F1 Academy Weekend Report – Las Vegas: Pin secures Drivers’ title, Chambers wins season finale on home soil
- Meghana Sree
- 10 minutes ago
- 10 min read
The 2025 F1 Academy season came to a thrilling finish under the lights of Las Vegas, with Doriane Pin securing the Drivers’ Championship ahead of Maya Weug while PREMA Racing took a third consecutive Teams’ Championship.
The F1 Academy season finale provided show-stopping action throughout the weekend, from a chaotic wet-weather Race 1 to an action-packed Race 2 with overtakes galore.
Doriane Pin secured the first victory of the weekend while title rival Maya Weug crashed out early in Race 1. She entered Race 2 with a comfortable 20-point lead over Weug, allowing Pin to safely seal the 2025 F1 Academy Drivers’ Championship despite Weug’s charge to the podium.
Chloe Chambers took the final pole of 2025 and of her F1 Academy career, converting it to a dominant win during Race 2 at her home round.
With plenty of emotional moments, gripping storylines and farewell drives, here’s everything you need to know from the final F1 Academy round of the 2025 hosted by Las Vegas.
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Pin becomes third Drivers’ Champion of the series
Following the footsteps of Marta García and Abbi Pulling, Pin became the all-female series’ third Drivers’ Champion, recording four wins and eight podiums over the 2025 season.
The Mercedes driver built her campaign upon consistency, scoring points in every single race and keeping herself out of trouble even in the trickiest of conditions.
Pin entered Las Vegas just nine points ahead of Weug, who had the stronger momentum of the two title contenders. But an unpredictable Race 1 saw Weug crash out while Pin weathered through the wet conditions to take a win and extend her lead to 20 points.
For the final race, Pin only needed to finish seventh or higher to win the title, regardless of how many points Weug would score. Thus while Weug put up a valiant fight from P5 to third, Pin could comfortably secure the championship after finishing fifth.
PREMA defend title, taking three in a row
PREMA Racing won their third straight Teams’ Championship in F1 Academy, 60 points clear of Campos Racing while MP Motorsport dropped from second to third.
Pin’s Race 1 win and Nina Gademan’s P2 gave PREMA the 1-2 they needed to secure the Teams’ Championship with ease, while Campos took a 1-2 in Race 2 to leapfrog MP Motorsport for the runner up spot.
Chambers wins on home soil from pole
After an unfortunate second half of the season that saw her knocked out of title contention in Singapore, Chambers bounced back for her second home round of the year to deliver a blistering pole lap, securing the top spot for Race 2, and converting it into a comfortable win ahead of teammate Alisha Palmowski and Weug.
With nothing to lose entering Las Vegas, Chambers switched on her magic qualifying pace to land a fourth pole position of the season.
During the main race, the American driver expertly controlled the pace, flawlessly handled a Safety Car restart and led every lap to clinch the final win of the year.
Chambers also nicked the fastest lap point, taking her back up to third in the Drivers’ standings after she lost the spot to Ella Lloyd following a disappointing penultimate round.
The last hurrah for seven drivers on the grid
Pin, Weug, Chambers, Tina Hausmann, Lia Block, Chloe Chong and Aurelia Nobels all commemorated their final F1 Academy race weekend in Las Vegas.
Pin and Chambers marked the end of their F1 Academy journey with a win apiece this round, while Weug and Nobels both took podiums — Nobels securing her maiden podium of the series after penalties were applied post-Race 1.
Block and Hausmann took points in Races 1 and 2 respectively, while Chong rounded out her season with an 11th place finish in the standings.
Lloyd takes Top Rookie honours
McLaren driver Lloyd has shown calm, collected consistency all season, and along with Palmowski, was one of the only two rookies to break into the top five of the Drivers’ standings this year.
Though she lost P3 to Chambers, Lloyd’s efforts in her maiden season have no doubt been commendable, as she secured a Race 1 win in Jeddah as well as multiple podiums throughout the season to outscore Palmowski, securing the coveted Top Rookie honour.
Lloyd has also been given a spot on the 2026, continuing with McLaren, and will no doubt be eager to chase the championship as her next target.
The Weekend as it Happened
Qualifying – Chambers takes fourth pole position of the season on home turf
After a slight delay to the start of qualifying, Gademan was the first driver to set a benchmark lap, with a 2:10.836, closely followed by Lloyd and Chambers.
Weug and Alba Larsen then went quickest, taking the top two spots respectively, the MP Motorsport teammates running close together on track with Larsen attempting to give Weug a tow.
The lap times continued to tumble as the drivers quickly warmed their tyres up, a significant task given the icy temperatures around Las Vegas. Pin slotted into provisional pole with a 2:08.174, as her title rival Weug peeled into the pits for an early change of tyres.
