ASTON MARTIN F1 team have signed up James Bond stunt driver, Jessica Hawkins, as driver ambassador.
Hawkins, who had a successful karting career as a junior and raced against Red Bull’s Alex Albon, currently competes in the all-women W Series championship that will be on the schedule of seven F1 races in 2021.
And the 26-year-old is also a stunt driver, working on a number of movies and the Fast and the Furious live shows.
She said: “I enjoy sending cars sideways as much as I enjoy racing, so as soon as I get the opportunity, I will be doing that in an Aston Martin.
“I am heavily anticipating the new James Bond movie and cannot wait to see it. I cannot say too much about the film, but I can say that not all the cars made it out alive!
“We filmed a jump which was about 30 metres long. It felt like I was as high as it was long.
“As soon as I hit the jump, all I could see was the grey sky and all I could think was ‘this is going to hurt!’ but luckily it didn’t, which was good because we did it eight times.
“In a Bond movie, everyone expects the stunts to be incredible, and that is what I was trying to deliver each time and I hope that everybody enjoys them.”
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The racer from Poole will work alongside the team’s driver pairing of Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel and reserve driver, Nico Hulkenberg.
It is expected she will work with the team’s development and simulator roles in a similar move to fellow W Series racer, Jamie Chadwick, who is at the Williams F1 team.
Hawkins added: “Jamie has been at Williams for a few years and I am taking my first steps with Aston Martin.
“If others follow suit then great. I am big on women in motorsport and believe women deserve as many breaks as men do.
“If I can be a woman that helps to change motorsport, that would be amazing.
“In black and white, W Series has given me an opportunity and without them I would not have been racing in 2019. It really has been a second chance for me.”
Hawkins has been a junior karting champion, has raced in Formula Ford, Formula 4, the British Touring Car Championship, the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy, and the Mini Challenge UK Pro Class.
Aston Martin team boss, Otmar Szafnauer, added: “We are delighted to welcome Jessica as the team’s new driver ambassador.
“She has not had it easy in her racing career so far, always having to fight for drives as all young drivers do, especially young women, and her determination to beat the odds is as obvious as it is admirable.
“We are sure that Jessica will work very well with everyone in our team, across a variety of disciplines, both at Grands Prix and in between them, and also with our many partners.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
