Doriane Pin led a Prema 1-2 in the sole F1 Academy practice at Shanghai International Circuit, finishing ahead of an impressive Tina Hausmann – by less than a tenth of a second – and Chloe Chambers, in a session shortened by an accident between Lia Block and Rafaela Ferreira in the opening stages.
102 days after the final race of the 2024 season in Abu Dhabi, F1 Academy made its on-track return at Shanghai International Circuit, marking the first time the all-female championship has raced at the venue.
The newly expanded 18-car grid took to the track for a three-day test just two weeks before the start of the 2025 season, giving many of the rookies a valuable opportunity to learn and get up to speed.
With several 2024 drivers reaching the two-year limit in the series, the 2025 grid features an unprecedented 10 rookies among the 17 full-time drivers, alongside the return of the Wild Card initiative.
In Shanghai, the Wild Card entry is represented by local driver Shi Wei, the only competitor with previous F4 experience at the circuit, having raced in the Chinese F4 series.
One driver who maximized her Wild Card opportunity in 2024 was Ella Lloyd, now one of four drivers promoted to full-time seats for 2025. The Welsh racer, representing McLaren with Rodin Motorsport, was the first to set a time in the 2025 season, posting a 2:07.383 as the green flag waved on the sole free practice session. Lloyd soon dipped under the 2:07 mark with a 2:06.1 before a brief spin at Turn 9, when she lost the rear on corner entry but escaped without damage.
Alba Hurup Larsen improved in the first sector and slotted into second, just over a tenth behind Lloyd. The first driver to break into the 2:05 range was Ferrari’s Maya Weug—one of the biggest stories of the off-season, having switched from Prema to MP Motorsport. However, Larsen responded with a 2:05.821 to claim the top spot, ahead of Weug and Chloe Chong in the Charlotte Tilbury-sponsored car. Weug continued to improve, becoming the first driver to dip below 2:05 with a 2:04.970—already a competitive time with 20 minutes remaining.
With purple sectors in the first two sectors, Weug further improved to a 2:04.603, placing the Dutchwoman over a second clear of Chong in second. The session was then abruptly halted when Lia Block and Rafaela Ferreira collided on the long back straight while warming up their tyres. Both drivers were unharmed, but the incident left Block’s Williams-liveried ART GP car significantly damaged.
While weaving to generate heat in her tyres, a miscommunication between the drivers resulted in Ferreira’s VCARB Campos car making contact with Block’s rear left wheel, sending the American into the inside wall.
The recovery of the crashed cars led to a shortened session, with the track reopening 10 minutes later, leaving only eight minutes on the clock—while several drivers had yet to set a lap time.
Shi Wei triggered another yellow flag soon after with a spin on cold tyres at Turn 1 but was able to quickly recover and rejoin the session.
Aurelia Nobels set her first representative time, moving into fourth, before Nina Gademan climbed to second. However, Doriane Pin—on her first timed lap—immediately jumped to second with a 2:04.9. Tina Hausmann, in the third Prema entry, also slotted into the top five as the session wound down.
With two minutes remaining, Chloe Chambers became the new pace-setter with a 2:04.450, but her time was soon eclipsed by Pin, who found an extra tenth. However, it was Tina Hausmann who moved to the top of the leaderboard with a 2:04.297, in the Aston Martin Prema. Pin responded by going purple in the first sector, and with an equally strong final sector, she reclaimed the top spot with a 2:04.198 as the checkered flag fell.
Hausmann finished just 0.099 seconds behind in a highly positive second place, unable to improve on her final run. Chambers, after a lock-up at the hairpin, settled for third, while her Campos teammate Alisha Palmowski also struggled with a lock-up and remained ninth. Emma Felbermayr improved on her final attempt with a 2:05.114, securing eighth place.
At the conclusion of the shortened session, Doriane Pin emerged as the fastest driver, leading a Prema 1-2 with an impressive Tina Hausmann in second. Chambers finished third, while Maya Weug and Nina Gademan completed the top five. Ella Lloyd secured sixth ahead of a rapid Joanne Ciconte in seventh. Felbermayr, Palmowski, and Chong rounded out the top ten.
Alba Hurup Larsen finished 11th, followed by FDA-backed Aurelia Nobels, Aiva Anagnostiadis, and Nicole Havrda—all separated by less than two seconds from the pace-setter Pin. Courtney Crone, returning after her 2024 Wild Card entry in Miami, was 15th fastest in the Haas-liveried ART GP car, ahead of Shi Wei, who was 3.1 seconds off the leader. Lia Block and Rafaela Ferreira were unable to set representative times due to their incident.
Teams now face a tight turnaround to repair the damaged cars ahead of qualifying, which is set to take place in just a couple of hours.
The 2025 format introduces a single qualifying session, with the fastest driver securing pole position for Race 2, while the top eight qualifiers will be reversed to set the grid for Race 1. Qualifying is scheduled for 14:05 local time.