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Chloe Chambers took her maiden pole position in F1 Academy qualifying for the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP ahead of Doriane Pin and Maya Weug.
After some previous testing and one practice session, the F1 Academy grid was ready to qualify for both races in Saudi Arabia. The top eight will be reversed for Race 1, while the field will start in the original qualification order for Race 2.
Nina Gademan had a rough crash in testing. She still took part in the session, but she injured her back as a result of the incident.
As It Happened
Almost every driver left the pits as qualifying began, eager to get some laps on the board. After practicing during the day in Jeddah, the track conditions were much different under the lights during qualifying. Ella Lloyd was among the first to set a flying lap, locking up in multiple corners as she struggled to get to grips with the track.
Ferrari junior Maya Weug was flying on her first representative lap. Her laptime, a 2:05.827, set the pace early on almost five tenths faster than second place Ella Lloyd.
Red Flag
Lia Block was in the walls seven minutes into the session after reporting she was struggling with grip. The incident, very similar to Yuki Tsunoda’s in F1 FP2, brought out the red flag. Very few drivers had set representative times before the session was interrupted. Block will start from the back of the grid for both races.
The session restarted after the marshalls cleared Block’s car, and every car was out on track to set a lap. Palmowski started a flying lap, but she was struggling with the car. Lloyd set a purple first sector in her attempt to beat Weug’s time, but Weug set a purple second sector. The two drivers were neck-and-neck at this point in the session. Weug beat Lloyd to provisional pole by half a tenth as the rest of the field set flying laps.
Doriane Pin was struggling for grip after winning last time out in Shanghai. The times were tumbling as every driver on the grid continued to set more fast laps. Chloe Chambers jumped to P1 with a 2:05.158 as Weug, Lloyd, and half of the field pit.
The Final Ten Minutes
Ella Lloyd was back out on track with ten minutes to go in the session. She set a lap time quick enough for third, but Palmowski and Chambers were still faster in front. Chloe Chambers improved on her time with a 2:04.955.
Alisha Palmowski set a purple first sector as she aimed for provisional pole, but she was six hundredths of a second short of Chambers’ time. She started another lap, determined to improve. Palmowski took provisional pole from Chambers, but Doriane Pin jumped up to P1 after struggling during the majority of the session.
Maya Weug was trying to respond to these fast laps, going wide but staying on track. The mistake cost her, and her lap was only good enough for fourth. Larsen set the fastest final sector, knocking Weug down to fifth.
Chloe Chambers took provisional pole back from Pin by over two tenths of a second as the times were tumbling every second. Weug and Lloyd, who were dominating earlier in the session, struggled to find time in the last few minutes.
Everyone was trying to improve on their last laps, but no one had the pace of Chloe Chambers. Weug improved to third place ahead of Alisha Palmowski, who flew over the curb and had to back out of her lap.
Chloe Chambers took her maiden pole position ahead of Doriane Pin and Maya Weug in F1 Academy qualifying for the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP. Emma Felbermayr will start on reverse grid pole for Race 1.
Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
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Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1‘ at checkout.