Without expecting rain before the end of the last session of F1 Academy in Barcelona, the drivers went underway on a formation lap in this order. The drivers are Abbi Pulling, Chloe Chambers, Doriane Pin, Nerea Mart, Hamda Al Qubaisi, Lia Block, Tina Hausmann, Bianca Bustamante, Jess Edgar, Lola Lovinfosse, Emely de Heus, Carrie Schreiner, Aurelia Nobles, Amna Al Qubaisi and Maya Weug.
Chloe Chambers gets an incredible start and manages to keep ahead of Abbi Pulling in Turn 1, leading the race. On the other hand, Doriane Pin gets a bad start again like yesterday, dropping somewhere to P7.
Bianca Bustamante launches over the starting line before everybody else, probably needing a review, while Jess Edgar goes wide in Turn 1 and Turn 2, also noted by the race control.
Lia Block dives into the inside of Edgar, the two drivers almost touching but managing to avoid the contact.
On Lap 2, Chambers already had more than seven tenths of a second on Pulling in P2, leading a race for the first time in F1 Academy, this being her first season in the all-female racing series.
Carrie Schreiner looks racy, trying to find her way around Emely de Heus, but doesn’t really pull the move.
Over Pulling’s radio, there are concerns about Chambers jumping the start. Bustamante is now also under investigation for a false start, while Edgar gets a 5-seconds time penalty for leaving the track and getting an advantage on Lap 1.
Now, on Lap 5, Edgar is struggling to find a pace, Block coming close to her. Tina Hausmann behind gains some tenths on the American.
There is a battle for P5 between Bustamante and Pin. The McLaren supported car has a strong speed on the straights — however, Pin is bravely searching for any gap in every corner. Bustamante is likely to get a penalty and is struggling with the rear tyre, but Pin needs to get ahead of her to move forward in the field and fight for more.
Block finally passes Edgar for P7 as Pin has a look into Turn 4 and is through, taking P5 from Bustamante.
It is now Tina Hausmann who is putting Edgar under pressure, while Chambers leading the race has almost a two second gap between her and Pulling on Lap 8.
Aurelia Nobles in P13 is struggling with the graining of the tyres, but also with the changing track conditions. She doesn’t have that much experience with tyre management at only 17-years-old and being in her first season of F1 Academy, while the tyre degradation is very high on this track.
In P3, the home hero Nerea Martí is ahead of Hamda Al Qubaisi while Chambers already has a three and a half seconds gap to Pulling.
Hausmann goes on the inside of Edgar, securing P9 and now trying to close the gap to Block.
Mart has an opportunity to overtake Pulling, but does not have the confidence to go for it. She then has to change her strategy into a defensive one against Hamda Al Qubaisi, dropping a little back behind the Frenchwoman in P2.
Mart’s tyres are starting to really wear off, she loses her rear tyre a little and on Turn 1 of Lap 12. She is already side by side with Al Qubaisi who goes for the move on the outside and gets ahead of the Spanish driver.
Chambers in front has more than seven seconds gap to Pulling now, which is one of the biggest gaps in F1 Academy history. Hamda Al Qubaisi puts pressure on Pulling, smelling the chance of finishing in second place like last year, while Edgar in P9 has pressure from Lola Lovinfosse on her.
Lovinfosse goes around the outside of Edgar, who manages to hold her position. Schreiner is fighting de Heus, but as Lovinfosse finally gets ahead, Edgar is quickly overtaken by de Heus and Schreiner as well.
There’s a light contact between Weug and Nobles, who are in the last two places. They, along with Amna Al Qubaisi in P13, are putting pressure on Edgar in P12 and soon all three drivers overtake her, putting her last.
Chambers takes the last lap easy, driving it home after an incredible weekend of starting in front and fighting for a podium and win in both races. With the seven seconds gap, she takes the chequered flag along with the fastest lap, Pulling and Hamda Al Qubaisi following in the top three.
Bustamante with a 5-second time penalty for a false start, drops behind Block, who managed to get into the five seconds range of the Filipino driver.
The finishing order of Race 2 is: P1 Chloe Chambers, P2 Abbi Pulling, P3 Hamda Al Qubaisi, P4 Nerea Martí, P5 Doriane Pin, P6 Lia Block, P7 Bianca Bustamante, P8 Tina Hausmann, P9 Lola Lovinfosse, P10 Emely de Heus, P11 Carrie Schreiner, P12 Amna Al Qubaisi, P13 Maya Weug, P14 Aurelia Nobles and P15 Jess Edgar.
