“More to motorsport than driving”: Jamie Chadwick on championing STEM education

Fresh from piloting Nigel Mansell's legendary Williams FW14B up the Hill at the 2025 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, Chadwick has been championing the breadth of career opportunities available in motorsport, particularly for young women who might not see themselves reflected in the sport's traditional image.

"Girls and boys aside, it is just showing what opportunities there are in our sport —there is so much more to it than just driving on track," said Chadwick, who currently races in the European Le Man Series. "There are so many different roles, so many great elements of the sport, and just giving that kind of opportunity for the girls to see that is really important."

Ahead of winning the 4 Hours of Silverstone in September, Chadwick participated in STEM workshops with local primary school children at Silverstone Museum before they tried out the circuit's brand-new Kart Silverstone facilities.

She also emphasised how hands-on experiences can transform perceptions of what motorsport offers — a key part of FOS Future Lab presented by Randox, where visitors engage directly with cutting-edge automotive technology and hear from industry leaders about diverse career pathways.

Chadwick's own journey into motorsport began in an environment that wasn't always welcoming. "For me, when I was the only girl out of hundreds of boys at my local kart track, it is not the most inviting environment initially, but now that is changing," she shared. "Whenever you do these different events, you really notice quite a big uptake; the level of interest has increased massively."

That changing landscape has inspired Chadwick to create tangible opportunities for young women through her all-female karting series, which she has recently expanded into a junior category. "I have the karting series in the UK that has had a lot more interest than I would have expected, so it is kind of trying to grow that," she said. "It is just trying to broaden people's perceptions of motorsport, to show the different opportunities that are available."

The impact has been significant. More than 450 girls have participated in the Jamie Chadwick Series events, while Daytona reported a 400 per cent increase in casual session participation from female racers at its outdoor go-karting venues in 2024. 

This year, Chadwick took on an ambassadorial role with Mobil 1, with a key focus on supporting women in motorsport and STEM fields. The role allows her to combine her racing career with advocacy work, creating a platform to reach young people who might be considering careers in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.

"It is a great evolution of what we are seeing, the industry is changing so much," Chadwick stated. "We are seeing so many more women, just in different roles across the board, that I don't think it has maybe got that male dominance or bias that we have seen so for so long. I think young girls are more encouraged by it, but also the fan base is changing, the kind of culture of the sport is changing."

The evolution Chadwick describes reflects broader shifts in motorsport, where initiatives like Extreme H's gender-balanced format are actively reshaping the industry's demographic and cultural landscape. Her appearance at the Festival of Speed, driving one of Formula 1’s most technologically advanced cars of its era, provided a powerful moment of representation for young fans witnessing a female driver command such an iconic machine.

For Chadwick, the combination of on-track performance and off-track advocacy represents the holistic approach needed to transform motorsport's future. "There is so much more to it than just driving on track," Chadwick reiterated, highlighting roles in engineering, data analysis, aerodynamics, team management, media, and countless other specialisms that keep the sport moving forward.

From the mechanics working on the FW14B she piloted to the engineers developing next-generation racing technology, motorsport offers a vast ecosystem of careers for those with curiosity and passion.

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Photography by Tom Baigent, Tom Shaxson, Darren Heath and Raife Smith.