It was an eventful opening two races for the F1 Academy season as a dominant Doriane Pin was handed a penalty to deny her two race wins.
The Mercedes backed French driver was handed a 20 second penalty for crossing the chequered flag twice and completing two laps at full speed.
This was originally a drive through penalty but was converted to a 20 second penalty as she could not serve it in the race.
This gave Brit and Alpine supported driver Abbi Pulling her first F1 Academy win.
Cumbria’s Jessica Edgar suffered a puncture in the first race while taking fifth in the second.
Race One
After qualifying on pole Pin Following an extra formation lap, Pin nailed a textbook getaway at lights out to lead comfortably into Turn 1 from Pulling and Weug. Charlotte Tilbury’s Lola Lovinfosse managed to get the better of Bianca Bustamante off the line, demoting the McLaren driver to sixth.
After starting eighth, Chloe Chambers quickly made up ground, finding her way past Lia Block on Lap 2. Immediately piling the pressure on the second ART Grand Prix car of Bustamante, the Haas driver forced her into an error, allowing her to slip up the inside of Turn 1 at the start of the next lap.
Tina Hausmann, Aurelia Nobels and Jessica Edgar went three-wide down into Turn 1, but it was the Aston Martin car of Hausmann that emerged in front in ninth.
Out front, Pin’s 1.2 second lead evaporated at the appearance of the Safety Car on Lap 3. A nudge from Amna Al Qubaisi at Turn 4 sent Reema Juffali into a spin, but both were able to pit and rejoin the race.
Tasked with getting racing back underway into Lap 5, Pin slowed the pack right down, catching Pulling unawares, as she bolted down the main straight to start building a seven-tenths gap.
That allowed Weug to nose in for a move on Pulling, but the Ferrari driver couldn’t find the room.
Block was forced to go on the defensive, being hunted down by Hausmann. The pair both locked up, going deep out of the final corner and gifting Cumbria’s Jessica Edgar the chance to sneak her way through to eighth.
Unfortunately, contact with Hausmann’s front with left the #17 Rodin Motorsport car with a right rear puncture.
In the battle for the final points-paying position, Hamda Al Qubaisi got a good run on Nobels down into the final corner, but the PUMA driver defended hard.
A mistake on the next lap gave Al Qubaisi the benefit of the slipstream to send a move down the inside of Turn 27, but the MP Motorsport ran wide at the opening chicane and had to let the Brazilian back through.
Block’s race unravelled on the penultimate lap. Comfortably in eighth, the Williams driver bounced over the kerb and spun into the barrier as she tried to close in on teammate Bustamante.
In the fight for fourth, Lovinfosse tried a look around the outside of Nerea Martí down to Turn 1, but clipped the rear of the Tommy Hilfiger car and sent her into a spin.
Despite leading the race, Pin was not fully satisfied as she tried to wrestle the fastest lap point away from Pulling on the final lap.
However, she couldn’t quite get the clean sweep, taking the victory by 0.848s to Pulling.
Weug ensured a 1-3 finish for PREMA Racing ahead of Chambers and Lovinfosse.
Bustamante recovered from an opening lap puncture scare for sixth ahead of Hausmann, Nobels and Al Qubaisi, with Carrie Schreiner promoted to the final points-paying position in tenth.
Race Two
A second impressive display from Pin end in disaster as she completed another two laps at race pace after the checkered flag to end up with a 20 second penalty and ninth place.
Pin was not the only driver to be punished after the race as Amna Al Qubaisi was given a five second penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage as she overtook Aurelia Nobles and Lola Lovinfosse was given a five place penalty for the next race after causing the collision between herself and Lia Block.
At the start of the race Pin immediately pulled to the left at lights out to cover off Pulling, who kept close within her tow. Just behind, Nerea Martí was on the attack, slipping past Lola Lovinfosse into Turn 2.
The Charlotte Tilbury driver instantly had to go in the defensive as her and Chloe Chambers went side-by-side through Turns 6, 7 and 8.
The Haas driver emerged out in front after going over the run-off and earned a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Lovinfosse repaid the favour two laps later, gliding past with the slipstream. However, Chambers locked up into the first corner, knocking the French driver into a spin.
Unable to avoid, Lia Block made contact with the #3, necessitating a Safety Car. The Williams driver was able to continue after a nosecone change, with Lovinfosse retiring.
With the field bunched together on the restart, Pulling attempted to find her way through on Pin on the short-lived return to Green Flag racing.
Fighting over the final point, Carrie Schreiner was sent into a spin whilst battling with Emely de Heus. Forced to take avoiding action, Reema Juffali found the barriers, requiring another Safety Car intervention.
Pulling was waiting to pounce on the Lap 10 restart. Despite Pin going early into the final corner, the Alpine driver caught on and stayed with her down the main straight. Weug found herself vulnerable to Martí, as the Tommy Hilfiger driver risked a move, but couldn’t make the corner.
Amna Al Qubaisi had already climbed up the order from 14th on the grid to eighth but had Bianca Bustamante close on her tail. In her defence at Turn 1, the Visa Cash App RB driver bounced over the kerb and clipped the rear wing of Aurelia Nobels ahead, forcing the PUMA driver to retire with damage.
Recovering from her earlier contact, Block found herself back within the points in seventh. Sandwiched between the Al Qubaisi sisters, the #57 ART Grand Prix car lost out to Amna but kept Hamda at bay.
Out front, Pin set out to earn the grand slam she was denied in Race 1, taking the fastest lap away from Pulling on her final attempt.
The PREMA Racing driver took the chequered flag by 1.9s ahead of the Briton and Weug.
Martí got her first points of the season on the board in fourth, whilst Jessica Edgar kept out of trouble for fifth. Amna Al Qubaisi will be satisfied with P6 ahead of Hamda Al Qubaisi.
Bustamante dropped one place to eighth after receiving a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Schreiner recovered to ninth for Kick Sauber, as Chambers took the final point in P10, demoted from P6 due to a second penalty of 10 seconds for causing a collision with Lovinfosse.
Block fell out of the points from P9 to P11 after two five-second penalties for a false start and speeding in the pitlane.
What’s Next
Round Two has the F1 Academy rolling into Miami, USA on May 3-5 for the next two races in the series.
Drivers Championship
- Abbi Pulling (Apline/Rodin Motorsport) – 44
- Maya Weug (Ferrari/Prema Racing) – 33
- Doriane Pin (Mercedes/Prema Racing) – 32
- Bianca Bustamante (McLaren/Art Grand Prix) – 18
- Nerea Marti (Tommy Hilfiger/Campos Racing) – 15
- Chloe Chambers (Haas/Campos Racing) – 13
- Jessica Edgar (F1 Academy/Rodin Motorsport) – 13
- Hamda Al Qubaisi (Red Bull/MP Motorsport) – 12
- Tina Hausmann (Aston Martin/Prema Racing) – 8
- Carrie Schreiner (Kick Sauber/Campos Racing) – 7
- Aurelia Nobles (Puma/Art Grand Prix) – 6
- Amna Al Qubaisi (RB/MP Motorsport) – 4
- Lola Lovinfosse (Charlotte Tilbury/Rodin Motorsport) – 4
- Reema Juffali (F1 Academy/Prema Racing) – 0
- Lia Block (Williams/Art Grand Prix) – 0
- Emily De Heus (Reb Bull/MP Motorsport) – 0
Constructors Championship
- Prema Racing – 73
- Rodin Motorsport – 60
- Campos Racing – 35
- Art Grand Prix – 24
- MP Motorsport – 16
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