The first round of the 2025 F1 Academy drew to an end at the Shanghai International Circuit with the eighteen drivers fighting to win Race 2 of the Chinese GP weekend. After a strong start, Pin claimed the lead from former PREMA Racing teammate Maya Weug, now with MP Motorsport. She then held on to the lead to claim her first win of the season. Weug finished P2, with Campos Racing’s Chloe Chambers rounding out the podium.
Starting line-up
After an impressive qualifying performance, MP Motorsport’s Maya Weug, who finished P3 in Saturday’s Race 1, lined up on pole position for Race 2. Alongside her on the front row was former PREMA Racing teammate Doriane Pin (P2). Meanwhile, Weug’s current MP Motorsport teammate, Alba Hurup Larsen—a newcomer to F1 Academy—secured P3. Alongside her, Campos Racing’s Chloe Chambers who finished as the runner-up in Race 1, started in P4. Right behind them, Race 1 winner Alisha Palmowski (P5) shared the third row with MP Motorsport’s Joanne Ciconte (P6).
Rodin Motorsport’s Emma Felbermayr started P7, while PREMA Racing’s Nina Gademan, who had led Race 1 before a technical issue dropped her to P15, lined up in P8. PREMA Racing’s Tina Hausmann (P9) and Rodin Motorsport’s Chloe Chong (P10) completed the fifth row.
Rodin Motorsport’s Ella Lloyd secured P11, while Hitech TGR’s Nicola Havrda started alongside her in P12 after retiring from Race 1 due to a collision with Chloe Chong. Meanwhile, ART Grand Prix’s Aurelia Nobels and Courtney Crone, both unable to finish Race 1, lined up in P13 and P14, respectively, filling out the seventh row.
Further back, Hitech TGR’s Aiva Anagnostiadis claimed P15, just ahead of Campos Racing’s Rafaela Ferreira. Despite qualifying P13, Ferreira dropped to P16 after receiving a three-place grid penalty for causing a Qualifying collision with ART Grand Prix’s Lia Block. As a result of this collision, Block, who failed to set a qualifying time, started from P18, alongside Wild Card entry Shi Wei.
A rolling start to the F1 Academy Race 2 at the Chinese GP
With a track temperature of more than 36 degrees Celcius, Race 2 promised much excitement, with tyre management being crucial for the drivers. Dusty conditions and oil on track added an additional challenge, with the race requiring an extra formation lap behind the Safety Car due to the potentially dangerous track conditions.
As the drivers waited for the lights to go green, PREMA Racing instructed Hausmann (P9) and Gademan (P8) to cooperate on the track, minimising the risk of unnecessary collisions between the two. Their teammate, Pin, was spared this order, with her starting several positions ahead on the front row of the grid.
After a five-minute delay, Race 2 got underway, with the drivers following the Safety Car around the track. As they passed down the main straight on their second lap, the large dust plumes indicated the tricky conditions that they would need to navigate while fighting to maximise their gains. With the track still too slippery, Race Control ordered another formation lap behind the Safety Car. However, with the drivers waiting for the Safety Car to return to the pitlane at the end of the lap, they used to opportunity to test the grip of the track, though taking care not to fall too far behind.
Pin claims early lead after rolling start
With the race off to a rolling start, Weug attempted to pull ahead. Unfortunately, she faced early pressure from former teammate Pin. After racing side by side for several turns, Pin claimed the lead of the race, albeit with a slight touch between the two. Unable to reclaim her position, Weug slotted into P2, head of Larsen who held on to P3, ahead of Chambers in P4.
Unfortunately, there was some early chaos, with a collision between PREMA Racing teammates, Hausmann and Gademan, despite being warned to mind each other before the start of the race. Fortunately, and likely to the relief of the Italian team, both drivers returned to the track, though they found themselves at the back of the grid after they were called into the Pit Lane. Race Control noted the incident, along with Ciconte’s involvement. The Stewards subsequently handed Hausmann a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision.
While Ciconte did not appear initially affected by this incident, she was involved in another with, Chong, Nobels and Havrda soon after. The three drivers collided and were forced to retire from the race. With the three cars stricken at the sides of the track, the Safety Car was brought out to enable their recovery. The Stewards handed Chong a 10-second penalty for causing the collision which caused the retirement of the other three drivers.
Pin leads Weug after Safety Car re-start
Pin forced a slow re-start to the race, pulling a way at the peak of the hairpin. While this allowed her to keep the lead of the race, Weug, having copied her rival’s strategy kept on Pin’s tail. Near the mid-field, Ferreira took an alternative racing line, putting herself up to P10, after getting past Block.
Despite a few lock-ups, Pin pulled away, building up a lead of about one second to Weug. With just five laps left before the end of the race, Pin held on to the lead, ahead of Weug and Larsen. Chambers remained P4, with Palmowski in P5, Felbermayr in P6, Lloyd in P7, Chong in P8, Ferreira in P9. Crone rounded upout the Top 10, ahead of Block in P11, Gademan in P12, Anagnostiadis in P13, Hausmann in P14. Wild Card Entry Shi brought up the rear in P15.
An exciting final three laps
With three laps left, Block forced her way past Crone to claim the final points-scoring position. Crone then slipped to P12, with Gademan recovering to P11 after her early collision with her teammate. At the front of the grid, Larsen and Chambers battled for third, with Chambers temporarily getting ahead. However, she could not keep the position, as Larsen reclaimed it after Chambers suffered a lock-up.
On the penultimate lap, however, Chambers reclaimed P3 as Felbermayr, just behind, claimed P5 from Palmowski, albeit with some contact. Race control noted the incident. Up ahead, Pin led by over 1.7 seconds, having built up a significant lead over Weug. She eventually led the back across the line to claim her first win of the season.
Full Results – F1 Academy Chinese GP Race 2
- Doriane Pin
- Maya Weug
- Chloe Chambers
- Alba Hurup Larsen
- Emma Felbermayr
- Alisha Palmowski
- Ella Lloyd
- Rafaela Ferreira
- Lia Block
- Nina Gademan
- Chloe Chong
- Courtney Crone
- Aiva Anagnostiadis
- Shi Wei (Wild Card Entry)
- Tina Hausmann
Joanne Ciconte, Nicole Havrda and Aurelia Nobels did not finish the race and were not classified.
