With a brilliant getaway, Mercedes junior Doriane Pin snatched the lead on the first lap and controlled the race from the front, making the most of a fresh set of tyres to secure her fourth F1 Academy victory ahead of Maya Weug and Chloe Chambers.
With a brilliant getaway, Mercedes junior Doriane Pin snatched the lead on the first lap and controlled the race from the front, making the most of a fresh set of tyres to secure her fourth F1 Academy victory. She crossed the line two seconds ahead of Maya Weug, while Chloe Chambers worked her way into third in the closing stages after an intense battle.
The race followed a chaotic reverse-grid contest on Saturday, which saw Campos Racing’s Alisha Palmowski survive multiple safety car interruptions to claim her first win as a full-season driver, leading home her teammate Chloe Chambers. With the championship battle already taking shape, all eyes were now on Sunday morning’s feature race, where two of the series’ top contenders—Maya Weug and Doriane Pin—lined up on the front row.
Weug, who made the switch to MP Motorsport in the offseason, had dominated Friday’s qualifying session, securing pole position with a commanding advantage of almost four-tenths over Pin. Despite starting eighth in the reverse-grid race, she fought her way up to an impressive third-place finish. Pin, meanwhile, had to battle through the midfield in Race 1 before eventually settling for fourth place.
With both drivers now starting on the front row, the stage was set for a thrilling contest between the Ferrari junior and the Mercedes junior. Behind them, rookie sensation Alba Hurup Larsen lined up third, continuing to impress in her maiden season. She shared the second row with Chloe Chambers, while Palmowski and Joanne Ciconte completed the third row.
Due to a slippery track surface in the final sector, caused by dust over spilled oil, an extra formation lap was added behind the safety car, and the race was converted into a rolling start. As soon as the field was released, Pin reacted fastest, making a decisive move around the outside of Turn 1 to take the lead from Weug. Behind them, Larsen held onto third place despite early pressure from Chambers and Palmowski.
However, the midfield saw immediate drama as Prema teammates Tina Hausmann and Nina Gademan collided at Turn 5, with Hausmann outbraking herself while defending from Ciconte and sending both Prema cars into a spin. While they managed to continue, another accident just a few corners later saw Joanne Ciconte being tapped by Chloe Chong, spinning into the path of Nicole Havrda and Aurelia Nobels. With nowhere to go, both drivers crashed into Ciconte, forcing all three into retirement and triggering an early safety car at the end of lap 1.
Racing resumed on lap 4, with Pin executing a clean restart to hold onto her lead. Behind her, battles erupted throughout the field. Chambers immediately began pressuring Larsen for third place, while further down the order, Ella Lloyd hunted down Emma Felbermayr in a battle for the top six. At the back, Nina Gademan made up ground quickly, clearing both Hausmann and Shi Wei into Turn 1 to move into P12. Meanwhile, Lia Block, who had started from the very back after missing qualifying due to a practice crash, continued her charge through the field, breaking into P11 and setting up a battle with Rafaela Ferreira.
Up front, Pin managed to create a small but crucial one-second buffer over Weug, keeping the Ferrari car at bay. However, the action remained relentless in the midfield, where Ferreira made a move on Courtney Crone to claim ninth place, leaving the Haas driver to fend off a charging Lia Block. One lap later, Block seized the opportunity to overtake Crone with a well-timed move at Turn 1 on lap 8, with Gademan following suit shortly after with a clean maneuver at Turn 5.
As the race entered its closing stages, Chambers intensified her efforts to overtake Larsen for third place. She made an attempt at the hairpin, but a slight mistake saw her run deep into the corner, allowing Larsen to switch back and reclaim her position. Chambers regrouped and attempted again on the following lap – this time, she executed a smart overtake into Turn 1, positioning herself on the inside and forcing Larsen onto the less grippy part of the track, finally securing third place.
Meanwhile, further back, Emma Felbermayr overtook Race 1 winner Palmowski for fifth. Chloe Chong also moved up into eighth place, passing Ferreira in an intense three-way battle that also involved Lia Block, who continued her remarkable recovery drive. Nina Gademan, despite being spun on the opening lap, was rapidly closing in on them, hoping to break into the points before the checkered flag.
At the front, Doriane Pin remained in complete control, keeping her two-second advantage over Weug and crossing the finish line to claim her fourth F1 Academy victory. While Chambers had built a comfortable gap once past Larsen, it wasn’t enough to challenge the leading duo, but she nonetheless secured her second podium of the weekend, capping off a strong performance for Campos Racing.
Further down the order, Alba Hurup Larsen completed a remarkable Race 2, finishing fourth in just her second-ever F1 Academy start. The Dane finished ahead of another standout rookie, Emma Felbermayr, who crossed the line in fifth. Palmowski eventually settled for sixth place, ahead of Ella Lloyd in seventh.
Penalties reshuffled the final order slightly, as Rafaela Ferreira reclaimed eighth place following a 10-second time penalty issued to Chloe Chong for causing the early-race collision. Meanwhile, Lia Block’s charge from 18th to ninth ensured she walked away with valuable points at the end of an impressive recovery drive. Nina Gademan, despite her early setback, managed to finish tenth, securing the final point.
For Chloe Chong, it was an unlucky weekend despite displaying good pace throughout. Involved in a few incidents, she ultimately finished just outside the points in eleventh place. Courtney Crone followed in twelfth, ahead of Aiva Anagnostiadis and Shi Wei. Tina Hausmann also received a 10-second penalty, which dropped her to P15.
With also the fastest lap bonus point, Doriane Pin now takes the lead in the championship standings. F1 Academy now looks ahead to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia on April 19-20, where the high-speed street track promises another weekend of thrilling action.
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