Jamie Chadwick and Ollie Gray have been nominated for the prestigious Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year award.

As the reigning W Series champion, Jamie has been dominant in her pursuit of a third-successive title – last weekend’s P2 in Hungary was the first time she hasn’t stood on the top step since September 2021.

Being a previous nominee in 2019, Jamie knows all too well what making the next stage can bring, saying: “It's an amazing experience for any young driver. I think I’m a bit older than a couple of the other nominees so I’m not sure if I’ll get to progress, but even still it’s a real honour to be nominated and, if I can get through, it’s an amazing event.”

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Like Jamie, Ollie has enjoyed a trophy-filled first half of the year, with the 17-year-old celebrating 11 podium finishes in 2022. He has seamlessly adjusted to the change of chassis in British F4 and currently sits second in the standings with four rounds remaining.

“It’s a great feeling, a confidence boost actually,” Ollie explained after learning of his nomination, adding: “Getting one step closer to experiencing a GT3 and F2 car, some real speed, I’m really looking forward to it.



“The chance to drive those cool cars gives me some extra motivation and I'm looking forward to what it might lead to.”

Both will be looking to emulate their Driver Academy colleague Zak O’Sullivan who won the 2021 edition, as well as join a long list of previous winners that include Williams alumni George Russell and David Coulthard plus current Brand Ambassador Jenson Button.

The 10 nominees will be whittled down to a final four before the winner is announced at the Autosport Awards in early December.

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Jamie’s interest in motorsport started on the karting track in 2010 where she achieved numerous wins and podiums at club level in the Junior series. She had a talent from a young age and went on to win the Ginetta Junior Scholarship in 2013.

In 2015, Jamie stepped up to the British GT Championship, driving an Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 with Beechdean Motorsport. She secured the title in her first year and became the first female to win a British GT Championship. To mark this achievement, she was selected to be part of the Aston Martin Racing Driver Evolution Academy and invited by the British Racing Drivers’ Club to become a ‘Rising Star’.

In 2016, Jamie continued to drive in five rounds of the British GP Championship in Pro Am with ‘Bake Off’ TV celebrity Paul Hollywood, whilst completing her A-level studies at Cheltenham College. She also qualified for her Nordschleife Race Permit.

In 2017, she graduated into singles-seaters, competing in the British Formula 3 Championship. Jamie opened up her rookie season with a podium at Rockingham and finished ninth in the Championship.

In 2018, Jamie continued in British F3, this time with Douglas Motorsport, and became the first woman to win a race in the category as she claimed victory at Brands Hatch. Later that year Jamie entered the MRF Winter Series racing at three venues in Dubai, Bahrain and Madras, where she won the Title in January 2019.

In 2019, Jamie claimed the inaugural W Series title, and enjoyed further success driving in a class winning team at the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race in Germany. In addition to her racing, Jamie was a Development Driver for the Williams Racing Driver Academy throughout the year, undertaking work in the simulator at Grove.

In a heavily altered 2020, Jamie took part in Asian F3 during the winter months. In 2021, Jamie successfully defended her W Series title with four wins across the eight-race second series that had joined the Formula One calendar for the first time. In fact, Jamie featured on all but one podium across the campaign.

In addition to this, Jamie competed as Veloce Racing's female driver in the new electric off-road racing series, Extreme E – her high point being a P2 finish at the Ocean X-Prix in Senegal.

Jamie drove for Jenner Racing in the 2022 W Series season, where she claimed a third consecutive title, winning 5 races and securing 6 podiums.

In 2023, Jamie competed in INDY NXT with Andretti Autosport becoming the first women in 13 years to compete full time in the series. Chadwick scored 262 points across 14 races in her rookie campaign. She also continued as a Williams Racing Academy driver.

For 2024, Jamie has since become a Williams Racing Driver & F1 Academy Adviser and is competing in Indy NXT for a second season after extending her deal to race for Andretti Autosport.


More from Jamie Chadwick

Jamie Chadwick

Ollie’s short motorsport career has already seen plenty of success, with the young racer from Surrey claiming multiple Motorsport UK and British Kart Championship titles at the X30 Junior level, before finishing as vice-champion in the 2019 IAME Euro Series.

Ollie then swapped karting for single-seater racing in 2021 where we enjoyed a stellar debut season in British F4.

Driving for Fortec Motorsport, Ollie claimed two wins and two pole positions - all coming at the high-speed Thruxton circuit - and was consistently in the top eight throughout his rookie season.

Ollie then went on to compete in the final two rounds of the Italian F4 Championship.

Ahead of the 2022 season, Ollie became a member of the Williams Racing Driver Academy, and, as part of his role, will be fully immersed at Grove, working closely with departments across the business to support his development.

In 2022 he competed in the British F4 Championship with Carlin, finishing second in the standings with two victories and 16 podiums to his name.

Ollie makes the step up to Formula 3 in 2023, once again represening Rodin Carlin.

Jamie and Ollie nominated for BRDC award

Two members of our Driver Academy receive nominations

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