The second race of the F1 Academy Qatar round at the Lusail International Circuit was cancelled after a prolonged delay. The 16 F1 Academy drivers had taken to the Lusail grid, awaiting the originally scheduled 14:00 local time start.
However, damage to the barriers from a preceding Porsche support race necessitated extensive repairs, leaving insufficient time to prepare for the race. With the FIA Formula 2 race scheduled for 15:20 local time, the organisers made the difficult decision to cancel the event after a 30-minute wait.
Race start is currently delayed, as we wait for a barrier to be repaired#F1Academy #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/cInwYMrGHk
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) December 1, 2024
This cancellation means that newly crowned champion Abbi Pulling will not have the opportunity to compete in her first race as the titleholder. Additionally, Mercedes’ Doriane Pin will miss the chance to secure a victory double.
This marks the first race cancellation in the 2024 F1 Academy campaign, but the all-female driver grid still has one more round to showcase their skills. The F1 Academy will join Formula 1 next weekend at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
