Written by Maria Rodriguez, Edited by Tarun Suresh
Round 3 at Barcelona for F1 Academy proved to be a stellar weekend for the 20-year-old Chloe Chambers who had maintained an incredible performance all weekend. She started both races from the front row in P2, and in race 1 she had a podium finish, and more impressively, in race 2 she achieved her maiden win.
Chambers, who races with Campos Racing in F1 Academy with support from Haas, gave rise to them on the podium twice this weekend. Her maiden win also made it the first time Haas appeared at the podium’s top step.
After the results from this weekend, she is tied with Doraine Pin with 81 points. Pulling leads the championship with 147 points, 66 points ahead of Pin and Chambers.
Race 1
Chambers found herself behind Abbi Pulling after qualifying. Making it the first time she would start from the front row. It would be no easy feat to overtake Pulling, who has had consecutive wins throughout Miami and only missed out on the fastest lap 1.
Although Pulling was able to race into the distance, Chambers was challenged by Nerea Marti, where she fell victim to a minor contact. The incident caused Chambers to fall to 3rd place in the race.
She did not back down from challenging her teammate Marti to regain the starting position in the race. Chambers kept her teammate near, but she had a new challenge behind her, Bianca Bustamante.
It was a close distance with Marti ahead of Chloe Chambers and Bustamante behind her throughout the race. Although Chambers was not able to regain her second place, she did not back down from Bustamante who was within earshot by the final lap. Her performance never faltered and it was showcased through her driving in the race.
Chambers may not have been able to finish in P2 where she had started, but she was still stepping on the podium. She still had another chance to show her skills on track for the second race of the weekend where she would start from the front row.
Race 2
Starting behind Abbi Pulling once again and with a rough start in the first race, Chloe Chambers was still determined to take her maiden win. She took the opportunity immediately into the second race.
Once the drivers headed into turn 1, Chambers overtook Pulling for the lead of the race. From there, it was a drive to victory.
Chamber pulled off the win with ease, quickly building an advantage over her opponents within a few laps into the race. Her race pace was unrivalled and she crossed the checkered flag with a 6.6-second advantage.
An emotional first win for Chambers and everyone around her showed how much it meant. Additionally what it means for Haas as a team that has never won a race before.
Chambers stepped on the top step of the podium to receive the trophy and hear the Star-Spangled Banner, her and the team’s national anthem. She described this moment on her social media as “An amazing moment standing on the top step and hearing the Star Spangled Banner being played.”
This may be Chloe Chambers’ first win, but it certainly will not be the last time we see her win. She shares with Motorsport Week, “Abbi’s got quite a gap to second place, but I’m kind of chipping away at it one by one, just kind of continuing with this momentum and seeing where we end up.”
The Barcelona race weekend proved that Chloe Chambers is not backing down from the championship and she will continue to rise through the standings. She showed her exceptional racing skills and pace that will create a challenge for her fellow competitors in F1 Academy.
Round 4 of F1 Academy’s season will take place in Zandvoort during the weekend of August 23rd through the 25th.