Abbi Pulling took another F1 Academy race win, continuing her winning streak. With 6 race wins to her name, the Alpine junior looks certain to clinch the title.
Image Credit: BWT Alpine F1 Team
In case you missed it, heres what happened in Race 1 for F1 Academy in Singapore.
Race Start Drama
With 190 points to Pin’s 119, Pulling could clinch the championship this weekend if she outcores her rival by 40 points across the weekend. She got off to a strong start by securing pole position, earning her 2 valuable points even before lights out.
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Following the Formation lap, Mclaren junior Bianca Bustamante had an aborted start, forcing the grid for a second formation lap. Bustamante lined up beyond her grid box and was required to start from the pit lane following the second formation lap. However, confusion between team and driver resulted in a 10-second stop-go penalty for not following the start procedure.
When the lights finally went out, Pulling got off to a flying start. She immediately began setting the pace, determined to increase her already lead over Pin in the championship. Pin started the weekend 71 points behind Pulling, with Pulling needing to extend that margin by 40 points to claim the title.
Behind the top 3, the battle for positions began heating up. While the biggest movers early on were Ella Lloyd and Hamda Al Qubaisi.On debut, Lloyd climbed two places to P6, while Al Qubaisi dropped down to seventh. Meanwhile, Bustamante served her penalty and was dropped to the back of the field.
Battles throughout the pack
As the race developed, the top four drivers pulled away from the rest of the pack. By Lap 3, Pulling, Weug, Pin, and Block had created a gap of nearly two seconds to their nearest competitor of Chloe Chambers.
Pulling set a blistering pace out front. Maintaining her advantage over her rivals. However, Maya Weug, tried to catch up to the Brit in front and managed to close the gap down to .6 seconds.
Al Qubaisi began to launch her attack to regain positions after her poor start, pressuring Lloyd for P6. The Emirati driver was chasing down the debutant however, couldn’t find a way past.
Upfront Weug continued to close the gap to Pulling, with Doriane Pin not far behind. Pulling responded to the pressure with a series of fast laps, stretching her lead to just over a second. Once again demonstrating her dominance
Penalties galore
Lap 7 saw an incident in the field. Emely De Heus spun off after attempting a move on Aurelia Nobels, bringing out a brief yellow flag. The Ford backed driver was then set to be investigated after the race for failing to follow the race directors instructions. With the Dutch driver failing to take the escape road when off the track.
In a pivotal moment, race officials noted that both Pin and Lloyd had committed false starts, resulting in five-second penalties. For Pin, this added immense pressure as she now needed to open up a five-second gap to Lia Block, who was chasing her for the final podium spot.
Final laps
As the race entered its final lap, the top five remained Pulling, Weug, Pin, Block, and Chambers. With Block hunting down her first podium finish of the 2024 season. However, with the Mercedes backed driver not wanting to lose another podium it proved to be harder than expected. Pin was able to deliver the fastest lap of the race, and gain a 5.2-second gap to Block behind her. Ensuring she kept her place on the podium after her penalty.
In front, Pulling crossed the line with a comfortable two-second margin over Weug, taking yet another victory and continuing her streak of winning at least one race at every F1 Academy weekend. Weug finished a strong second, while Pin’s third-place finish kept her championship hopes alive.
With this win, Pulling inches closer to the championship, though Pin’s nature will ensure this battle goes down to the line. F1 Academy will be back tomorrow for race 2.
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Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1’ at checkout.