F1 Academy | FP | Chinese GP | Pin tops disrupted session, ahead of teammate Hausmann - Motorsport

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The 2025 F1 Academy season got underway under the blue skies of Shanghai, with 18 drivers, including Wild Card entrant Shi Wei—also known as Tie Dou—taking to the track for Free Practice (FP) as the 2025 Chinese GP Weekend kicked off at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Lloyd leads drivers out on track as first F1 Academy round gets underway

Ella Lloyd, now racing full-time with Rodin Motorsport after her Wild Card appearance in the 2024 Singapore Round, led the field onto the track. Lloyd’s Rodin Motorsport teammates—series debutant Emma Felbermayr and Chloe Chong, who returns after a year away—soon joined her on track.

MP Motorsport rookie Alba Hurup Larsen, Hitech TGR F1 Academy newcomers Nicole Havrda and Aiva Anagnostiadis, Wild Card entry Shi Wei, and the experienced PREMA Racing trio of Nina Gademan, Doriane Pin, and Tina Hausmann soon joined the Rodin Motorsport trio on track.

Although teams and drivers had completed three days of pre-season testing, this session marked their first opportunity to gauge performance under actual race weekend conditions. With Shanghai hosting its first F1 Academy race, maximizing track time was crucial. The drivers focused on building familiarity with the circuit ahead of the upcoming Qualifying session.

Lloyd sets early benchmark

In the opening ten minutes, Ella Lloyd had a close call, nearly running off track. With one tyre in the gravel, it could have ended her session, but she managed to recover and set an early benchmark time of 2:06.155.

As the session progressed, more drivers put in their first timed laps. With 27 minutes remaining, Wild Card entry Shi Wei moved into second place with a time just over 2:09. However, Lloyd encountered another scare, spinning off track. Once again, she recovered successfully as on-track action intensified.

With 24 minutes to go, Maya Weug, now with MP Motorsport after a strong 2024 season with PREMA Racing, took the top spot with a 2:05.997—edging Lloyd by just 0.158 seconds. She dropped to second, as Alba Hurup Larsen responded with a 2:05.814. However, Weug quickly reclaimed P1, lowering the benchmark to 2:04.970 with just over 22 minutes left in the session.

Action ramping up with 20 minutes remaining

Around the halfway mark, more drivers joined the action, setting their first timed laps. For some—like Maya Weug, Chloe Chong, Alba Hurup Larsen, Ella Lloyd, Nicole Havrda, Evelyne Ciconte, Aiva Anagnostiadis, and Shi Wei—these laps improved on their earlier times.

Meanwhile, others, including ART Grand Prix’s Courtney Crone, Aurelia Nobels, and Lia Block, along with PREMA Racing’s Doriane Pin and Tina Hausmann, registered their first timed laps of the session.

Collision between Block and Ferreira brings out Red Flag

With just under 19 minutes of the F1 Academy FP session of the Chinese GP, Williams Driver Academy’s Lia Block crashed into the barriers, with debutant, Rafaela Ferreira in the Racing Bulls-liveried car also involved. While both drivers emerged from the accident unscathed, the crash significantly damaged their cars, bringing their session to a premature end. Race Control subsequently noted the incident, with the Stewards set to investigate it after the session.

However, the disruption spelt bad news for the drivers, especially those who had left it late. These drivers, in the end, would have less than 10 minutes to properly explore the car’s performance around the Shanghai International Circuit.

A flurry of excitement in the final minutes of the race

With just about eight minutes left before the session’s end, Lloyd led the remaining drivers back onto the cleared track, as the drivers sought to maximise their final few minutes of Free Practice. Chong, who appeared to have narrowly avoided the collision between Block and Ferreira, however, remained in the pit lane, with her mechanics working on the rear of the car.

With just six minutes left, Shi brought out a brief yellow flag after spinning off at the first corner. Fortunately, she recovered well and safely rejoined the track. Not even a minute later, a yellow flag was brought out in Sectors 2 and 3. This, however, did not disrupt proceedings, as Nina Gademan slotted into second place with a 2:05.248, 0.6 seconds behind Weug who held on to the top time of 2:04.603. Gademan, however, quickly dropped to third, with Pin setting a 2:04.941.

With just over two minutes remaining, Chambers claimed the top time with a 2:04.450, before Pin and then Hausmann improved to settle for P2 and P1 respectively. As the checkered flag was brought out, Pin crossed the line with a 2:04.198, reclaiming the top time, ahead of teammate Hausmann.

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