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INTRODUCING CHLOE CHAMBERS: The Haas driver on breaking world records and why she’s sticking with her pre-race superstitions
Besides being Haas’ first podium finisher, who is Chloe Chambers? Well, we’re about to find out!
Ahead of the 2024 F1 ACADEMY season resuming in Barcelona, we got to know the American driver a little better as she detailed her love of crepes, her experience racing in the Southern Hemisphere and her dream of hitting the track with a seven-time Formula 1 World Champion.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN RACING CARS FOR?
“I’ve been racing cars since 2021, so this will be my fourth year.”
DO YOU REMEMBER THE MOMENT YOU FIRST WANTED TO BE A PROFESSIONAL RACER?
“It sounds a little cliché, but when I first drove a go-kart, I knew that it was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Obviously, you’re young so you don’t make super rational decisions, but I think that’s where I was really like this is it.”
WHERE IS YOUR FAVOURITE CIRCUIT AND WHY?
“My favourite circuit is not on the F1 calendar at all, it’s Highlands Motorsport Park in New Zealand. The track has a tonne of character, there’s a part where you go over a bridge. It’s close to Queenstown, it’s like 40 minutes to an hour from there, so it’s in a really, really nice location. It’s on the South Island, so during the summer the weather is really nice and it’s just got everything that you could want.”
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE CHEAT MEAL?
“I really like ice cream, I like crepes — I like crepes with Nutella on them. That’s what I’ve been eating a lot of, when I was in London it was so bad. I was like I need to take my card from me! I could live in England because my dad is British, so I have a bunch of friends there, but I would not return to racing. They would have to kick me out because I would get too fat eating stuff, it’s so bad.”
DESCRIBE YOUR PRE-RACE RITUAL AND DO YOU HAVE ANY SUPERSTITIONS?
“I do have little superstitions like I always put my left glove on first and I always get in from the left side of the car. I don't know why, but I just do. I think mainly it all started because in go-karts I would forget stuff and so I got into the habit of doing something, making sure I do it the same each time so I can't forget anything. I think that’s where it started, but at this point I don't want to change it.
“For race rituals, I don't really have a set thing that I do, but I do like to relax and not do a whole lot mentally. I do a general warm-up, I would consider it a light warm-up, but I don't really like to do much. Honestly, I never really do a warm-up, like sometimes if I feel it’s necessary I will, but I don’t do it every time I get in the car.”
WHAT’S THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR?
“Other than driving in F1 ACADEMY this year with Haas, I would say winning in New Zealand in Formula Regional. That was probably the highest accomplishment that I have done in racing — I was only the second female in the world to win in Formula Regional.
“It was a really cool experience racing in New Zealand in general, but also getting a win whilst I was there. Honestly, I would go back even if I wasn’t racing. It’s at that time of the year where the weather’s bad everywhere else and also the country is so nice. Everything is super beautiful, there are lots of things to do outside of the racetrack.”
READ MORE: The 2024 F1 ACADEMY season so far: The year’s early storylines and what to watch for now
WHAT THREE WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
“Fast and I’d say a quicker learner. Quick-learner so it’s one word and mildly funny, I hope.”
IS THERE A FACT ABOUT YOU THAT OTHER PEOPLE MIGHT NOT KNOW?
“I hold the Guinness World Record for the fastest vehicle slalom, but I don't know if that's super unknown. I still have it too, nobody’s broken it. You can only beat it once, you can’t go and beat yourself, so right after I did it, I said I wanted someone to beat it because I know I can go quicker than what I did, but I need to wait until somebody else does.”
WHAT DOES RACING FEEL LIKE TO YOU?
“Racing is so hard to describe in a way where people can understand it. It's very competitive and I think that's the part that I like most about it. I've always enjoyed like racing sports. I started off competitively swimming. I made my rounds with soccer and all those other kinds of sports, but it was always a racing sport that I liked.
“Originally, it was swimming and then I got into a go-kart and that was even better because the adrenaline when you’re driving is so much more than when you’re swimming, so that’s what I really fell in love with. I took to it pretty quickly. A lot of people go into it and they think way too much about it, but I had grown up watching Formula 1, so I kind of understood basic things. I ended up taking to driving really quickly, it’s just crazy.”
WHAT’S YOUR RACING NUMBER THIS YEAR AND WHY DID YOU PICK IT?
“My race number is 14. I picked it because I’ve used the number previously in go-karts and my birthday is June 14th, so I originally chose it for my birthday. Coincidentally, this year I signed with A14 Management, which is Fernando Alonso’s management, and he is number 14 as well so it all really ties in.”
IF YOU HAD A DINNER PARTY WITH THREE GUESTS FROM THE 2024 GRID, WHO WOULD YOU PICK AND WHY?
“My two teammates (Nerea Martí and Carrie Schreiner) because they’re my teammates and Lia (Block) because she’s also American, so we can have something to bond over. I like Tex-Mex and I like BBQ. There’s this one BBQ place near the track in Austin and it’s really good.”
WHAT SONGS ARE ON YOUR RACE WEEKEND PLAYLIST?
“Most of my songs are pretty chill music, but the one that I really like the most is The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani. My playlist is really crazy, I don’t have an actual theme before a race. I like listening to more chill music, but every so often a random country song will come on.”
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IF YOU COULD RACE AGAINST ONE DRIVER PAST OR PRESENT, WHO WOULD IT BE?
“Lewis Hamilton because I grew up watching him in Formula 1. When I was really young and first watching Formula 1, I knew nothing about it at the time, but I liked him because I liked the old McLaren in all chrome and his yellow helmet. It would be a full circle kind of thing. Also, I was on David Letterman’s My Guest Needs No Introduction a few years ago and he was on that. They took us to a go-kart track, but he wasn’t there, so I was like ‘no, I’m not going to be able to race him'. It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”
WHAT IS YOUR AMBITION FOR THE 2024 SEASON?
“My ambition for this year is really to learn. It’s my first year in the series and I haven’t raced the majority of these drivers before, so I can't really come in and say ‘oh, I'm going to win’. Obviously, I have an idea from testing, but it's all so difficult to say and to confine yourself to a position. So, my goal always is to do as well as I can and do as well as my potential allows me to, which I think this year can be a win.
“I'm looking to really develop myself this year. Being on the F1 calendar with the support of the F1 teams and having so much racing this year and testing, I think this year is like a really big year for development. All the other 14 girls want to win too and there can only be one winner, so it's hard to say my goal this year is just to win because it's not always going to happen.”