Driver Jamie Chadwick Makes the Most of Her Time
The Record-Breaking British Racing Driver heads to the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Jamie Chadwick at the 24 Hours of Rolex, Jan. 2025. Photo courtesy of Rolex.
This weekend driver Jamie Chadwick makes her debut at the iconic French motorsport competition, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, racing for the IDEC Sport team and Genesis Magma Racing in the LMP2 class. Along with two co-drivers, she will compete for a collective entire day of racing among a crowded field, a thrilling and grueling spectacle that dates back over 100 years. It’s Chadwick’s goal to earn a place on the podium — and she has the talent to do it.
At 27 years old, Chadwick has racked up a string of firsts as the most decorated woman race car driver in the world. She’s a three-time W Series champion and the first woman to win a British F3 race, and most recently this year she became the first to win a European Le Mans Series. While Chadwick is part of a growing field of women chasing speed and razor sharp lap times, she’s an inspirational athlete, dedicated to bringing others into the fold. She launched the Jamie Chadwick Series, a yearlong karting series geared toward young women racers.
We spoke with Chadwick earlier this year in an exclusive interview at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. She served as the Grand Marshall. As a Rolex Testimonee, Chadwick reflected how in game of milliseconds she keeps a cool head and a steady hand on the wheel.
Were you always a competitive person?
I was always competitive. I had an older brother, which I think was part of the reason. At school, I always wanted to play as many different sports as I could. I was lucky because when I grew up, I did everything with my brother, we played football. I started skiing, and then when I was 12, motorsport was something my brother was doing. He was competing a bit in karting, and I gave it a go, and then it progressed from there. It was something I did as a hobby. I was competitive, but it definitely wasn’t something I thought was going to be a career. It wasn't something I was, let's say, taking that seriously or doing to that high of a level. Then I just fell in love with it step by step, and I've progressed from there.
Did you have a first moment where you were like, I can do this?
I was able to learn quite quickly when I started. I listened to the people around me and I improved very quickly. What I liked about motor sport is that it’s so clear if you're improving because of your lap time. I could literally see the lap time coming down. I think that's what motivated me initially. Then I was struck with loads of self-doubt later on in my career, where I thought I was good, but never great. I never believed that I could be a professional or anything like that for a long time until a bit late in my career where I started to win. Then I thought, actually, maybe I can do this.
Who were the key people in your corner?
Definitely a few people along the way. Obviously, family was a big one. I was lucky. Although I was not from a racing family, it’s a very supportive family. Both my parents, regardless of what my brother and I chose to do, we were very much supported. Later on in my career, I've worked with my manager now for nearly ten years, he was a big person in my corner. I would hear him speak about me on behalf of me to people. And I’d think that's quite cool. Like maybe I could do this, I could be quite good.
How do you think about role models?
When I started this, I didn't have necessarily anyone I idolized or wanted to be. I started getting into the sport and seeing certain drivers that I was inspired by. Now it's kind of crazy, because a lot of those people I feel like I rub shoulders with and that blows my mind. (Former F1 driver and Rolex Testimonee) Jenson Button grew up near where I lived, when I was young. He was someone I admired. I always liked his driving style and what he had achieved in the sport. Then now through Rolex, I get to spend time with him, speak to him and it all feels very surreal in that sense.
Do you think there's a driver or team that conducts themselves in a way that you feel you aspire to, not just on track but off track?
Its the obvious answer. Lewis Hamilton is definitely someone that I feel very inspired by both on and off track. I think what he's done for the sport really has transcended it in many ways. On the track I think he's a champion. off the track, he’s putting in a huge amount of time and effort and resources into increasing diversity in the sport. It's super impressive. And then outside of motorsport, there's a few different athletes, Roger Federer is a big one and Serena Williams in tennis.
So many women athletes are facing the same issues, regardless of sport. I think of mindfulness. How do you think about your body, your mind, and yourself?
It is tricky because there's no obvious clear example of what (motorsport) requires, what it takes. But when you look at someone like Serena, an athlete, and how strong she was and is everything. It shows to me what female athletes are capable of in particular. There are so many different female talents that are supreme athletes. I take a lot from that. I think, if they can do that in their sport and that's what they're achieving, then definitely in motorsport I can do a fraction of that. That's definitely something I draw inspiration from.
“ I love the sport so much in a way that I’d like to give more to it. ”
If I am at the end of your racing career, what have you achieved?
I want to achieve as much as I can in my career as possible. I want to compete in all these big races and ultimately try and win in these races. I think that's something I've dreamed of for a long time.
Is there one that you're like, that's a race I’m going to win?
Le Mans is up there on the list, so that's a big part of it. In terms of the other stuff is obviously the mentorship program. I also do some other work within the sport. I love the sport so much in a way that I’d like to give more to it. My moment in the sport is only growing and I have the capacity and time and a lot of sense for it. I'm personally someone that's benefiting so much from these initiatives for women in the sport. If anything, I want to make sure that the next generation also can have that as well.
