F1 Academy Preview: Las Vegas
- Meghana Sree
- 8 minutes ago
- 4 min read
For one last time in 2025, it’s F1 Academy race week, as the paddock heads to Las Vegas with a Drivers’ Championship battle to settle and plenty of season-long narratives to wrap up. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the final round this year.
The 2025 F1 Academy season has been full of thrilling twists and plenty of emotional moments, and now the stage is set for one final showdown in Las Vegas, a fitting place to see out this year of action-packed racing.
We enter the season finale with an exciting title battle on our hands between Doriane Pin and Maya Weug. The two drivers are separated by nine points, and with two races to go, the 2025 Drivers’ Championship is truly anyone’s for the taking.
Key Stories
For our championship contenders, this will be their final chance of claiming the F1 Academy title, seeing as both Pin and Weug are in their second and final year of racing in the series.
Pin currently leads the championship by nine points, but momentum is on Weug’s side. The Ferrari driver heads to the final round with back-to-back Race 2 wins, both won from pole, as well as impeccable form during in-season testing in Bahrain.
The Teams’ Championship also remains unsettled, with PREMA racing in the lead and ready to defend their back-to-back titles. One of the biggest narratives in Vegas will be whether MP Motorsport, 49 points adrift, can put up a fight to prevent PREMA from sealing a hat-trick of titles.
Joining in on the excitement of F1 Academy’s grand finale, Payton Westcott will be our last Wild Card Driver of the year.
The 16-year-old American driver has previously competed in the Formula Winter Series and Italian Formula 4, and recently took part in F1 Academy’s first ever Rookie Test, finishing third in the first session and going fastest for the second session.
Westcott will be supported by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (Visit Las Vegas), and is set to make her F1 Academy debut in a bespoke Las Vegas-themed livery and race suit to celebrate the city’s unique energy.
Another newcomer to the grid will be Rachel Robertson, stepping in for Aiva Anagnostiadis who has been recuperating from an injury on her left foot. Robertson competed in the Rookie Test as well, finishing fifth in both sessions.
The final round will also see the activation of F1 Academy’s collaboration with popular media franchise Hello Kitty, with plans for a merchandise collection, Hello Kitty Grandstands and interactive fan engagement spots throughout the paddock during the race weekend.
Ahead of the weekend, it was also announced that the LEGO Group and F1 Academy are set for a multi-year partnership which includes the representation of the LEGO group on the grid from 2026 onwards, in a bespoke LEGO Racing livery.
LEGO Racing's debut will be piloted by Dutch driver Esmee Kosterman, who made her F1 Academy debut this year at Zandvoort, becoming the first Wild Card Driver to score points this season.
Track Preview
One of the biggest challenges for drivers will be getting up to speed on a track they’ve never driven at before. F1 Academy will be the first support series to race alongside Formula One at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, after the track was introduced in F1 two years ago.
Known for its lengthy straights that incorporate the iconic Las Vegas Strip, drivers will be preparing for 13 laps in each race at this venue.
Zipping past famed landmarks such as the Las Vegas Sphere, The Venetian hotel, the Bellagio fountains and more, this high-speed circuit will offer thrilling racing action and unforgettable views for fans in the grandstands.
The layout consists of 17 corners around a total distance of 6.201 km that takes drivers through the tight hairpin of the first turn, followed by the Koval Lane straight that leads into a slow 90-degree right turn to enter the Sphere section.
This is followed by a series of left-right turns that take drivers onto the Las Vegas Strip, concluding with three slow corners that feed into the Harmon Avenue straight to finish the lap.
The Championships
The main headline going into the final round is the Drivers’ title fight between Pin and Weug, currently separated by nine points after the Ferrari driver’s surge in performance over the last two rounds.
Bouncing back from a nightmare weekend in Montreal where she lost the championship lead, plagued by a recurring mechanical issue, Weug has since been on a purple patch with back-to-back wins, including a home victory in Zandvoort.
With one driver holding the championship lead advantage and the other carrying all the momentum in this critical title fight, the battle is set to go down to the wire between Pin and Weug.
For both drivers, this will be their only remaining attempt at winning an F1 Academy title as the two contenders are in their second and final year of racing in this series, increasing the stakes tremendously.
Behind the top two, Ella Lloyd in third will be eager to hold on to her position in a bid to win the Top Rookie honour. Her rival for this award is Alisha Palmowski, currently fifth.
Separating the two rookies is Chloe Chambers, who was knocked out of the title fight at the previous round in Singapore. Nevertheless, the American driver will have her sights set on making progress and salvaging a third-place finish in the standings at her career’s final F1 Academy round.
Over in the Teams’ Championship, PREMA’s campaign to secure a historic hat-trick of titles will continue in Las Vegas. Their closest threat is MP Motorsport who sit 49 points adrift.
With two races scheduled and points on the table for pole position and the fastest lap as well, both teams have the opportunity to secure the Teams’ title this year.
Session Timings (in BST)
Free Practice 1: Friday, 01:55
Qualifying: Friday, 05:25
Race 1: Saturday, 02:10
Race 2: Sunday, 00:15
