Rodin Motorsport’s Abbi Pulling topped the timesheet in Qualifying of the F1 Academy 2024 Barcelona GP weekend with a lap time of 1:41.396. Campos Racing’s Chloe Chambers was behind in P2, setting a lap time of 1:41.455. Her teammate Nerea Martí will start P3 in Race 1. For Race 2, Prema’s Doriane Pin will begin from the P3 spot.
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This morning’s Free Practice session saw Abbi Pulling top the timesheet with a 1:42.474. Bianca Bustamante set an identical time in P2 with Hamda Al Qubaisi two tenths off the leaders in P3.
The drivers must set two fast laps which will determine where they start tomorrow in Race 1 and Sunday in Race 2.
Lights Out
Carrie Schreiner set the first time of Qualifying with a 1:43,361. Championship leader Abbi Pulling soon took P1 with a 1:42.540. Behind her was Bianca Bustamante with 1:42.732. The Alpine and McLaren junior drivers finished the Free Practice session earlier with the same lap time.
Hamda Al Qubaisi set the next fastest lap, +0.131 ahead of Pulling. In a moment of action, Haas’ Chloe Chambers took the top spot, which Mercedes’ Doriane Pin then improved with a 1:41.988.
A second impressive lap from Chambers saw her take P1 from Pin with a laptime of 1:41.926, +0.062 seconds ahead.
With 16 minutes to go on the clock, the track went quiet as 14 of the 15 drivers headed to the pits for a change of tyres. Pulling remained on track to maximise her pole position efforts.
Final 15 Minutes
Cars re-emerged from the pits as Spanish driver Nerea Martí was placed under investigation for speeding in the pit lane. This resulted in a team fine for Campos Racing.
It was soon time for each driver to improve their established lap times. Bustamante went P1 with a 1:41.921 while Williams’ Lia Block set a time worthy of P4. As track conditions continued to improve, Pulling took the top spot off of Bustamante with a 1:41.544.
The track continued to cool, which saw the drivers set quicker times. Martí briefly topped the timesheet with a purple sector 3 until Chambers replaced her soon after. After three purple sectors, Pulling crossed the line with a 1:41.396. This set a high standard for the rest of the grid to beat. However, there was less than a tenth between her and Chambers.
Several drivers began to lose time in the final sector. Lola Lovinfosse in particular lost balance in the final corner, placing her in P10, +0.980 behind Pulling, Chambers, and Martí in the top three spots.
And that's the flag 🏁
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) June 21, 2024
P1 – Abbi Pulling
P2 – Chloe Chambers
P3 – Nerea Marti 🇪🇸#F1Academy #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/X1ZAxFwemx
Race 1 and 2 Line-Ups
Qualifying of the F1 Academy 2024 Barcelona GP saw Pulling gain her third and fourth pole positions of the 2024 season. She will begin Race 1 and 2 from the P1 spot. For Race 1, Chambers and Martí will begin P2 and P3. The top two spots will remain unchanged for Race 2 but Pin will begin P3 instead.
After an incredibly close Qualifying in Barcelona, @AbbiPulling takes double Pirelli pole position ⭐️#F1Academy #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/WoHFFnbGmB
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) June 21, 2024
Image Credit: BWT Alpine F1 Team
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