F1 Academy Preview: Montreal
- Meghana Sree
- Jun 12
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 14
Written by Meghana Sree, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
It’s race week for F1 Academy as we head into the mid-season round at Montreal to resume this year’s thrilling fight for the title. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Round 4.
F1 Academy returns to action on 13th June, racing around Canada’s iconic Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. This will be the first time F1 Academy visits Montreal to support Formula One’s Canadian Grand Prix, posing a new challenge for the entire grid.
Montreal’s weekend will also feature a third race, added in to compensate for the postponed race in Miami last time out, due to heavy rainfall.
Key Stories
This midpoint round is a unique opportunity for drivers and teams to collect as many points as possible in a weekend and comfortably jump ahead of their rivals.
With three points-scoring sessions, we’ll certainly come out of Montreal with a dramatic shake up in both championships.
The addition of a third race also sees a revised schedule. Free Practice and Qualifying are set for Friday, the usual two races on Saturday and Race 3 will be on Sunday.
Race 1 will be based on Miami’s Qualifying results, while Race 2 will follow the reverse-grid format from the Montreal Qualifying and Race 3 will take this weekend’s Qualifying order.
With just one Free Practice session to get up to speed, a critical storyline for this weekend will be on the drivers capable of adapting the quickest to this unfamiliar track and preparing themselves to hit the ground running on Saturday.
Ahead of the weekend, F1 Academy also announced Gatorade as their latest official partner and 16-year-old Mathilda Paatz as the Wild Card entry to commemorate the partnership.
The sports drinks brand will join F1 Academy on a multi-year partnership, with the announcement also mentioning that drivers will gain access to the Gatorade Sport Science Institute’s research-backed personalised hydration strategies and solutions to optimise driver performance from 2026 onwards.
Paatz is currently racing in the F4 CEZ Championship with Mathilda Racing, one of three females competing in the series. Currently sixth in the championship, the German driver scored a career-highlight podium in Spielberg last month, carving out a name for herself as a driver to remember.
Paatz will compete in all three races this weekend, and for Race 1 with the Race 2 starting grid from Miami, she will start from the back of the grid.
Ahead of her F1 Academy debut, Paatz shared: “I’m beyond excited to be the Wild Card driver at Round 4 of F1 Academy at the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, driving the Gatorade car."
Adding more feathers to its cap of iconic partnerships, F1 Academy announced another exciting official partner for the series. Wella Professionals, specialising in hair care and beauty, have agreed on a multi-year partnership with F1 Academy from Montreal onwards.
To commemorate this partnership, Joanne Ciconte will represent Wella Professionals on the grid with a bespoke livery and race suit throughout the season. As with other partnerships such as Charlotte Tilbury, Wella Professionals will operate custom-made fan engagement zones within the paddock across all race weekends.
Track Preview
The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is built on the man-made Notre Dame Island in Montreal, Canada. At 4.361 km (2.710 mi) in distance, the venue gives drivers an exciting challenge within the barriers that wrap closely around the circuit.
Offering 14 turns, including the iconic hairpin turn and the legendary Wall of Champions towards the end of the lap, the F1 Academy drivers will be on a level playing field as they test the limits of this track for the first time in the category’s history.
Last Time Out
Miami was a challenging round for drivers, with the threat of heavy rain looming over the circuit throughout the weekend. A downpour during qualifying ramped up on-track action, while Race 2 was consequently postponed, making Race 1 the only chance for drivers to bag some points.
Doriane Pin made the best of this opportunity during the reverse-grid race. The French driver climbed up the ranks from sixth to seal her second win of the season, in a bid to reclaim her spot as the championship leader from Maya Weug.
Had Race 2 proceeded, Pin certainly could have taken back the lead, given Weug had only qualified tenth.
Weug and Pin also have Chloe Chambers to watch out for, with the Campos driver not far behind in third. Apart from Pin, Chambers was one of the drivers who shined despite the downpour, clinching pole for the postponed Race 2 and being awarded two points for the same.
This weekend, Chambers will be eager to win the race that got away from her, and play her part in spicing up the championship battle.
The Championships
As we approach the halfway point of the 2025 season, the pressure will mount for all three drivers at the top, as it is their final of two seasons in F1 Academy.
Following Miami, Pin has closed down the gap to Weug in the lead to just one point. Weug’s off-weekend and Pin’s return to form allowed the Mercedes junior to rekindle the tight battle, with Chambers too ready to pick up the pieces as she sits eight points behind Pin.
As for the teams, Campos Racing has a strong total of 108 points in the lead, while MP Motorsport is swiftly catching up, owing to Weug’s consistent podiums and rookie Alba Larsen’s impressive run of form.
MP Motorsport will have to put up a strong fight, as Campos too have a star rookie of their own. Alisha Palmowski, the championship’s lead rookie, will be keen to make more progress in Montreal and perhaps even challenge the top three in the standings.
All things considered, F1 Academy is in for a thrilling first weekend in Montreal with everything from championship battles, rivalries at the front end and three exciting races to provide non-stop action for fans. Don’t miss a single lap!
Session Timings (in UTC)
Free Practice 1: Friday, 3:05 pm
Qualifying: Friday, 10:30 pm
Race 1: Saturday, 1:15 pm
Race 2: Saturday, 6:50 pm
Race 3: Sunday, 2:55 pm
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