Jessica Hawkins completed her first test in a Formula 1 car at the Hungaroring last week, Aston Martin has announced.
The team’s F1 driver ambassador drove an AMR21, which was raced by the team when she joined them in 2021. Felipe Drugovich, their test and reserve driver, also turned laps at the home of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Hawkins said she “could hardly believe it” when she learned of her chance to drive the car which was raced by Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll.
“It’s taken me every bit of blood, sweat and tears to get here,” she said. “I’ve had to keep it secret for months now – which was pretty hard.
“It’s been absolutely worth it and it’s given me really valuable insight. Nothing will compare to the acceleration and braking of a F1 car and, having looked at the data, I’m really proud of my performance.”
Hawkins moved into single-seater racing after winning the British Karting Championship in 2008 and drove against Lando Norris in the 2015 British Formula 4 series. After a spell out of single-seaters she returned to compete in all three seasons of the short-lived all-female W Series.
She has also raced touring cars, appearing in both the British Touring Car Championship and TCR UK, winning a race at Oulton Park last year.
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Having her first run in a F1 car was “a dream come true for me and one I’ve been ready to fulfil for a long time,” said Hawkins. “I’ll keep pushing for more and, in the process, I want to inspire other women and let them know they should follow their dream no matter what it is.”
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack said the team were “really impressed by Jessica’s preparation for the test – she worked incredibly hard with our simulator team and that made it an easy decision to put her in the AMR21”.
“Jessica approached the opportunity with great maturity; she was up to speed quickly and found a nice rhythm. This has been a hugely significant moment in Jessica’s journey with AMF1 Team and I am pleased we could give her this next step in her development journey by testing a modern F1 car.”
Although competing in F1 is open to anyone with an FIA superlicence, no woman has attempted to qualify for a round of the world championship since Giovanna Amati over three decades ago. The last time a woman participated in a session at an official F1 event was at the British Grand Prix in 2015. The driver was Susie Wolff, who previously raced in the DTM, now runs the all-female racing series F1 Academy and is married to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.
Pictures: Jessica Hawkins’ F1 test
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