The 2025 F1 Academy season commenced with an eventful race weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit. Amidst tricky track conditions on an already challenging circuit, the F1 Academy Shanghai Round featured a combination of remarkable performances and unexpected, and sometimes heartbreaking challenges. Here is an analysis of the weekend’s standout drivers and those who suffered unfortunate setbacks to their championship fight.
Winners:
Alisha Palmowski
Despite a tough qualifying session, Alisha Palmowski, driving the Red Bull Racing-liveried car, became one of the weekend’s winners by taking first place in Race 1. While luck played a part, Palmowski showed great composure and smart strategy, taking advantage of race leader Nina Gademan’s late-race technical issues to move into the lead.
Even with pressure from her teammate Chloe Chambers, Palmowski kept her cool throughout the final laps of the race. She crossed the finish line first, claiming her first F1 Academy victory at the Chinese GP. She also finished sixth in Race 2, leaving the Chinese GP weekend in fourth place in the F1 Academy Drivers’ Championship with 18 points.
Chloe Chambers
Despite missing out on the win in Race 1, Chloe Chambers enjoyed a successful Chinese GP weekend. She showed consistency throughout the weekend and proved herself a tough competitor. Her strengths behind the wheel earned her a second-place finish in Race 1. She also claimed the fastest lap of the race, despite failing to overtake Palmowski. Chambers continued to impress in Race 2, securing another podium finish. With such a solid start to the season, she has become a serious contender for the 2025 championship title.
Maya Weug
Though Maya Weug will be disappointed to have missed out on a win, she enjoyed a strong weekend. The MP Motorsport driver, piloting the Ferrari-liveried car, exhibited exceptional pace throughout the weekend. After clinching pole position with a dominant qualifying performance, she demonstrated her overtaking abilities in Race 1, working her way up to third after starting eighth. Though she could not keep hold of the lead of Race 2, she fought fiercely for P2, cementing her place as a strong title contender for 2025.
Doriane Pin
The final F1 Academy winner of the Chinese GP weekend was Doriane Pin, who, after finishing the 2024 season runner-up, demonstrated her strategic prowess through an effective tyre-usage strategy. After a fourth-place finish in Race 1, the PREMA Racing driver, a member of the Mercedes Junior Team, capitalised on her fresher tyres to claim an early lead after overtaking pole-sitter Weug. She then showed her extraordinary race pace, maintaining the lead throughout the race to secure a commanding victory.
With 31 points from the opening round of F1 Academy at the Chinese GP, Pin sits at the top of the championship standings, 5 points ahead of former teammate Weug in second place.
Losers:
Nina Gademan
After a less-than-ideal qualifying session, the Alpine-supported Nina Gademan started Race 1 from pole position, under the reverse-grid conditions. She did, however, quickly redeem herself, pulling ahead of the pack to settle into a comfortable lead. Unfortunately, Gademan’s race came to an unfortunate end, as she suffered a mechanical failure just laps before its end. This cost her what could have been her first victory of the season, as though she did not finish, she was classified P15 due to having most of the race.
Race 2 would also prove difficult for the PREMA Racing driver, who suffered a collision with her teammate in the early stages. Though she worked her way back up to P10, she could not finish higher and left the Chinese GP weekend with only a single point. Gademan’s unlucky opening weekend to her 2025 F1 Academy season serves as a reminder of the unpredictable nature of motorsport.
Tina Hausmann
Like her teammate Gademan, the Aston Martin-backed Tina Hausmann suffered a disappointing Chinese GP weekend, though as a result of her own errors. After a disappointing P13 finish in Race 1, Hausmann started Race 2 alongside Gademan.
However, despite being warned by her team to be careful to avoid incidents with her teammate, Hausmann collided with Gademan in the early stages of the Race. This resulted in both drivers dropping to the back of the pack, and though Hausmann managed to gain some places during the race, a 10-second time penalty, imposed for having caused the collision with Gademan, saw her finish P15. She subsequently left the opening round of the 2025 F1 Academy season without points.
Joanne Ciconte
Australian rookie, Joanne Ciconte’s debut was marred by penalties and incidents. Despite a promising start to the weekend, an infringement during the starting procedure in Race 1 led to the imposition of a 10-second stop-and-go penalty. She ultimately finished P14, at the back of the pack.
Though Race 2 would have provided an opportunity for her to salvage the weekend, she found herself unable to gain anything from it. A collision with Chloe Chong, Aurelia Nobels and Nicole Havrda saw her retire in the early stages of Race 2. Ciconte’s challenging Chinese GP weekend reflects the steep learning curve that the rookie driver faces as she competes for the F1 Academy title.
Nicole Havrda and Aurelia Nobels
Perhaps the biggest losers of the Chinese GP weekend are Nicole Havrda and Aurelia Nobels, who failed to finish either race. With their time on track cut short, neither driver had a proper opportunity to show their competitiveness against their rivals and will be aiming for a better showing when F1 Academy returns for the Jeddah round.
F1 Academy to return in Saudi Arabia
While some F1 Academy drivers capitalised on opportunities to shine, others faced setbacks that will undoubtedly fuel their determination in upcoming races. The next race weekend is right around the corner. The grid joins Formula 1 during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from April 18th to 20th.
