F1 Academy race 2 in Lusail cancelled

The second race of the F1 Academy weekend in Qatar was canceled due to barrier repairs following a previous support race incident, cutting the weekend short and further reducing the track time afforded to drivers over the season.

Photo credits: F1 Academy

The second race of the F1 Academy weekend in Qatar was canceled following extensive barrier repairs at the final corner of the circuit, caused by an accident during the preceding Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East support race.

With only one race completed, this marked the least amount of racing in the series' history. It remains unclear whether a third race might be added to the season finale in Abu Dhabi or if the event will be canceled entirely.

Celebrations carried on late into Saturday night for the newly crowned F1 Academy champion, Abbi Pulling, who clinched her 11th podium in 11 races by overtaking Maya Weug at the start of Race 1 and sealing the championship title after a stellar season.

On Sunday morning, attention turned back to the track for what was supposed to be the second race at Lusail. With ongoing battles for positions behind the top three in the standings, excitement was high.

Doriane Pin, who dominated every session and maximized her points haul in Qatar, had been set to start Race 2 from pole position. Though her Race 1 lights-to-flag victory wasn’t enough to keep her championship hopes alive, the Mercedes junior remained focused on ending the season with more wins. Alongside Pin on the front row was Prema teammate Maya Weug, who showed strong pace but struggled physically due to illness and had been unable to hold off Pulling at the start of Race 1.

Wildcard Alisha Palmowski, who impressed with a top-five finish on her series debut, was also set to start from fourth on the grid. The cancellation hit her particularly hard, as she lost valuable track time to showcase her talent in front of F1 Academy teams.

The battle for fourth in the championship remains intense, with Nerea Martí, Chloe Chambers, and Hamda Al Qubaisi separated by only a few points. However, just as drivers were readying on the grid, the start of Race 2 was delayed due to ongoing barrier repairs at Turn 16.

After a nearly 30-minute delay, the race was ultimately canceled due to the tight schedule of subsequent FIA F2 and Formula 1 sessions. Originally scheduled for 14:00 local time, the delay left no room to reschedule before the FIA F2 race at 15:20 and the F1 program that followed.

While the F1 Academy benefits from the exposure of racing alongside Formula 1, this incident highlighted one of the drawbacks of sharing the schedule, as support series often receive lower priority, resulting in lost track time compared to standalone regional F4 championships.

With the weekend cut short to just 135 minutes of track time—including a delay during qualifying—F1 Academy drivers have now had potentially under 1,000 minutes of racing across the entire season, one of the lowest totals among Formula 4 categories.

F1 Academy confirmed that pole-winner Doriane Pin will receive the 2 extra points, with no other points being awarded.

The 2024 F1 Academy season will resume in a few days at Yas Marina Circuit, where drivers will close out the season in the championship finale.