BRDC British F3 race winner Jamie Chadwick took her first victory in the IndyCar-supporting IndyNXT series on Sunday, as graduates of the UK's leading single-seater category starred in North America.
Chadwick led all 20 laps at Road America from pole position, also her first in Indy NXT, but had to withstand pressure throughout the contest, with multiple full course yellows. She finished eight tenths of a second clear of fellow British F3 graduate Louis Foster, who had a go at taking the lead before a late red flag. Chadwick controlled the restart superbly and rebuilt a lead in what was effectively a two lap shootout for victory.
In a record-breaking weekend for the three-time W Series champion, Chadwick became the first woman to win a race in the premier IndyCar support category since 2010. She is the first female to take an Indy NXT pole on a street or road course, and achieved the same feat in the race, with the previous two female winners triumphing on ovals.
“I have no words,” she said. “Honestly, I’m a bit emotional. We’ve had an unbelievable car this year and just haven’t been able to do anything about it. I’m just so happy we held on there.
“With the red flag at the end, I was like, ‘Come on,” Chadwick said. “We started to lose the tyres a little bit. So, I just knew I had to be aggressive. I knew they (Foster and Jacob Abel) have a championship to worry about, and I just had to get my head down. I really wanted to win today.”
As well as Chadwick's pole position, graduates also took lined up at the front of the grid in F1 and IndyCar. 2014 BRDC F4 champion George Russell took his second career F1 pole position in Montreal, which he converted into his first podium of the season for Mercedes, ahead of fellow alumni Lando Norris.
Back at Road America, and there was a landmark first IndyCar pole position for 2018 BRDC British F3 champion Linus Lundqvist. The Swede took advantage of mixed conditions to set the fastest time right at the end of the session, in scenes that reminded him of his time racing in the UK. Sadly, Lundqvist's race was ruined at the first corner after he was hit from behind by his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Armstrong, but fought back up the order to take 12th place at the end of the contest.