Alpine Junior Driver Abbi Pulling secured a commanding double victory at the Miami International Autodrome, reinforcing her lead in the F1 Academy’s Drivers’ Championship.
Her performance throughout the race not only showcased her exceptional skills but also widened her championship lead to 21 points over Mercedes Junior Driver Doriane Pin.
The race saw Pulling start strong, effectively maintaining her lead from pole position right through the first corner.
Her closest competition came from Bianca Bustamente, who, after a rough start in the earlier race, made a comeback by securing her first podium of 2024.
Despite pressure from Pin, Bustamente managed to hold off the Iron Dame, ensuring a second-place finish.
The race dynamics were complicated early on when a collision led to Tina Hausmann’s retirement, marking her second DNF of the weekend. This incident brought out a yellow flag during lap 1.
As the laps unfolded, the competition heated up with several key battles throughout the grid. Nerea Martí and Maya Weug found themselves in a tense fight for position, with Martí briefly losing ground after an aggressive manoeuvre.
This allowed Jessica Edgar, in a closely contested battle, to threaten Martí’s position.
Meanwhile, Bustamente initially kept within the DRS range of Pulling but gradually lost ground.
This allowed Pulling to solidify her lead, stretching out a significant gap by the midway point of the race.
Further down the field, Emily de Heus was fighting her way up from the back and engaging in a memorable duel with wildcard entrant Courtney Crone.
Another notable incident involved Lola Lovinfosse and Aurelia Nobels, whose collision resulted in a 10-second penalty for Lovinfosse.
This penalty, compounded with another from the earlier collision with Hausmann, saw her finish significantly behind the leaders.
Towards the closing stages, the battle for third intensified with Pin striving to overtake Bustamente. Despite her efforts, Pin couldn’t secure the pass, and Bustamente’s defensive driving earned her a well-deserved podium spot.
Chloe Chambers retained her fourth position, closely followed by Hamda Al Qubaisi and Nerea Martí, rounding off the top six.
Other notable performances included Amna Al Qubaisi and Carrie Schreiner, who managed to secure points finishes.
Block missed out on a points finish by just four-tenths while the Wildcard Entrant improved on her Race 1 position with a 12th place finish.
Due to penalties, Lovinfosse finished 46 seconds behind the race leader in 15th in front of sponsor Charlotte Tilbury waving the chequered flag.
