The final round of the 2024 F1 Academy championship in Abu Dhabi will feature three races instead of two. A third race was added after the Qatar GP Race 2 was cancelled due to delays caused by barrier damage.
Pulling no longer the 2024 F1 Academy champion
The added race brings a new twist to the championship battle. Abbi Pulling (PUL) of Rodin Motorsport and Alpine Academy is no longer, for now, the 2024 F1 Academy champion. After Race 2 in Qatar was cancelled, Pulling was crowned champion. She held an 83-point lead over Doriane Pin of Prema Racing and the Mercedes Driver Academy.
The addition of a third race means Pulling can still mathematically lose the championship. However, this is unlikely. The Alpine Academy driver has had a dominant season, finishing every race on the podium. She has also won seven of the past 11 races. However, if Pin scores maximum points this weekend, she could finish one point ahead. This would only happen if Pulling scores no points.
Although the odds are in Pulling’s favour, she will be eager to perform well and reclaim her title quickly. This is especially important as Pulling will leave F1 Academy after this season, having completed two seasons in the series. If she reclaims her title, Pulling will earn a fully funded GB3 seat with Rodin Motorsport for the 2025 season. She will also receive 20 days of testing in the GB3 car.
Prema Racing aiming to hold on to F1 Academy teams’ championship in Abu Dhabi
While the drivers’ championship title is almost guaranteed, the fight in the teams’ championship remains fierce. Reigning champions, Prema Racing, currently sit at the top of the table with 332 points. However, with Rodin Motorsport trailing by only 28 points, the Italian team will aim to maximise their performance this weekend.
They will be the favourite to take the championship title. Despite Pulling’s dominance, the British-based team, have struggled for points from their other drivers. Jessica Edgar (EDG) is currently P9 with 28 points. Lola Lovinfosse (LOV) sits P14 with just 13.
Prema Racing, on the other hand, has two drivers in the top three of the drivers’ championship. Just being Pin sits Ferrari Driver Academy’s Maya Weug in P3. With 135 points, she currently maintains a 30-point gap over Campos Racing’s Nerea Martí in P4. Weug, like her teammate Pin, is also a strong contender for this weekend’s races. She has finished on the podium in all of her last five races. Tina Hausmann has contributed 17 points.
Logan Hannah set to make F1 Academy debut as Abu Dhabi GP wildcard entrant
Prema Racing will also run a fourth car in Abu Dhabi. On Tuesday, F1 Academy announced a partnership with leading luggage brand Away. As part of the partnership, Scottish driver Logan Hannah will join the grid as a Wild Card Entry. This will be for the final round of the F1 Academy season. The 23-year-old, who races under an Emirati licence, has an impressive resume in motorsport. She was the first woman to compete in the Formula 4 UAE championship in 2017. Hannah also participated in the official F1 Academy tests at Yas Marina Circuit in October 2023.
Nine F1 Academy to say goodbye
In addition to Pulling, eight other drivers are expected to bid farewell to the series. Among these is Campos Racing’s Nerea Martí (MAR) who currently sits fourth in the drivers’ championship with 105 points. Despite improving on her P8 finish in the 2023 season Martí’s future remains unclear. The other seven graduates include Edgar, Lovinfosse, Bustamante, Schreiner, Hamda and Amna Al Quabaisi, and de Heus. All nine have completed the maximum two years allowed in the series.
F1 Academy Abu Dhabi GP practice session gets underway
The first session of the F1 Academy Abu Dhabi GP weekend gets underway as the light goes green. Despite many drivers heading out for an early exploratory lap, they are slow to set times. Within the first minutes, the majority opt to return to their garages for adjustments. They are slow to return to the track.
With the first ten minutes of the free practice session now complete, Pulling sits at the top of the time sheet. She has completed five laps, the most out of anyone on the grid, and has managed a fastest time of 1:57.182. Hamda Al Qubaisi (HAL) goes second, though with a time of 1:58.609, she is more than 1.4 seconds behind Pulling. Neither Pin nor Weug have set a time. However, as the drivers get into the fifteenth minute of the session, more than 3.3 seconds separate Pulling and Lovinfosse in P12.
First half of F1 Academy Abu Dhabi GP FP1 session complete
As the half-time mark nears, Pin sets a time of 1:57.872, going eighth on the timesheet. Weug sets a time of 1:58.881, rising to P13.
The first half of the F1 Academy FP1 session comes to an end. With just 20 minutes remaining, the standings are: HAL, BUS, PUL, CHA, MAR, BLO, LOV, NOB, PIN, AAL, DEH, SCH, WEU, EDG, HAN, HAU. Neither Hannah nor Hausmann had put a representative lap time on the board. Hamda Al Qubaisi, however, holds onto her spot at the top of the time sheets with a time of 1:56.662.
Pin goes third with a time of 1:57.054 with Pulling fourth with a time of 1:57.182. Times are quickly rising and falling on the charts. After a slow start, the drivers appear eager to get as much practice time in as possible.
With 16 minutes remaining, Hamda Al Qubaisi improves her time to 1:56.655. This lap is approximately 0.3 seconds faster than Pin’s fastest lap, and 0.5 seconds faster than Pulling’s.
Hausmann finally put a time of 1:58.904 on the table. Hannah soon follows, putting in an unimpressive 2.03.619. The Wild Card Entrant sits P16, and as Pulling improves her fastest time to 1:56.527, she finds herself almost seven seconds behind.
10 minutes left
With less than 10 minutes left, Hannah improves her time to 1:59.377. She is still at the bottom of the table, with 2.9 seconds separating her fastest time from that of Pulling who has improved to 1:56.473. Unexpectedly, Hannah is only 1.4 seconds off Weug who sits P15 with a fastest lap time of 1:58.055. Pulling’s top lap time, meanwhile, is about 0.1 seconds faster than Hamda Al Qubaisi and 0.2 seconds off Pin’s. Pin remains P3 with a fastest lap time of 1:56.684, while Pulling improves again to 1:56.313.
With just over five minutes remaining, Weug improves her lap time to 1:57.673. She is now P12 on the time sheet, 1.3 seconds behind Pulling. While many drivers are still out on track, the rise and fall of the lap times has slowed. However, with just over four minutes remaining, Lia Block temporarily goes fastest. Her lap time, however, is deleted, and she remains P12.
With just under three minutes remaining, Chloe Chambers (CHA) goes to the top of the time sheet. Her time of 1:56.175 is more than 0.1 second faster that Pulling’s best of 1:56.313. Pin is now down to fourth on timesheet, with teammate Weug much further back in P14.
Chequered flag
The chequered flag falls, bringing an end to FP1 as the drivers complete their final laps around the circuit. Chambers holds on to her position at the top of the timesheet with Pulling in P2. Pin improves her time to 1:56.357, getting up to P3, ahead of Hamda Al Qubaisi who finishes the session P4 with a time of 1:56.373. Bianca Bustamante rounds out the top five with a time of 1:56.821.
Final standings
With the drivers now back in the pitlane, the final standings of the F1 Academy Abu Dhabi GP FP1 session are: CHA, PUL, PIN, HAL, BUS, MAR, EDG, AAL, HAU, NOB, DEH, SCH, BLO, WEU, LOV and HAN.
F1 Academy will return with qualifying at 18:35 local time (15:35 CET).
