, is a three-time champion of the short-lived all-female W Series and has been supported by Williams since 2019.

She said making the jump to get behind the wheel of an F1 car had made her family "very proud".

"We don't come from a racing background, so it's all a bit surreal," she told BBC Oxford.

"I don't think they fully understood exactly the level of what a Formula One car would be like to drive."

In following in the footsteps of her hero Wolff, Chadwick and her family also experienced a full circle moment.

"My dad actually ended up going to Susie's first F1 test," she explained.

"He met Susie and asked for an autograph and said 'make it out to my daughter because she's in karting at the moment'."

"I remember him coming back with that autographed card from Susie's F1 test.

"He gave it to his daughter at age 14 or whatever, and now 11 years later it's his daughter driving the F1 car - pretty surreal."

James Vowles is team principal of the Atlassian Williams F1 Team, based in Grove, and said Chadwick was an "inspiration for millions of women and girls".

He said she had "thoroughly earned" her opportunity to test an F1 car and had "gathered important data for the team".

"Her feedback and performance were impressive as we knew they would be," Vowles said.

"This clearly shows there is a path for women to compete at the top level."