W Series Champion and Williams Formula 1 development driver Jamie Chadwick has been confirmed as one half of Veloce Racing’s Extreme E driver line-up.
The all-electric off-road series is set to debut in March next year with a five-round schedule taking in four continents, as it aims to highlight the impact climate change is having on planet Earth.
The series has mandated that teams be made up of mixed genders, with one female and one male driver, as part of its plans to push diversity in motorsport.
Chadwick will race for team Veloce Racing alongside an as yet unnamed male team-mate.
“I am proud to be driving for Veloce Racing in such a revolutionary championship as Extreme E! I have been involved with Veloce for a very long time and they are like a family to me, so I am incredibly honoured to be their female driver for what is such an exciting and important race series,” commented Chadwick.
“Climate change is something that affects us all, so I’m really keen to start doing my part to fight it. I can safely say that testing the car was one of the best and most fun experiences I have had in my career so far. I can’t wait to get out to the amazing venues where we’ll be racing next year; these are some of the most beautiful and endangered locations on our planet. Both on and off-track, it promises to be an incredibly rewarding journey.”
Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO at Extreme E added: “I’m delighted to welcome Jamie Chadwick to the Extreme E family, she is an incredibly successful young female driver and I’m sure she will turn her hand to off-road racing very quickly. The series is taking shape nicely ahead of our first race in March 2021 and I’m excited to see Jamie, along with all the other drivers, behind the wheel of the championship’s electric SUV.”
Ian Davies, Veloce Racing Team Manager, commented: “We are delighted to have Jamie on-board at Veloce for the first season of Extreme E. She is a very quick, talented and committed young driver, with a pedigree that quite frankly speaks for itself. Having won titles in both sportscars and single-seaters, there is no reason at all why she shouldn’t transfer those skills and win in Extreme E, in what promises to be a very high-calibre field.
“Her first test in the ODYSSEY 21 during our shakedown in France last week was a very positive and encouraging start. Her experience from single-seater and GT competition was invaluable to the early development of our car – from quick driver changes to initial and mid-corner turn-in – and she had significant input into our engineering refinements.
“Jamie would be the first to acknowledge that off-road driving is completely new to her, but she is a fast learner and she listened carefully to everything we had to say, worked well with the engineers, took it all on-board and – most importantly – got quicker and quicker with every run. We are all very excited to see what she can achieve when we go racing next year.”
