‘People weren’t expecting me to be running at the front’ - Chambers on her 2025 growth and becoming a title contender

Before the cars first hit the track in Shanghai, some might have questioned the idea of Chloe Chambers becoming one of the 2025 season’s title contenders. However, for the American herself, it’s not surprising — it’s exactly where she belongs.

Last year, Chambers put together a solid rookie campaign. Reaching the podium on four occasions, including one win, she finished sixth overall in the Drivers’ Standings.

Remaining with Campos Racing this season, but representing Red Bull Ford, the benefits of that continuity are not to be underestimated. Chambers has already beaten her podium tally with three rounds to go. With one win and four further podiums under her belt, the 21-year-old is firmly in the title hunt as Doriane Pin’s nearest rival, only 20 points behind the series leader.

It’s a last shot she can’t afford not to take. As her second and final F1 ACADEMY season reaches the home straight, Chambers knows what’s at stake. Determined to claw back ground and bring the fight down to the wire, she isn’t here to be a supporting character in the title story, Chambers is looking to be its leading protagonist.

“The first half of the year has gone well,” she says, during a moment of calm following in-season testing. “I think I had some misfortunes here and there. I definitely had the possibility to be leading the Standings right now, so it's a little bit disappointing to not be leading and to have that point deficit.

“With three rounds still left and the pace that we've shown so far this year, there's definitely a good chance that we'll be able to make it up and then head into the last round in the fight for the title.

“It'd be really cool to win the title at home in Vegas! I'm just keeping my spirits high, working on each race weekend as its own and trying to maximize everything each weekend.”

When you compare the two campaigns, Chambers has been undoubtedly quicker and all around more competitive in 2025. Although Campos sit 27 points behind leaders PREMA Racing, the Red Bull Ford driver has been responsible for over half of their 151-point tally.

READ MORE: ZANDVOORT PREVIEW: Talking points ahead of Round 5

Certainly her points haul could have been even stronger considering the win she lost out on in Jeddah Race 2 after receiving a five-second time penalty for forcing Maya Weug off the track. Montreal also didn’t deliver the results she would have expected. Contact from teammate Alisha Palmowski in Race 1 denied her a chance at bringing home a lights-to-flag victory, whilst an ambitious move on Pin for fourth in Race 3 cost her a solid result.

If events had gone her way, Chambers could have been looking at a nine-point deficit as opposed to a 20-point one.

Nevertheless, the 21-year-old’s one lap pace has been the class of the field, giving her the consistency that 2024 often lacked. Last year, she made the top five in Qualifying on only five occasions out of 15, three of which were at the season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit.

By contrast, Chambers has scored three consecutive pole positions and the extra six points she has garnered could make all the difference if the margins close in even further.

“My biggest strength has been my Qualifying performance,” she summarises. “As a whole, my race performances have been good. In the races, there are some external factors that play into some of my results, but I think overall the pace I’ve shown this year has been much better than last year. I think that’s where I’ve really grown a lot.

READ MORE: ZANDVOORT PREVIEW: Talking points ahead of Round 5

“Coming into this year, people weren’t expecting me to be running at the front again. Last year, I had little spurts of running at the front and being quick, but this year I’ve been way more consistent with it and I think that’s what has put me into P2 in Standings.”

This weekend in Zandvoort presents the best opportunity to test how far Chambers has grown. The Dutch circuit hasn’t suited her well in the past, with P6 and P12 finishes there last season.

Yet it's a hurdle she seems to have overcome in testing. Three top-three times across testing last month have reassured her that her pace hasn’t drastically tailed off.

Although the final six races last year saw Chambers score one solitary podium, Chambers is firm in her belief that this weekend won’t be the start of events repeating themselves.

“I came into the test just wanting to improve on what I did last year,” she notes. “This is one of my weaker rounds and weaker tracks last year, so as long as I showed improvement and was able to be somewhat on the pace I would have been happy. But to be up at the front was definitely a good feeling and I’m feeling way better now going into race weekend.”

Pushed on why she thinks the circuit has proved tricky for her in the past, Chambers notes: “The nature of the track and what is needed to maximize each corner is a little bit different to what my driving style naturally gravitates to.

“Even still this week, while I was quick in all the sessions, I still had to work a lot on adapting my driving to what the track needed. With the trickier conditions yesterday with the track being in not as good shape, I think that definitely was a good experience to get all of that out of the way before the race weekend.”