JAMIE CHADWICK believes motorsport can afford to be patient in its bid to end the long wait for a female Formula One driver.

The former three-time W-Series champion thinks the raft of talented young drivers coming through shows that the wider aim of increasing female participation is working.

Abbi Pulling, 21, has made no secret of her desire to be the first female F1 driver since 1976 after winning the second season of the all-female F1 Academy last year and earning herself a fully-funded seat in GB3.