Absolute mastery of Abbi Pulling during the F1 Academy weekend in Singapore, while Maya Weug wins the 3rd place in the World Cup and Lia Block gets the best result of the season: here’s what happened during the weekend in Marina Bay!
After a break of almost a month, the F1 Academy returned to Singapore for its third-to-last event of the season, where the women’s category shared the track with Formula 1; all the sessions spoke the language of the current championship leader, Abbi Pulling, who achieved the best times during the free practice session, as well as pole position and victory in Race 1 and Race 2.
The Wild Card at Marina Bay was Ella Lloyd, who expressed her excitement at the opportunity: “I can’t wait to put everything I’ve learned into practice and make the most of the weekend. I’ll show everyone what I can do behind the wheel as I make the most of the experience and hopefully inspire other young female drivers to follow their dreams. I’d like to thank Susie Wolff, F1 ACADEMY and everyone who made this possible.“
What happened during the F1 Academy weekend in Singapore?
British driver Abbi Pulling, part of the Alpine programme, wasted no time in imposing her dominance from the free practice session, during which she was the only driver to record a time under 2:03. Behind her, Nerea Martì, Doriane Pin, Maya Weug and Carrie Schreiner. Lia Block posted the sixth fastest time ahead of Chloe Chambers, Hamda Al Qubaisi, Lola Lovinfosse and Aurelia Nobels, who rounded out the top 10.
Tough session for the weekend’s wild card, Ella Lloyd, who first caused a yellow flag for stopping momentarily on the track and then for going in the wrong direction together with Lia Block. Jessica Edgar also didn’t get off to the best start in Singapore, with a spin at Turn 8.
Pole position for both races was taken by Abbi Pulling in 2:03.631 after a close battle with Scuderia Ferrari HP-supported driver Maya Weug and Brackley-based team-supported French driver Doriane Pin. Nerea Martí was the first to set the benchmark time to beat of 2:06.806, but the world championship leader quickly took the lead, recording a second fastest lap of 2:04.662; subsequently, Weug and Pin continued to alternate in search of the perfect time, but it is said that between the two arguing, the third one enjoys; and that is exactly what happened with Abbi Pulling in front of everyone with an advantage of only 0.040 seconds.
During the qualifying session, there was also a small moment of tension for Amna Al Qubaisi: the Arab driver, supported by Red Bull, passed the escape route in Sector 1. Excellent performance by Lia Block, who with her 4th place obtained the best qualifying result of this season, followed by Hamda Al Qubaisi in 5th position; but the performance of Ella Lloyd was also noteworthy, the English driver classified eighth for her race in F1 Academy, ahead of Bianca Bustamante and Carrie Schreiner.
After an extra formation lap caused by Bianca Bustamante and a race shortened to 11 laps, the first F1 Academy race in Singapore ended with Abbi Pulling taking her win on the streets of Marina Bay; the Alpine family driver delivered a truly dominant race to win by a margin over Maya Weug and Doriane Pin, who, after a 5-second penalty for a false start, managed to create a 5.2-second buffer to maintain her final podium position. Completing the Top 10: Chloe Chambers, Hamda Al Qubaisi, Nerea Martì, Carrie Schreiner, Ella Llyod (also penalized for a false start) and Tina Hausmann.
Race 2 was also dominated by Abbi Pulling, who with her second win of the weekend further extended her title lead over rival Doriane Pin, who had seemed to be the favorite at the start of the season. Sunday morning’s race saw Pulling and Pin start from the front row, followed by Weug and Block; the Ferrari-liveried driver immediately tried to get the better of the car in front of her and on the inside of turn 5, she managed to pass her rival to take second place.
An unlucky session for Bianca Bustamante, who spun at Turn 7 after going too wide on the kerb and subsequently, contact with Tina Hausmann that sent the McLaren-supported driver through the escape road while the Swiss driver received a 10-second penalty; however, on the contrary, it could be said of Lia Block who scored another 12 points with her second consecutive fourth place ahead of Nerea Martí and Hamda Al Qubaisi.
F1 Academy RANKINGS after Singapore
At the start of the weekend, five points separated Chloe Chambers (89), Nerea Martí (85) and Maya Weug (84) in the battle for third place in the world standings; however, the weekend ended with the Ferrari-supported driver in third place, overtaking her rivals. Here is the complete standings of the F1 Academy drivers’ world championship:
- Abbi Pulling – 245
- Doriane Pin – 150
- Maya Weug – 120
- Chloe Chambers – 103
- Nerea Martí – 101
- Hamda Al Qubaisi – 87
- Bianca Bustamante – 57
- Lia Block – 36
- Carrie Schreiner – 24
- Jessica Edgar – 22
- Aurelia Nobels – 22
- Tina Hausmann – 17
- Nina Gademan – 13
- Lola Lovinfosse – 13
- Amna Al Qubaisi – 12
- Emely de Heus – 10
- Ella Lloyd – 8
- Courney Crone – 0
- Reema Juffali – 0
Unlike the drivers’ championship, which now seems to speak the language of Abbi Pulling, as far as the F1 Academy Constructors’ championship is concerned, the game is still open; PREMA Racing returns to the lead ahead of Rodin Motorsport with a 7-point advantage. At the rear, ART Gran Prix made up ground ahead of MP Motorsport to settle into fourth place. Below is the complete team standings!
- PREMA Racing – 287
- Rodin Motorsport – 280
- Campos Racing – 228
- ART Grand Prix – 115
- MP Motorsport – 109
All that remains is to wait for the penultimate appointment with the F1 Academy on the streets of Lusail from 29 November to 1 December, after two in-season tests at the Yas Marina Circuit, in the United Arab Emirates, from 18 to 20 October, and at the Lusail International Circuit from 12 to 14 November.
Photo: F1 Academy
