Among Bustamante’s mistakes and Pulling’s perfection under the ever-changing sky of Zandvoort, here’s the recap of the F1 Academy weekend in the Netherlands!
The midpoint of the F1 Academy season in the Netherlands has concluded with the fourth round of the championship, during which the English driver Abbi Pulling extended her lead over the rest of the field with an unmatched performance: the fastest time in both free practice sessions, her fifth consecutive pole position, and her fifth consecutive victory in Race 1. The Alpine-supported driver continues to dominate the championship, reaching 190 points, ahead of Doriane Pin with 119 points. Pin has solidified her second place in the standings, while Chloe Chambers holds third place with 89 points.
At the Zandvoort circuit, a page of F1 Academy history was written: for the first time in the category’s history, a Wild Card—Nina Gademan for the recent weekend—scored points, earning 13 in total. For Maya Weug, who celebrated a double podium finish in both Race 1 and Race 2, the weekend in the Netherlands was a home event, as it was for Emely de Heus.
The recap of the F1 Academy weekend in the Netherlands
The first free practice session for the drivers of the category led by Susie Wolff began under unfavorable weather conditions. Despite this, the title favorite of the F1 Academy, Abbi Pulling, asserted her dominance from the start by setting the fastest time at 1:38.066, followed by Doriane Pin and Bianca Bustamante. Bustamante made a strong recovery after causing a yellow flag due to a spin in turn 1.
The second and final free practice session on Friday afternoon also ended with Alpine and its driver Abbi Pulling in the spotlight. Pulling further improved the reference time, setting a 1:36.367 on a dry track, with a 0.045-second advantage over Doriane Pin.
During the qualifying session at the Dutch circuit in the rain, the English driver secured her fifth consecutive pole position of the season, fending off Doriane Pin. Despite this, the French driver supported by Mercedes managed to make up ground, securing the pole for Race 2 with a margin of just 0.011 seconds. It was the first time in 2024 that two different drivers will start from pole position for Race 1 and Race 2! Nerea Martí qualified in third place for Race 1, followed by Maya Weug and Aurelia Nobels. Nina Gademan, after her impressive debut in F1 Academy as a Wild Card, will start from sixth position. For Race 2, Pin and Pulling will line up on the front row, reversing their positions from Race 1, followed by Weug and Nobels. Martí and Gademan will occupy the third row.
In the post-qualifying interviews, Doriane Pin commented on the session, emphasizing the importance for the team to maximize their efforts during the fourth round: “The qualifying session was under difficult conditions. It was completely wet, and it was quite interesting. It was our first wet session of the weekend, and I think we did a pretty decent job. We kept improving throughout the session, managed to get very close to Abbi, and secured pole position for Race 2, so I think it’s positive. We know we have the pace for Race 1 in the wet today, I believe, so I’ll keep pushing and working to try to win..”
“I believe the conditions will be dry (for Race 2). We have the pace, so we’ll do everything we can to maintain the position and win this race“—Pin continued with optimism regarding the Sunday morning race. Due to the variable Dutch weather, Race 1, scheduled for Saturday afternoon right after the Formula 1 qualifying, was postponed to the following day, just an hour and a half before Race 2. This also allowed Bianca Bustamante to participate, as she would have been unable to take part in the first race of the weekend following the incident during qualifying.
In Race 1, Abbi Pulling showcased her talent by securing her fifth victory (in seven races), driving a solitary race with a lead of nearly four seconds. Doriane Pin, who initially crossed the line in second place, was demoted to fifth due to a false start penalty, allowing Nerea Martí to move up to second place and Maya Weug to achieve a podium finish in her home race. At the back, Lia Block fought against Hamda Al Qubaisi for eighth place, with the latter coming out on top by overtaking the American on the final lap. “Meanwhile, Nina Gademan made history as the first Wild Card driver to cross the finish line in fourth place, earning points for PREMA Racing.”
In Race 2, Doriane Pin responded strongly to the disappointment of Race 1 by securing a victory, leading from start to finish and achieving her second triumph of the season. Maya Weug, invece, ha ottenuto il suo secondo podio del weekend, difendendosi con violenza da Abbi Pulling alle sue spalle.
At the back, Aurelia Nobels, starting in one of her best career positions, defended fourth place until mid-race before relinquishing it to Nina Gademan. However, an incident between the two resulted in a 10-second penalty for the Dutch Wild Card, demoting her to 10th place. Hamda Al Qubaisi took advantage of the situation, securing fourth place ahead of Nobels and Carrie Schreiner.
The updated F1 Academy standings after Zandvoort
Abbi Pulling continues to extend her lead, dominating her rivals decisively, with Doriane Pin in second place, holding a 30-point advantage over Chloe Chambers in third. However, Nerea Martí and Maya Weug are close behind. Here is the complete standings!
- Abbi Pulling – 190
- Doriane Pin – 119
- Chloe Chambers – 89
- Nerea Martí – 85
- Maya Weug – 84
- Hamda Al Qubaisi – 71
- Bianca Bustamante – 57
- Jessica Edgar – 22
- Aurelia Nobels – 22
- Carrie Schreiner – 18
- Tina Hausmann – 16
- Nina Gademan – 13
- Lola Lovinfosse – 13
- Lia Block – 12
- Amna Al Qubaisi – 12
- Emely de Heus – 9
- Courney Crone – 0
- Reema Juffali – 0
Regarding the F1 Academy Constructors’ Championship, Rodin Motorsport, Abbi Pulling’s team, is currently leading, followed by PREMA Racing, which made up ground on the Dutch circuit, surpassing Campos Racing. By the end of the weekend, Campos Racing has fallen to third place. Below is the complete team standings!
- Rodin Motorsport – 225
- PREMA Racing – 219
- Campos Racing – 192
- MP Motorsport – 92
- ART Grand Prix – 91
Now we just have to wait for the fifth round of the seven on the calendar. The next F1 Academy event will be in Singapore from September 20 to 22!
Photos: F1 Academy
