Rodin Motorsport’s Abbi Pulling went two-for-two P1 positions in the F1 Academy sessions today, topping the times in Practice 2 at the 2024 Dutch GP.
PREMA’s Maya Weug, at her home GP weekend, classified in P2 just tenth off the pace. Hamda Al Qubaisi, having won at Zandvoort last year, finished in P3 for MP Motorsport. McLaren Junior Bianca Bustamante, however, had a less-than-perfect session. Heading back out on track after suspected gearbox issues, a snap of oversteer on a flying lap sent the MP into the gravel and out of the rest of the session. Bustamante was then noted by the stewards for failing to reattach her steering wheel properly after exiting the car. The incident will be investigated after the conclusion of the session.
As it Happened
The first lap of the session was posted by Chloe Chambers with a 1:43.037, keen to get back out onto the Zandvoort track ahead of the weekend’s racing. The American driver then embarked on a flying lap, shaving a few seconds off her time to post a 1:38.696. Nerea Martí was close behind her with a 1:38.737, sitting P4 in the Championship just behind Chambers.
Drivers were certainly more keen to get out on track than they were in Practice 1, where a lot of drivers remained in the pits for almost half of the session. With just over 30 minutes to go, all 16 drivers were on track to gather data.
Trouble was brewing for Bianca Bustamante, who appeared to have gearshift problems as the clock hit the 30-minute mark. The McLaren Junior headed back into the pits for the team to investigate.
Doriane Pin was up to P1 with a 1:37.713 with 28 minutes to go – but not before Maya Weug snatched the top spot at her home race. A lockup from Abi Pulling saw her climb from P6 to P3, before being demoted to P4 as Hamda Al Qubaisi set the fastest time with a 1:37.591.
Pulling posted a cleaner lap with 24 minutes to go, going fastest. Bustamante was also back out on track after suspected issues earlier in the session.
More Trouble for Bustamante
The yellow flag was waved with 22 minutes to go, before being swapped out for a red. Bustamante, having just returned to the track, was beached in the gravel at Turn 8. The McLaren livery car was lifted back to the pits after a snap of oversteer sent the car out of control. To add to Bustamante’s misery, she would then be noted by the stewards for failing to have her steering wheel in place after leaving the car. The issue would be investigated after the race.
Racing resumed with 16 minutes to go. Chloe Chambers was first back out on track on a fresh set of tyres. The next set of flying laps were posted with ten minutes to go. Pulling improved again with a 1:37.405 before being demoted almost immediately by Chambers, edging towards the 1:46s with a 1:47.331. Nerea Martí slotted into P2 with less than a tenth of a second separating the top three, before etching out more than a tenth of a second gap from Chambers to take P1.
Seven minutes remained on the clock and things were heating up. A shootout between Jess Edgar, Martí, Weug and Pin saw fastest sectors being snatched away every couple of seconds. Weug was victorious in that battle in front of her home crowd and Martí was hot on her heels 0.018s behind. Anna Al Qubaisi was next to make a bid for the top of the times, but was match the pace of the fontrunners and sat in P12.
The Final Classification
As THE F1 Academy Practice 2 session at the 2024 Dutch GP entered its final two minutes, Pulling dominated once again, bettering Weug’s time by 0.051s. With one Rodin on Pole, Jess Edgar sent a second Rodin into P4. A final lap of 1:36.367 secured P1 for Pulling once again, with Weug failing to improve and settling for P2 0 0.103s behind. Hamda Al Qubaisi finished in P3.
[adrotate banner=”10″]
Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1‘ at checkout.
Featured Image credit: BWT Alpine F1 Team