Chloe Chambers claimed the fastest lap of the Canadian weekend, edging out Alisha Palmowski. Tough times for Ferrari’s Dutch driver Maya Weug, while Doriane Pin is chasing the two Red Bulls. Here’s what happened during F1 Academy qualifying in Canada.
After completing the sole free practice session of the F1 Academy at Montréal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve—with Alisha Palmowski clocking the fastest time ahead of her teammate Chloe Chambers—the all-female series returned to the track for the qualifying session.
It was Chambers, a member of the Red Bull Ford Academy , who clinched pole position with a time of 1:38.125, placing her ahead of the British Red Bull driver by 0.305 seconds. 0.305Behind the two Austrian bull representatives came Doriane Pinin third, followed by Ella Lloyd, Tina Hausmann, Emma Felbermayr, Nina Gademan, Chloe Chong, Rafaela Ferreira, and Lia Block rounding out the top ten. Meanwhile, Maya Weug’s Canadian weekend appears forgettable already, as she struggled with engine issues and finished in 15th place—far from expectations for the Ferrari-backed driver.
Qualifying Recap – F1 Academy Canada
When the clock started at 00:30 AM Italian time on June 14, Maya Weug immediately hit the track in an attempt to bounce back after missing the only free practice session earlier in the day. However, it was Chloe Chambers who first set the benchmark lap with a 1:41.127, ahead of Lia Block and Aurelia Nobels. With 23 minutes remaining, lap times were still relatively high.
Alba Larsen then became the first driver to break the 1:41 barrier, only to be overtaken by Lia Block. FP1 leader Alisha Palmowski made her presence felt by going to the top with a 1:40.101, ahead of Ella Lloyd and Maya Weug (+0.366). Danish driver Palmowski, supported by Tommy Hilfiger, improved the pace further with a 1:39.645, while Ferrari’s Weug returned to the pits, and Doriane Pin came out for her out lap thirteen minutes into the session.
Chambers improved on her own time, though not enough to surpass Palmowski, who set a new best of 1:38.749. French driver Pin slotted in behind the two Campos Racing drivers with a 0.161-second gap. Chambers then reclaimed the top spot with a marginal improvement of 0.053 seconds—just six minutes left on the clock.
In the final moments of qualifying, the battle for pole turned into a head-to-head between Chambers and Palmowski, with Chambers trailing closely. Doriane Pin briefly broke up the duel by slotting between the two with a flying lap. Meanwhile, championship leader Maya Weug continued to struggle, finishing a disappointing 15th.
Next up for the all-female category are two races scheduled for today: Race 1 at 15:10 and Race 2 at 20:45.
How Will the F1 Academy Starting Grids Be Formed in Canada?
The starting grid for Race 1 will follow the same lineup as Race 2 in Miami, with the exception of the wild card entry—Mathilda Paatz, backed by Gatorade and driving for Hitech Grand Prix this weekend—who will start from the back. Race 2 will use a reverse grid format. The grid for the third race, set for Sunday, will be determined by each driver’s fastest lap during qualifying.
Photo: F1 Academy.
