Written by Sophie Harvey, Edited by Meghana Sree
The 4th round of F1 Academy was finally upon us, taking to the banks of Circuit Zandvoort. As usual, it was hectic — from last-lap lunges to daring duels, there was never a dull moment. Let’s recap what happened in Holland, before we head to Singapore in September.
Headlines
Having taken an early summer break, let’s catch up on the recent developments in F1 Academy:
Nina Gademan would partner PREMA Racing as F1 Academy’s third wildcard driver of the year. The 20-year-old Dutchwoman was sponsored by media brand ‘Female Quotient’, sporting an exclusive livery to celebrate their collaboration with the series.
As part of the American Express ‘shop small’ initiative, Jessica Edgar’s striking blue livery will feature a local Dutch coffee store for this round only — Blue Zone Espresso.
Forming part of the biggest British F4 grid ever, a handful of drivers took to Zandvoort in a one-off appearance in the series. Edgar, Bianca Bustamante, Aurelia Nobels and Carrie Schreiner joined regular competitors Abbi Pulling and Gademan, hoping the extra track time would put them in good stead for this F1 Academy round. Did it pay off?
Qualifying
As predicted, qualifying was going to be a damp and drizzly event. Though, with conditions alike to the championship’s in-season testing, there was still competition to be had.
Amna Al Qubaisi was the rain’s first victim, sent into a spin across the track. Luckily, she managed to get going again.
Maya Weug found the top of the timing sheets with a 1:48.842 lap, 12 seconds off what it could be on a dry day. Having claimed to prefer the wet conditions, Pulling responded with three purple sectors, setting a 1:47.403.
Chloe Chambers and Bustamante narrowly missed the wall into Turn 3, the corner proving to be a tricky patch in these conditions. All hope was not lost yet though — with 17 minutes still on the clock, Williams’ Lia Block shot up to P2 as the rain began to ease.
There was a flurry of action in the pitlane as everyone bolted on a new set of tyres, before heading out once more. Pulling was still leading the pack, followed by rivals Block and Doriane Pin.
An impressive performance saw Gademan clinch P2, just 0.809s off Pulling. At this stage, it became apparent that Pulling was experiencing difficulties with her radio — “Just use the pitboard guys, just give me info on the pitboard,” she emphasised to her Rodin Motorsport crew.
With six minutes to go, the flag marshals were waving red — having narrowly missed the wall in an earlier lap, Bustamante had locked up her front left and unavoidably found the wall.
After craning away her Mclaren-liveried car, the session was back on track and quickly ticking down.
Setting the grid for Race 1, Pulling took her fifth consecutive pole position. A seemingly reformed Pin followed in P2, with Nerea Martí and home-hero Weug locking out the front two rows.
It was a high position for Nobels in P6, followed by our highest-qualifying wildcard driver Gademan and Haas’ Chambers. Block, Hamda Al Qubaisi, and Edgar rounded out the top-ten.
Race 1
It was an aborted start for our first race of the weekend, due to start Saturday evening. Whilst teams fitted wet tyres in a hurry, it was a waiting game. As fans and personnel alike danced in the rain, the conditions were just too severe for the race to commence.
Rescheduled to the following day, the race was shortened to 13 laps instead of 17.
As the lights went green, Pulling had another incredible start — ‘Pulling away’ from the pack immediately. It looked as if Martí had the edge over Mercedes’ Pin, but Pin held the inside line to continue in their qualifying positions.
A few places back, wildcard Gademan pushed ahead of Nobels to clinch P5. The screech of lockups were heard up and down the field, the track still cold as the PUMA-sponsored driver was pressured into a mistake.
Pulling had eked out a gap of eight-tenths in just the first lap, as false-start investigations began to roll in.
With ten laps still to go, the Alpine Academy member had reached a three second lead over Pin — the Parisian had wanted to close this gap, in hopes of counteracting an impending penalty.
Having slotted into formation, there weren't many lunges or attempts to pass from here on — knowing the next race starts in less than two hours, was the grid driving conservatively? With such little turnaround for repairs, a crash could put them out of Race 2.
