Driver Academy report: Jamie bags seventh consecutive W Series win

Paul Ricard offered mixed results for the Williams Racing Driver Academy with a pole position and a race win in Formula 2 and W Series, respectively, but also penalties and heartbreak.

Jamie Chadwick soared to her seventh consecutive W Series win - with five from five this season - to extend her championship gap to P2 to an impressive 70 points.

In Formula 2, Logan Sargeant and Roy Nissany took points over the weekend but will leave France wondering 'what if' after a mechanical DNF and time penalty.

Jamie's route to her seventh consecutive W Series victory came in spite of a post-qualifying penalty. She took pole position on Friday but had a two-place grid drop for crossing the white line at the pit exit, meaning she would need to pass on track to triumph in Le Castellet.

Jamie had one fewer opponent to overcome ahead of her from the race start after Nerea Marti suffered a slow getaway, and our Academy driver had made it to second place after a handful of metres.

Jamie's start was fast, too, and she was soon on the back of Beitske Visser's first place by Turn 1. A brave move around the outside of the right-hand Turn 3 meant Jamie became the leader before the grid had even completed one sector.

Two Safety Cars slowed proceedings, and although Jamie excelled on the first restart, she temporarily lost P1 at the second. Again though, some courageous moves in sector one had her regain a lead she wouldn't give up.

After the race, Jamie explained how she appreciates being part of the Williams family at these race weekends:

"It's cool because F2 qualifies quite often just before us, and I see Logan put it on pole and then I know the pressure's on me as well.

"I get on with Logan really well, so it's great to see him having a big run of success in F2. It's just nice to be in the Williams Academy.

"The Academy's going quite strong at the moment and I think that's giving us all a big push knowing that there are opportunities there in the future."

After two all-important Feature Race wins, Logan put his Carlin in the best possible position to take another by taking his second Formula 2 pole position. Unfortunately, the two points earned for his pole would sadly prove to be Logan's highest daily points tally in France after a clutch failure ended his Feature Race prematurely.

Logan had dropped to P3 off the line but fended off two fast-starting ART cars to remain in the podium positions and the leading championship contender. Logan shook off his slow start to stay in the hunt in the race's first half, but his efforts all came undone at his scheduled pit stop.

A clutch failure meant the Carlin car couldn't leave the pit lane, and Logan suffered his first point-less Sunday since Jeddah in March.

In the Sprint Race, our American driver kept clear of the mid-pack dangers to cross the line in P9, but that became P8 after post-race penalties for his rivals to net him a solitary point.

A disappointing qualifying for Roy meant he had his work cut out over the weekend. His Quali time had him start the Feature Race in P20, but P22 in the Sprint Race, thanks to a grid penalty from a Free Practice infringement.

Despite the starting positions, Roy recovered to take points in Sunday's race and battled forwards in Saturday's Sprint to P16, too. With a pair of first-lap incidents to avoid in the Feature, Roy did well to not only escape unscathed but also shoot up some nine places to P11 by Lap 2.

Unfortunately, a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage meant Roy's progress through the order was going to be limited due to the punishment. However, his determined drive ended with him crossing the line in eighth place, which became ninth with the time penalty for a second consecutive top-ten Sunday finish.

There's a full house for the Williams Driver Academy this weekend, with Formula 2, Formula 3, and W Series all supporting the Hungarian Grand Prix while British F4 races at Knockhill.

As ever, keep an eye on our digital channels to see how Logan, Jamie, and Roy get on again, along with Zak O'Sullivan and Ollie Gray, who will also return to action.