Rodin Motorsport’s Abbi Pulling topped the times in the Practice of the F1 Academy 2024 Barcelona GP weekend with a 1:42.474. ART’S Bianca Bustamante was hot on her heels in P2, setting an identical time. Hamda Al Qubaisi in the MP Motorsport was just two tenths off the leaders in P3.
For many drivers, the degradation on the rear tyres would prove difficult to manage in the practice session. They will be looking to manage this over the course of the F1 Academy 2024 Barcelona GP weekend.
At the Green Flag
The grid were slow to get moving, staying in the pits for the first eight minutes of the 40-minute session. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a high-degradation track, meaning most of the grid were wary of their tyre usage so early on.
The first driver to take to the track was Lola Lovinfosse, who then returned to the pits after one outlaw. The rest of the grid then followed suit, emerging from the pits on a sunny morning in Barcelona. First to post a time was Doriane Pin with a 1:44.503, before the next set of flying laps propelled Bianca Bustamante into. P1, followed quickly by Hamda Al Qubaisi, who bettered her time to a 1:42.687.
Chloe Chambers found herself in a bumpy ride at Turn 7, having her lap time deleted and dropping her to P13 with just over half the session to go.
The track was ramping up as the clock ticked down to under 20 minutes to go. Abbi Pulling was now in P1 with a 1:42.474 with her nearest competitors two tenths off. The majority of the drivers headed back to the pits.
15 Minutes Left
Lola Lovinfosse was not one of the drivers who headed back to the pits approaching 15 minutes to go; she stayed out on track for another flying lap but failed to improve. She remained in P15 with a 1:44.211. It seemed a common theme for many drivers, who were all struggling to improve on their previous laps due to tyre degradation.
However, as the clock hit nine minutes to go and another round of flying laps ensued, Bustamante posted a 1:42.474 – identical to Pulling, putting her in P2 behind the Alpine Academy driver who set the time first. Hamda Al Qubaisi stood strong in P3, 0.213s behind with three minutes to go.
By the chequered flag, drivers on their outlaps returned to the pits unable to better their times. Tyre degradation on the rears hampered the grid in their session. Behind the top three sat Nerea Martà in P4, with Lia Block in P5.
Photo Credit: BWT Alpine F1 Team
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