Driver Academy report: A perfect Miami weekend for Jamie Chadwick

Formula One may have raced its first Miami Grand Prix this weekend, but the Williams Driver Academy had already tasted success at the Miami International Autodrome before lights out on Sunday.

Jamie Chadwick kicked off her W Series title defence the same way she clinched it in 2021 – with two wins in the USA.

The all-female racing championship began its 2022 season on Saturday at the circuit around Hard Rock Stadium with a stop-start race, while Round 2 on Sunday saw 30 minutes of non-stop action.

Two very different races for Jamie to deal with at her new Jenner Racing team, but she took both in her stride to leave Miami with maximum points.

With only a single practice session to prepare for qualifying, Jamie showed why she is the double champion of W Series by staying close to the top of the timing sheets.

As more rubber was laid by the Hankook tyres, the lap times tumbled as qualifying progressed. Nerea Marti pipped Jamie to provisional pole late on, and a crash for Fabienne Wohlwend ended the session before the Williams Academy Driver could respond.

With a front row start secured for Race 1, Chadwick didn’t waste time in taking the lead as Marti had a slow start from first place to tumble down the order. Keeping ahold of P1 for the first half of the race was a task made easier by a lengthy safety car and red flag period after a Lap 1 incident.

When racing resumed, Jamie was immediately under pressure from Emma Kimilainen, who ran close behind in P2. Stern defending kept the Finn at bay into the Turn 17 hairpin, but Kimilainen continued her assault over the subsequent laps and took the lead after a late braking move at Turn 11.

However, a crash further behind just moments before meant Kimilainen would now be the recipient of a safety car reprieve while Jamie couldn't fight back.

Fortunately for Jamie, the hardworking marshals cleared the incident quickly enough to allow for one lap of racing. A confident restart had her on the tail of Kimilainen, who locked up into the first corner.

This mistake let Jamie reclaim first place, and she took her first win of the weekend with a comfortable three-second margin.

The drivers' second-fastest qualifying times set the starting order for Race 2, so it was another front row start on Sunday with pole position for the Jenner Racing driver.

Again, an excellent start from Jamie saw her unchallenged into the first corner, and without any safety cars or red flags to contend with, she only had to manage the gap to Marti behind to make it two Miami wins in two days.

Although it might have seemed straightforward from the outside, Jamie explained she was kept busy on Sunday: "Today was just about managing the gap, really. We had a little bit in reserve if I needed it.

"With the tyres and stuff, it was a tough race with the heat, and it was obviously 100% pushing.

"There were no safety cars or interruptions, so it was just about managing it, trying to be consistent, not making any mistakes.

"Of course, there were a couple of moments when Nerea [Marti] got a bit closer, and I just tried to respond as best I could.

"It was a tough race even out front. The pressure was always on, and it's just about trying not to make any mistakes."

An unusual prize also joins Jamie's two new trophies for her wins at Hard Rock Stadium – an electric guitar.

Though Jamie may excel on the track, she explained that she's not so musical: "They gave me the guitar, and they asked if I could play, and I think I misheard them and might've said yes.

"Now I'm a bit concerned that they actually think that I can play the guitar, so I've asked for guitar lessons.

"I have no idea how I'm going to get the guitar back, but it's an amazing gift from Hard Rock, so I really appreciate it."

Jamie will join Roy, Logan, and Zak when W Series races alongside F2 and F3 in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix weekend from 20-22 May.