With just a few days left before the start of the Miami Grand Prix, Chloe Chambers gave her opinion on the weekend’s grand event. Driving on the all-female grid of F1 Academy, which acts as a support series for Formula 1 in Miami, Chambers is representing MoneyGram Haas F1 Team. It’s not only a home race for the 19-year-old American driver, but also for the sponsoring team — the difference being that while Haas will visit the United States two more times thanks to the F1’s 2024 calendar, Chambers has got only one chance to shine in front of her home crowd this year.
“I can’t even express how excited I am for this round. Not only is it my home race, but Haas’s home race as well! It’ll be my first time back at the circuit since I raced it in the W Series in 2022,” said Chambers.
In case of her predicted performance, she commented: “I had good results a couple of years ago, so I’m definitely hoping to carry that with me into this year’s race. My results in Jeddah were pretty strong as well so we should be in pretty good shape for this round, I’m confident we can score some good points and I’m really hoping for a podium finish in front of the home crowd!”
Speaking about the F1 Academy’s season opener in Jeddah, Chambers managed to claim her position as a consistent contender for the top ten spots. Qualifying eight and moving up to get P4 in Race 1 and then starting sixth and finishing P10 in Race 2.
Apart from that, she has had quite a few achievements from her earlier career, now being in motorsport for twelve years. Chambers has previously raced in Formula 4 United States Championship, finishing the 2021 season in 26th place. In 2022, she did a better job in W Series, participating in multiple tests and then being confirmed to race for Jenner Racing, scoring her first points in only the second race.
Last year, she also got seven wins in Porche Sprint Challenge North America and finished in 6th place overall. And, a fun fact — Chloe Chambers is also a holder of a Guinness World Record for Vehicle Slalom, doing it in 47.45 seconds.
Now, being supported not only by Haas F1 Team, but also for instance by American manufacturer of plastic products, Monoflo International, or MIR Raceline USA designing accessories and team wear for racing drivers, she’s on a path to make a name for herself in the sport. Involvement with F1 Academy gives her, and all the other female drivers, a unique opportunity to engage with a wider audience and possibly attract more sponsors and fans.
And she’s got to have some potential — after all, she was between the ten drivers out of sixteen who were selected by one of the F1 teams to represent them and drive their livery.
As we could see with Lia Block, representing Williams Racing in F1 Academy this year, attending the Good Morning America show alongside F1 driver Logan Sargeant, the teams are starting to get their ‘protégés’ more involved in marketing and public appearances. And that can be easily beneficial for both sides. Teams showing interest in the future of motorsport and giving equal chances to everyone, and the young drivers being more exposed to the world of already mentioned sponsors and fans.
It seems that’s something even Chloe Chambers realizes, talking about “a busy week for me with all the media activities”. She then adds there are “even some super cool new suits for this round”, explaining she doesn’t mind the full schedule because “I think that it really builds up the excitement for the race”. And it does!
On Friday, we’ll see two sessions of Free Practice and then on Saturday and Sunday, the home crowds can support Chambers in Qualifying and both races she’s got ahead of her. Will she make her own wish come true and get a podium finish? We’ll see. But if her previous performance is an indicator of anything, then it’s very much possible she’ll be in the fight this weekend.
