A pair of top 10s in a row mark Jamie Chadwick’s best Indy NXT results of the season so far.
That might not sound like the results you expect, but one of those 10ths was on an oval – no mean feat – and as for the rest of the campaign, she’s learning a new tyre and a host of new tracks in a way few others are doing.
And yet, scrolling through Twitter, there’s still negativity towards Chadwick’s performances. Contrary to accidentally retweeting an anti-Chadwick tweet while looking through – I’m so sorry, Jamie! – I’m not ready to accept that this season has been a failure for a multitude of reasons.
It’s perhaps because people in Europe expect so much of Chadwick because she won W Series three times, perhaps because there’s an element of underrating the level of the Indy Lights (now NXT) series, and perhaps because people have just put all of their eggs in Chadwick’s basket as the future of women in motorsport at the elite level, driver-wise anyway.
Fortunately, Chadwick’s feet are so well planted on the ground that they’re effectively welded to it at this stage, and she’s not interested in anything other than her own improvement and development.
“In Europe, it’s very different to what it is here,” Chadwick tells The Race, speaking ahead of her Iowa oval debut two weeks ago.
“Here it’s maybe what I was expecting and how I felt like it maybe should be [what people think of her adaptation so far].
“We’re making progress. OK, we want to be further up. I would say the potential is there. But there wasn’t the expectation to be winning races off the bat.
“In Europe, maybe there was [the expectation to win straight away], but I know exactly what I’ve come from, the step up that I’ve got, I’m not claiming that I want to be a Formula 1 driver next year or anything like that.
“I think it’s a long road for all of that. But what’s really positive is that from W Series it’s a big step up, but I feel like I’ve been welcomed well over here and there is an opportunity to do well.
“And hopefully for the young girls now coming through it does showcase that there are opportunities, both sides of the pond, and there is a chance to have success.”
Expanding later on, Chadwick adds: “I think I was flattered in W Series with results.
“But I’m under no illusions that it’s going to take me time to get there and I feel like there’s nothing wrong with that.
“I can take a bit of time and it’s great that I’m in an environment that’s allowing me to do that and Williams has been very supportive of that as well.
“I’m not in a position to jump in F2 and win in my first year, so it’s great to be in an environment where I’m given that time to learn and develop.”
The realists who know Indy NXT knew this would be a tough test for Chadwick. The car itself was described as being more like a rally car by last year’s champion, Linus Lundqvist, and to get the most out of an eight-minute qualifying you have to drive the car beyond its edge.
“I’ve always just left a little bit too much on the table,” Chadwick acknowledges.
It’s a departure from the more tyre-conscious, conservative driving style which sacrifices everything to avoid sliding in Europe. That’s before you consider driving an oval or street course which you don’t get as much experience of on the lower rungs of the junior single-seater ladder.
The problem is, when Chadwick does make leaps, it feels like something bad then happens. Qualifying seven tenths off the pace at Mid-Ohio in ninth was a strong effort, but she felt she was taken out of the race by avoidable contact.
And when she does make avoidable errors, of course, she’s judged more harshly than others because of the reputation that has been attached to her.
The results on paper are far less important at this stage than assessing the adaptation, especially with the car itself.
“The car’s a handful, we’ve actually made quite a lot of changes to help me physically with the car, which has helped,” Chadwick adds.
“Yeah, just getting used to that. It will be the same for the rest of the year, a lot of the tracks I go to for the first time on the Friday and just adapting.
“I’ve been, actually, to be honest, too slow to adapt anyway. But I think it’s not easy when you see some of these tracks for the first time. They’re not like European tracks with a lot of runoff. The general trait is that I’ve been more competitive at tracks that are a bit more like European kinds of circuits.
“We are making progress, more than maybe it looks on paper, like you said, the focus isn’t really on results.
“The reality is those don’t matter so much at the moment, we just need to make bigger steps as we can to genuinely be competitive and there on merit, rather than just picking up pieces.”
As I’d written after Chadwick’s first race of the year in St Petersburg, it was too soon to judge her transition to America then, and it still is now. Although the last few races have shown signs that Chadwick is getting a handle on what’s needed.
The time to judge would be in the second year. The Race understands Andretti is keen to continue with Chadwick and vice versa, although all of that needs to be hashed out in the coming weeks.
When asked if it is her goal to continue, Chadwick replies: “Honestly, I can say, yeah, I do [want to].
“It does come down to performance and results, which needs to improve for sure.
“I’d like to have the opportunity to do a second year of Indy NXT because I think with that second year, we can make a really good step and be really competitive, in my opinion.
“But yeah, I could really see myself over here.
“It comes down to performance anywhere you are, if it’s in Europe or over here, but yeah, I love the environment.
“I love the kind of vibe, the way everyone goes racing over here is quite refreshing. And let’s see how next year maybe goes and go from there. But it’s been fun so far.
“Honestly, I’m absolutely loving it. I think that’s kind of why even though the results haven’t been what I would have liked, I’ve still had a great time this year so far, because the environment I’ve loved.”
Chadwick will be given the time in the States to progress without being thrown under the bus, too.
Unlike in something like F2, where if you don’t win in your first year you’ll struggle to be considered a future F1 driver and have to work extra hard to turn your chances around there or buy your way in, in America the ladder is more forgiving.
“You only have to look at some of the European drivers that have ended up over here that have had success to kind of further that point,” Chadwick adds to that.
A second season in Indy NXT would not rule Chadwick out of making the jump to IndyCar if she demonstrates the improvement and ability to warrant an IndyCar drive. If she doesn’t, there are no excuses, just like for any driver and Chadwick knows that.
Chadwick does not expect anything to be handed to her on a plate and she’s determined to earn it.
She thinks she can achieve her goals, so before people rule her out, let’s give her the time to get on an even playing field with the competition and deliver on what Chadwick knows she can do.
That’ll be the time to judge.
