“It’s just a bit of an unknown. I need to do the testing and work out how strong I need to be and what is possible in a short period of time. We need to get data-driven with it. There’s no point in guessing and thinking, you know, ‘I’m training as hard as I can and I can’t drive it.’
“I need to get the data and find out how strong I need to be, then I’ll know if it’s possible. If it’s not, then what are the options? It’s not all about power steering. They can change the set-ups of the car, they can change so many things. But actually having this conversation… I don’t believe it has ever happened.
“It’s not just women either. There are a lot of male racing drivers that will be, say, later to develop physically. It’s just understanding that.
“Understanding the forces on the neck for instance. F2 is a step up and then F1 a big step up again in terms of those forces. Speaking to some of the [F1] guys in Miami, they sounded pretty broken after that race. But I think some of that is cardiovascular endurance, which is something that women are actually quite equal in. I think there’s like a point where women actually do start to supersede men in endurance.
“So it’s just understanding it. I’ve got no answers at the moment, but I am in a position where I can start to ask those questions.”
Chadwick, who has won five races in a row in W Series – the last two of last season and the first three of this – says she is “desperate” to win again in front of her home fans at Silverstone, not only to boost her chances of making the next step, but because it was one of the races to elude her last year. “I definitely feel like there’s a bit of unfinished business,” she said.
