With the season now well underway, there were just a couple more things needed within the Williams Racing team and that was confirmation of their Reserve and academy/development drivers.
It comes as no shock to see them retain the services of Jack Aitken as reserve driver and Jamie Chadwick as Academy/development driver.
Jack was lucky enough to take up his position on track for the first time in an F1 car in 2020, when George Russell was promoted to the Mercedes team for 1 race in Sakhir, Bahrain. Lewis Hamilton had caught COVID19 and had to self isolate.
Jack will be looking to get some more time in the car and thanks to a new FIA rule this year, it looks a definite possibility for him to drive in a Friday free practice session.
The rule mandates the use of rookie drivers on at least two occasions during first free practice this season. A rookie driver is defined as someone who “may not have participated in more than two F1 World Championship Races during their career”
One person we would love to see gain that all important Free Practice opportunity is Jamie Chadwick.
Two time W Series champion, Jamie has been with the team for 3 years and now thanks to her two winning seasons within the W series, she finally has enough superlicence points to enable her to take up this opportunity. However there has been no confirmation from anyone within the team as to when, where or who, will be given that all important experience. On a personal level I truly believe that there would only be positives to come from Williams allowing Jamie some time in the car.
It is however great to see Williams sticking with the team they have, it shows their confidence in their choices and will give both drivers a boost in their confidence for the future inclusion in the sport.
“I’m looking forward to continuing my programme throughout the 2022 season and I know that the team will be cheering me on during my upcoming 2022 W Series campaign; I’m really proud to continue representing the Williams name on the grid.”
Jamie Chadwick
“Williams is in quite an exciting moment where we’re moving forwards, there’s a lot of energy in the team and I think they’ve made some really good decisions around structure and personnel.
“So there’s a lot of emphasis on development at the moment. I think that, having been a part of the team for over a year and a half now, and with most of the sim work that I’ve been involved with, I’ve been quite integral to that.
Jack Aitken