Jamie Chadwick calls maiden Williams F1 test 'surreal' after completing 32 laps at Portimao

Jamie Chadwick completed 32 laps in Williams’ 2025 Formula 1 challenger at Portimao, becoming the first woman in over a decade to test a Williams F1 car and describing the experience as “surreal” in her post-session reflections.

The 28-year-old Briton, who serves as a Williams ambassador, took part in the session under F1’s Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) regulations. She said the day passed far more quickly than she had anticipated.

“Very surreal. It all went far too quick, honestly,” Chadwick said. “It was a day or half a day that just went by so fast, but I’m so glad, because you dream of things like this, and you dream of days like this. Often with things like that, you never know how you’re going to feel on the day, or how it’s actually going to be, and the reality of it was what I expected times ten.”

Chadwick also spoke about how the experience had deepened her respect for the championship. “Now my appreciation for this sport, and for Formula 1 in particular, has gone through the roof,” she said. “The car is phenomenal. The circuit was also phenomenal. I’m very, very grateful to Williams for the opportunity.”

The last woman to test a Williams F1 car was Susie Wolff, now managing director of F1 Academy, more than a decade ago. Chadwick acknowledged the significance of that lineage directly.

“I really clearly remember the day Susie did her day,” she said. “It feels quite surreal, 11 years later, to be hopping inside a car like that, and having the privilege to drive it. So, very grateful to everyone that’s part of it.”

Chadwick is not the only woman to have driven modern F1 machinery in recent years. Doriane Pin, the 2025 F1 Academy champion, drove the Mercedes W12 at Silverstone in April 2026, while Aston Martin ambassador Jessica Hawkins drove the Silverstone outfit’s 2021 car in 2023.