W Series race winner Chadwick says F1 step up is "manageable"

Jaime Chadwick dominated proceedings in the inaugural W series event. The British driver topped FP1, FP2, qualified on pole and won the race around the Hockenheimring. She believes the step between W series and F1 is "manageable".

Despite getting this 'free opportunity', the 20-year-old is ready to be patient as she looks to work towards a Formula 1 seat. She knows she won't be able to jump straight into Formula 1, even if she wins every W series race.

"It’s not going to be the case that if I win W Series, I’ll be in F1 next year. It won’t be like that at all. The real benefit W Series offers is in enabling a step up to the global F3 competition in 2020, and potentially F2 after that. If we see a woman being competitive at those levels, you will naturally see her graduate into F1," she told The Telegraph.

“The step up is manageable. It’s the hot races and long races that can create difficulty, as well as the pressures on your neck. But we have seen women complete race runs in F1 before. With the amount of financial backing that’s required, I wasn’t going to progress much further in single-seaters. But W Series has allowed me to push on towards my ultimate goal of F1. It changes things for the better.”

When the W series was announced, it was met with its fair share of criticism. But what do you think? Will it work?