Doriane Pin has won the opening race of the 2024 F1 Academy season after topping the timesheets in Qualifying to gain double pole positions for the opening weekend’s two races in Saudi Arabia. Alpine’s Abbi Pulling came in second (+0.848) while Ferrari junior Maya Weug finished third (+6.070) at the Jeddah Corniche circuit.
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After an additional formation lap, Pin got away fast enough to leave Pulling and Weug behind at Turn 1. It was here where Charlotte Tilbury’s Lola Lovinfosse shot past Mclaren’s Bianca Bustamante, moving their places around.
Wild Cards Wild Spin
Visa Cash App RB’s Amna Al Qubaisi sent Wild Card entry Reema Juffali into a spin at Turn 4. Both were able to pit and re-join the race with no extensive damage. This marked the arrival of a Safety Car on Lap 3 where Pin began to slow the group down up until Lap 5 where she restarted the race. A clever move saw the Mercedes junior catch Pulling unaware as she bolted down the straight to build a seven-tenths gap. This allowed Weug to attempt an overtake on Pulling, but she could not find the room.
On the penultimate lap, Williams’ Lia Block sat comfortably in eighth as she chased down ART teammate Bustamante. Block bounced over the curb and spun into the barrier, damaging what had been an impressive race for the newcomer.
Elsewhere, in the fight for fourth, Lovinfosse clipped the rear of Tommy Hilfiger’s Nerea Martí and sent her into a spin, effectively her race was over. Martí finished 14th.
Leading the race was not enough for Pin who aimed to take the fastest lap away from Pulling on the final lap. However, this was not to be as Pulling gained the fastest lap by two hundredths of a second.
F1 Academy Saudi Arabia Race 1:
- Doriane Pin (Prema – Mercedes)
- Abbi Pulling (Rodin Motorsport – Alpine)
- Maya Weug (Prema – Ferrari)
- Chloe Chambers (Campos – Haas)
- Bianca Bustamante (ART – McLaren)
- Tina Hausmann (Prema – Aston Martin)
- Aurelia Nobels (ART – PUMA)
- Lola Lovinfosse (Rodin Motorsport – Charlotte Tilbury)
- Hamda Al Qubaisi (MP – Red Bull Racing)
- Carrie Schreiner (Campos – Kick Sauber)
- Reema Juffali (Prema – Wildcard Entry)
- Emely de Heus (MP – Red Bull Ford)
- Amna Al Qubaisi (MP – Visa Cash App RB)
- Nerea Martí (Campos – Tommy Hilfiger)
- Jessica Edgar (Rodin Motorsport)
- Lia Block (ART – Williams)
The Mercedes junior leads the championship for Prema with 25 points, plus an additional 2 for her double Pirelli Pole Position.
She was asked at the Winners Conference to share a piece of advice for girls who wish to drive in F1 Academy and other related Motorsport series’ in the future. Pin responded ‘I think when you have something in mind and what you, when you love something, you should go for it and follow your dream because doing something that you love, it’s, you’re enjoying that every day and even if [there are] bad days, you’re learning about it and if [there are] good days you’re enjoying even more.’
She continued ‘And yeah, I think if you’re showing that you’re good and hard worker you can prove that you have determination and you will find opportunities and, and create your and write your own story.’
You can watch the second F1 Academy Saudi Arabia race 2 tomorrow, Saturday 9 March, from 15:05 local time. Pin is on pole again with Pulling and Weug behind in second and third.
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Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images