Recently, there's a lot of focus on getting one female driver to Formula One and it's all about getting one female driver. Why can't we just increase the numbers as a whole? Get more women involved in the sport and help as many women into it as possible.
Racing is a team sport, right? It's like ‘the one’ is always a problem because the one forces you to being competitive against one another. As opposed to, how can we help each other?
I think that's something we're improving at now. Historically there has been competition between female drivers, which now I think it’s not the case. I think we all have a really good community. There are more initiatives now put into place to help one another more. I really love that you're saying that the sport isn't just the drivers, it goes way beyond that. I think where we can improve it as well. Maybe 15 years ago if you’re a female engineer, you’re like, do I want to work in motorsport or not? I'm just going to be working every weekend, long hours, as the only woman in that environment. Will I enjoy that? There will be so compromises that will come with that and you question whether that's for you and maybe you actually go, no I'm going to go somewhere else. And so that's that. Whereas now you start seeing 1, 2, 3 female engineers in the paddock and then suddenly, yeah, it will be a bit of a domino effect in my opinion. I think it's really important as a sport that we improve that as well.
What do you love about motorsports?
Driving to the limit is a feeling that I love. The competition element for sure is kind of inevitable. I think it's a bit of a cliche to say, but the highs in motorsports are so high, because the lows are so low, and more frequent than the highs. That feeling is something you just live for. You have a year or a bad year and you think it’s not going well, I'm not enjoying it, it’s all going to shit. And then you get a good result and that motivates you for another year. And it's just for me, that's kind of what I live for, really.
Taking you back to the idea of watches and time. How has racing changed your perception of timing? Time is so crucial and every second counts.
I read an article the other day about physically what is time? If you look at the exact definition of time versus what you perceive to be time, and that made me think about how I see time. In motorsport, everything is related to lap time. Personally, I'm kind of the opposite now. I try to slow down, try and really not rush things, not feel like I have to squeeze everything in. Say no to more things, spend more time doing things that I want to do. I'm starting to feel older and actually how much of hopefully my life I have left is how much time there is. Although it goes quick, there is a lot of time, to be patient. I think about that in my career as well. Sometimes I rush, I want to achieve more and more now, and I'm so focused on the next thing. Actually, I can be more patient. That was the advice I've had from a few people. Don't try and achieve everything today and be patient.
Time is also memory. You’re literally training yourself to be on time. You have to be conscious of your moments and how you focus.
Exactly. I think that's a big part of it is being able to mentally allow yourself to continuously develop. The only way you can do that is by pacing time and not rushing it.
The other part is the travel, right? You're probably on the road a lot. Where are you spending most of your time?
Hopefully now a bit more time at home now that I'm racing in Europe.
Where do you live right now?
Monaco.
Monaco is so racing specific.
It is quite nice, because it's such a small place, you leave your apartment and see many people that you know from racing. For me it's made a big difference with training and quality of life. The weather is good is and every day I want to be active and do different sports. Cycling, running, tennis is becoming a big thing. There's a lot of tennis players that live there. You can see how other athletes go about their day to day lives and take snippets from that. I've really enjoyed it so far. It’s cool to be amongst different athletes.
The motorsports audience has shifted, and it’s really cool to see more women taking an interest. What does it mean to be a fan and what do you encourage people to do if they're new to motorsports?
Honestly, I think just embrace it. Motorsports have opened up so much. Don't be afraid to not understand it or not know how it works. Even I hardly know how some things work. I think it's a confusing sport. Find races and accessibility to watch races. I think with Formula 1 and the Netflix series, there’s a way to learn about it quickly. Every sport I think takes time to really understand. There's so many more like minded women that are fans of the sport. You'll be amazed at how many people you meet.
Do you love cars?
I do love cars. I think a lot of women do love cars as well. I think its inherently seen as a male focus to go and enjoy cars and go to these performance days. I see so few women on these days, and I always feel like they're the ones that sometimes drive the car the most, but they don't get opportunity to do the driving. I think it's a confidence thing in a way. People don’t realize it’s for everyone. Female drivers encouraging women to drive as much as possible is great. We're now getting to a much better place. For example, in countries like Saudi Arabia, where women have only just been able to drive more recently and now that's giving the opportunities to women to drive on track days driving sports cars, I think a lot of confidence comes with it.
Racing and driving is about power and control. The world doesn’t always want the power balance to be shifted. When you look at studies about women and driving, women care about safety. The best way to become a safe driver is to learn how to drive and to understand your cars. There are so many effects your work can have on the world.
It's really just showing what's possible. I mean you see so many female pilots, fighter jet pilots. To your point, the power of the car, it's a similar kind of analogy in racing and driving sports cars. It’s grown in my opinion and just something I'd love to see more and more of. I have seen a big shift in the last few years, but ultimately something I think we can see more.