Nearing the final lap, Hamda Al Qubaisi was still struggling to get a move done on Block. Jostling from side to side to find a gap, the Red Bull Junior managed to push past on the main straight, having been squeezed tight by the Williams’ Junior.
Somewhat predictably, Pulling crossed the line with an incredible four second lead. Pin followed her home, but was demoted to P5 after the penalty kicked in. Martí moved into a well-earnt second, with the podium rounded out by Dutchwoman Weug.
An astonishing drive saw Gademan take P4, narrowly missing out on a podium finish on debut as she rewrote F1 Academy history. Chambers took P6, with the Nobels and Al Qubaisi following suit.
Block settled for P9 after her last lap duel, with Schreiner rounding out the point-scorers.
Race 2
Determined by each driver’s second fastest lap, the order for Race 2 is always slightly shuffled — here, Pin leads off pole with Pulling close behind. Ferrari Academy duo, Weug and Nobels, both moved up a spot while Gademan remained in position.
A fantastic launch saw Pin lead into Turn 1, a poor start for Pulling saw Weug sail past her. However, Pulling was not going to give up without a fight — sitting right under the Weug’s gearbox, the Alpine Academy driver kept herself close.
At the start, a stall for Edgar saw her drop back whilst further ahead, contact sent Martí tumbling down the order.
Gademan continued her momentum from Race 1, applying the pressure to Nobels — caught unawares, the duo locked up. Allowing Hamda Al Qubaisi closer, it soon became a three-way fight for P4.
Further back, Bustamante was picking off drivers one by one. A quick fix from ART Grand Prix meant she was back on track, but the McLaren Junior was still on the backfoot from her qualifying crash.
As Pin went purple and set the session’s fastest lap, Pulling continued to hound Weug — her engineer emphasising she must pass the Ferrari Academy driver within two laps.
With ten laps to go, the fight between Hamda Al Qubaisi, Nobels, and Gademan was heating up — a lunge from the Female Quotient driver pushed Nobels off the track, skidding across the gravel.
Whilst it could have been a marvellous move, it left Nobels with nowhere to go and earnt Gademan a ten second penalty. Elsewhere, cameras cut to Emely De Heus and Amna Al Qubaisi side by side as the MP drivers took it down to the final laps.
Pin crossed the line with a lead of two seconds, taking her first win since Jeddah in utterly dominant fashion. Weug followed the Parisian home, with Pulling just three tenths behind to score a well-earnt points haul.
Gademan’s penalty demoted her from P4 to P10, adding a singular point to her tally. Hamda Al Qubaisi inherited the place, followed by Nobels and Schreiner. Lola Lovinfosse took P7 and Martí recovered her first-lap scuffle to P8, Tina Hausmann finishing just behind.
Driver’s Championship
In the standings, it’s clear Pulling is still the one to beat as she extends her lead further. Nevertheless, Pin has made up some lost ground — passing Chambers in the order, she has capitalised on a weaker weekend for the Haas’ driver. Weug moves up into P5, where Bustamante once sat after a fruitful weekend for the home-hero.
Abbi Pulling — 190 pts
Doriane Pin — 119 pts
Chloe Chambers — 89 pts
Nerea Martí — 85 pts
Maya Weug — 84 pts
Team’s Championship
Zandvoort has certainly been PREMA’s weekend, with all three drivers managing to score points. The Italian outfit has regained enough ground to surpass Campos Racing in the standings, now sitting just six points away from leaders Rodin Motorsport. ART Grand Prix and MP Motorsport remain fairly level on points, both teams struggling to make as much ground as their competitors.
Rodin Motorsport — 225 pts
PREMA Racing — 219 pts
Campos Racing — 192 pts
MP Motorsport — 92 pts
ART Grand Prix — 91 pts
So, what’s next?
F1 Academy will resume in Singapore on September 20th, before consecutive races at Lusail and Yas Island conclude the season. Having passed the midway point of the championship, the competition is now down to the wire.
If anything is certain, it will be a brilliant watch. Make sure you tune in!
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