Written by Sophie Harvey
After a long wait, F1 Academy returned in full force, at an all-new location for the series. While the Qatar weekend didn’t go exactly as planned, a champion was crowned and a marvelous victory took place. Let’s unpack what happened, before attention turns to the epic season finale in Abu Dhabi…
Title? Sealed. | Credit - F1 Academy
Headlines
From wildcards to new signings, the long break meant that there’s been plenty of developments in the F1 Academy circus.
Alisha Palmowski would join the grid as a wildcard driver, partnering PREMA Racing for this round only. The GB4 Vice Champion topped sessions in the mid-season test, so the pressure was on for the 18-year-old Brit.
After failing to outscore Doriane Pin by enough points in Singapore, Abbi Pulling had another chance to clinch the title in Qatar — if the Alpine driver could outscore her Mercedes rival by 18 points, the championship was hers.
A mass of driver announcements have narrated the past weeks, as the 2025 grid begins to formulate. Names include McLaren Academy driver Ella Lloyd, and Haas’ Courtney Crone who will be joining full-time in the coming season. Alba Hurup Larsen will represent Tommy Hilfiger.
This was F1 Academy’s first visit to Lusail International Circuit, and it won’t be their last | Credit - F1 Academy
Qualifying
Delays began to impact F1 Academy’s race weekend from the very start, with qualifying occurring slightly later due to barrier repairs.
With 23 minutes on the clock, the all-female grid peeled out of the pits to set their installation laps and attempt to conquer the quickly-evolving track.
It was Mercedes’ Pin who set the initial benchmark, a respectable 1:55.998. Though, she was quickly beaten by PREMA Racing teammate Maya Weug.
While the two jostled back and forth at the top of the timing sheets, championship leader Abbi Pulling was beginning to struggle. Frustrated radio messages were heard from the Brit, as she pitted to bleed her tyres.
Towards the end of the session, more and more drivers were slipping up — Barcelona race-winner Chloe Chambers was one of them, making a rare misjudgment by sliding through the gravel trap. Lia Block was pictured spinning off the tarmac, whilst Bianca Bustamante lost the rear of her McLaren liveried car into Turn 13.
A blisteringly fast and precise lap from Pin set the Parisian on pole for both races, clocking 1:55.267. Weug, who had felt ill throughout the Qatar weekend, slotted in behind.
Pulling’s best effort earned P3, a top-three position but her poorest qualifying result of the season — understandably, the Brit was left slightly deflated.
A marvellous qualifying from Block set her P4, as Hamda Al Qubaisi and wildcard Alisha Palmowski slotted in behind her. Tommy Hilfiger’s Nerea Martí lined up P7, followed by Bustamante despite her late spin.
The top-ten was rounded out by Aurelia Nobels and Jessica Edgar, ready to duel under the Lusail lights.
The grid for Race 1 | Credit - F1 Academy
Race 1
As Qatar neared midnight, the lights went out for F1 Academy’s penultimate round.
Having started from pole, it was Pin who got an incredible start off the line — having left Weug behind, Pulling was ready to pounce.
The Alpine driver stuck her elbows out, slotting in between the leading duo and deliberately missing the apex in defence. Weug tried her best to reclaim P2, but Pulling proved relentless.
By lap three, Pin was setting consecutive fastest laps and had pulled out a 1.5s gap from her title rival.
Elsewhere, Bustamante’s luck continued to diminish. Running off the track into Turn 12, a tailwind and a snap of oversteer left her fighting the car.
Chambers was on a charge — having pulled off two epic overtakes on lap 1, the American was gaining momentum and driving further into the top-ten.
Though, tragedy soon struck for her and Tina Hausmann. Each were dealt 5-second penalties for false starts.
Turning our attention back to the front of the grid, Pulling’s engineer was offering words of motivation. Telling her to “just bring it home,” the news Weug was over four seconds behind her would have been a reassuring insight.
Pin led a lights-to-flag finish to secure her third victory of the season. In P2, Pulling did in fact ‘bring it home’ while Weug completed the podium once more.
Pin was more than happy with her result, celebrating in style | Credit - F1 Academy
Red Bull’s Hamda Al Qubaisi clung onto P4, narrowly missing out on another podium finish. A perfect drive from wildcard Palmowski saw her finish P5, scoring points on debut.
Block and Jessica Edgar followed the Brit across the line, with Chambers penalty demoting her out of the points. Martí, Nobels and Emely De Heus rounded out the top-ten.
While Pin won in glorious fashion, the victory was overshadowed by Pulling’s immense title win — a championship rightly deserved and fought, with the Alpine driver finishing on the podium for every race so far and tallying up an incredible seven wins, she has done nothing but dominate.
Becoming the second ever F1 Academy Champion, Pulling celebrated in style and was quick to thank her team, family and F1 Academy leadership themselves. Her reward is a fully-funded season in GB3, coming as a huge relief to the young racer:
“It’s just everything that I wanted. It’s amazing being Champion, but it's all about next year for me. It's a big relief off of my shoulders and I've worked so hard for this.”
“The team have worked so hard for this and they deserve it so much,” she explained. “They’ve done everything that we’ve needed this year, they’ve given me everything that I’ve needed to do this.”
“I keep saying it but I’m going to say it again, I had no option, I had to win!
Your F1 Academy Champion, 2024 | Credit - F1 Academy
Race 2
While Pin was eyeing up another victory and Pulling was hoping to continue her momentum, Qatar’s second race was cancelled due to barrier damage sustained earlier in the day. The race could not be rescheduled, cutting the F1 Academy weekend short.
No points were dealt, but Pin was still rewarded with two points for pole position.
Driver’s Championship
First-place in the Driver’s Championship is officially sealed, and it has Abbi Pulling’s name written all over it. A maximum of 56 points are available per driver, per weekend, so Pin’s P2 slot is fairly secure too.
Martí successfully surpassed Chambers for P4, but Chambers is still only two points behind — will this stick in Abu Dhabi?
Abbi Pulling — 263 pts
Doriane Pin — 180 pts
Maya Weug — 135 pts
Nerea Martí — 105 pts
Chloe Chambers — 103 pts
Team’s Championship
PREMA Racing have sped off with the constructors title in Qatar, the gap between them and Rodin Motorsport growing ever bigger.
Further down the standings, Campos are cemented in the midfield — too far away to reach Rodin Motorsport, but securely out of ART Grand Prix and MP Motorsport’s reach. ART and MP will fight into the last round, separated by just three points as it stands.
PREMA Racing— 332 pts
Rodin Motorsport— 304 pts
Campos Racing — 232 pts
ART Grand Prix— 125 pts
MP Motorsport — 122 pts
So, what’s next?
Next up, Abu Dhabi. Whilst F1 Academy fans are used to long waits between races, our season finale comes as soon as next week.
With a Team’s Championship still to be sealed and plenty of points up for grabs, the fight is still far from over. It will be a spectacle, so make sure you tune in!
Kommentare