Written by Sophie Harvey
After a month-long break, F1 Academy landed in Singapore for what would be an ultimate display of dominance. With plenty of epic spins, close scuffles and tyre sorcery, it’s about time we unpacked what unfolded on the tight and twisty streets of Marina Bay.
Weug, Pulling and Pin were a cut above the rest last weekend | Credit - F1 Academy
Headlines
Ella Lloyd would join the grid for this round only, partnering PREMA Racing as a wildcard driver. Donning an F1 Academy ‘Discover Your Drive’ livery for Singapore, the 18-year-old made her single-seater debut in British F4 earlier this year.
Abbi Pulling had the opportunity to secure the title over the weekend, providing she outscored Doriane Pin by 41 points. Did she ‘pull’ it off?
Maya Weug, Nerea Martí and Chloe Chambers were all separated by just five points. In the fight for third place in the championship, who currently leads?
Hamda Al Qubaisi sported an excluded Red Bull ‘REBL CUSTMS’ livery for the round, unlike the RB20 which had its livery plans scrapped due to weight gain concerns.
Who would come out on top? | Credit - F1 Academy
Qualifying
After just one practice session, the grid filed out of the pits for an exciting session of qualifying action
It was Pulling’s first flyer of the day which sent her to the top of the timing sheets, setting a respectable 2:04.662 lap.
Though, her initial time was soon beaten. Weug scraped a tenth off the Alpine driver’s time, before Pin topped the pair. As time continued to tick down, yellow flags were briefly waved in response to a small spin from Amna Al Qubaisi.
With 16 minutes on the clock, the pitlane was a flurry of activity as drivers bolted on fresh tyres — however, it was still a case of beating Pin, Weug and Pulling.
Still seven tenths off Pin, Martí shot up to P5. In turn, Hamda Al Qubaisi shot to P3, momentarily knocking Pulling off the top-three.
As Pulling responded with continuous flying laps, she found herself back on top until the end — taking double pole as a result.
Weug and Pin slotted in behind her, followed by Williams’ Lia Block in her best-ever qualifying position. Hamda Al Qubaisi followed, with Chambers and Martí slotting in behind her.
Wildcard Ella Lloyd’s qualifying saw her finish in P8, as Bianca Bustamante and Carrie Schreiner rounded out the top-ten.
Each driver’s fastest lap sets the grid for Race 1 | Credit - F1 Academy
Race 1
Bustamante caused an aborted start, having overshot her grid box — in turn, the McLaren Academy driver earned herself a 10-second stop and go penalty after failing to start from the pitlane. One additional formation lap later, we were ready to resume.
As the lights went out, it was Pulling who hit the apex into turn one. As the top-three and Block held formation, chaos ensued further down the grid.
As Hamda Al Qubaisi ran wide, Lloyd charged past the Emirati and Martí for P6.
By lap five, Pulling had begun to extend her lead — setting purple sectors, she stole the fastest lap once again.
Elsewhere, a brief yellow flag flew. Emely De Heus had taken an excursion off the racing line, in her hunt for Aurelia Nobels.
It became apparent that Pin and wildcard Lloyd were under investigation for a false start — with Pin refusing to give up her P3 to Block, the Mercedes Junior set to work at extending the gap between them both.
Out in front, Pulling crossed the finish line with a 2.056s lead from Weug. Pin held onto the last spot on the podium, denying Block of her first podium finish.
Chambers and Hamda Al Qubaisi followed the Williams’ driver home, unable to get past. In a good day for Campos Racing, Martí and Schreiner took P7 and P8. Lloyd’s penalty demoted her to P9, just ahead of Tina Hausmann in P10.
Race 2
Each driver’s second fastest lap from qualifying sets the grid for Race 2 | Credit - F1 Academy
Off the line, Pulling had another great start whilst Pin and Weug went wheel to wheel — the Ferrari Academy member got the better of her Mercedes teammate, emerging ahead at turn five.
Whilst Block tried to capitalise on the duelling duo, Lloyd had swept past Schreiner for P7 and was already applying the pressure on Red Bull Racing’s Hamda Al Qubaisi.
As Pulling sets a fastest lap of 2:07.133, her extended lead soon diminished after Bustamante brought out an early safety car. Having gone too wide over the kerb into turn seven, her McLaren-liveried car was sent into a spin.
By lap four, we were back to green-flag racing — a well-thought restart from Pulling set her up well, as she began to set fastest lap after fastest lap to distance herself from Weug.
Expecting a 10-second penalty for a collision that sent Bustamante airborne, Hausmann was hurried by her race engineer; to prevent penalties being carried through to the next round, the Swiss driver was informed she must finish the race. Though, she was sent into a spin just moments later.
Having extended her lead by three seconds, Pulling did it again. She had made Singapore look like a walk in the park, securing her fourth Grand Chelem (pole, victory and fastest lap) of the season.
Weug followed her to the flag, with Pin over a second behind her PREMA Racing teammate. Block took home another 12-point haul, taking a second consecutive fourth-placed finish ahead of Martí. Hamda Al Qubaisi finished just ahead of Lloyd in P7, with Chambers finishing in P8. Schreiner and De Heus, rounding out the point scorers by taking P9 and P8 respectively.
Pulling was incredibly happy to be one step closer to clinching the title | Credit - Sky Sports F1
Driver’s Championship
In the driver’s standings, Pulling is still the one to beat. With a 95-point lead, can anyone realistically take the title from her?
Before Singapore commenced, there was a three-way challenge for P3. No longer separated by just three points, Weug has certainly taken the upper hand. Whilst all hope is not lost for Chambers and Martí, the Ferrari driver’s dip in form seems to be officially over — could she even go as far as taking P2 from Pin?
Abbi Pulling — 245 pts
Doriane Pin — 150 pts
Maya Weug — 120 pts
Chloe Chambers — 103 pts
Nerea Martí— 101 pts
Team’s Championship
As for the teams, PREMA Racing has stolen the lead from Rodin Motorsport. It's clear the reigning champions mean business — with both Pin and Weug being consistent podium-finishers, the title could definitely be theirs again.
Further down the scoreboard, ART Grand Prix have swept past MP Motorsport. Despite almost clinching the title in 2023, the Dutch outfit are having a year to forget.
PREMA Racing— 287 pts
Rodin Motorsport— 280 pts
Campos Racing — 228 pts
ART Grand Prix— 115 pts
MP Motorsport — 109 pts
So, what’s next?
Next up, F1 Academy drivers will be busy participating in two in-season tests at both Yas Marina Circuit and Lusail International. Once completed, racing will commence in Qatar on November 29th.
With the opportunity to see a champion crowned, make sure you tune in for the penultimate round of F1 Academy in 2024.
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