Larsen followed suit into the pits, while back on track, Palmowski pumped in her first lap of the day, jumping up to fourth.
Meanwhile, fellow Campos driver Chambers was the first to break into the 2:07s, and with 16 minutes remaining, took provisional pole ahead of Pin and Hausmann.
The tow tactics between teammates continued, this time Gademan assisting Pin, the Mercedes driver going a tenth quicker than Chambers.
Meanwhile, on her very first F1 Academy weekend, Rachel Robertson stepping in for the injured Aiva Anagnostiadis had managed to place herself in seventh place.
At the head of the field, Chambers was on another electric lap assisted by a four-car tow, going back up to provisional pole with a 2:07.150.
Weug meanwhile, remained on the same tyres she had started on, the team opting to simply take the set off and pop them back on. With eight minutes remaining, the Ferrari driver in sixth was struggling to improve on her lap time and could not boost her position any further.
The Ferrari driver quickly went for another push lap, this time taking a much needed tow through the final sector from Larsen. The tow’s effect was monumental, as Weug jumped to second, crucially ahead of Pin in fourth.
Chambers remained in P1, chipping away at her time and managing a 2:06.731, while her teammate Palmowski took second.
Weug then went out again to improve her position, but a messy lap opened the door for Pin to jump ahead. The French driver still couldn’t match Chambers’ benchmark, and took to another push lap, this time with a tow planned from Hausmann.
Unfortunately for Pin, the tow could not be optimised, leaving the championship leader in fourth, but nonetheless one spot ahead of her title rival, Weug.
Chambers meanwhile found more time on the table, setting a further 0.380s between herself and Palmowski in second, while Larsen rocketed to third.
As the chequered flag fell, Gademan managed to secure eighth, taking pole for Race 1, while Chambers was firmly anchored in P1, the American driver clinching a fourth pole position of the season on home soil for her final F1 Academy race.
Race 1 – Pin extends championship lead to 20 points with victory, Weug crashes out
Even before the race got underway, there was plenty of chaos up and down the field as wet weather wreaked havoc upon the grid.
After a rolling start was confirmed, Felbermayr stalled on her grid spot with a clutch failure.
Meanwhile ahead, the Safety Car prepared to pull in after the formation lap. Towards the end of this situation, confusion while pulling up to the final corner resulted in title contender Weug and Hausmann colliding, immediately taking both drivers out of the race.
It was a devastating turn of events for Weug who had entered Vegas just nine points behind Pin and with all the momentum.
Taken out of running, Weug could only watch as the rest of the grid continued the action on track, beginning with a clean-up of debris under the Safety Car.
Racing action began on Lap 4, with Gademan still in the lead, followed by Pin who had been promoted to second amidst the early race chaos.
Rookie driver Alba Larsen swiftly overtook Pin for second, then continued on her charge by challenging Gademan for the lead. Pulling off a daring move around the outside of Turn 10, Larsen took the lead of the race on Lap 5.
However, her heroics came to an end soon after, as she was caught out by the slippery conditions and tapped the wall at Turn 16, bringing her race to an end.
The race was neutralised once more following Larsen’s retirement, and on Lap 6, the action resumed but was quickly stalled once more as Lloyd slammed into the barriers out of Turn 5.
It was a busy day for the Safety Car, which eventually pulled back in on Lap 9.
Returning to green flag conditions, the field was tightly bunched up once more, allowing Pin to slide past Gademan for the lead down The Strip.
Tucked behind the PREMA teammates, Campos teammates Chambers and Palmowski were battling for the final podium spot, but the pair, no stranger to contact, collided through Turns 14 and 15.
This brought Chambers’ race to an end, while Palmowski took third on the road behind Pin and Gademan, but was later disqualified for a breach of F1 Academy’s Sporting Regulations and Technical Regulations.
Following post-race scrutineering, the Belleville stack of the Red Bull driver’s Damped Shaft Assy was not in the regulated configuration, which promoted Nobels to her first ever F1 Academy podium.
Rachel Robertson stepping in for Aiva Anagnostiadis finished with an impressive P4 on her F1 Academy debut, followed by Block, Payton Westcott, Courtney Crone and Rafaela Ferreira as the final points finishers; Westcott also taking points on debut as the Wild Card entry.
Race 2 – Pin secures Drivers’ Championship, Chambers flies to home victory
With Chambers on pole, the final F1 Academy race in 2025 got underway in Las Vegas as Chambers hung onto the lead into Turn 1.
Meanwhile, in third and fourth, Larsen and Pin scrapped for the final podium spot ahead of Weug in fifth — gunning for the win in order to salvage any chances of still winning the title.
On Lap 2, Weug went for a dive down the inside of Pin, the title rivals nearly making contact as Pin locked up.
Up in second, Palmowski was under pressure from Larsen, while ahead in the lead, Chambers continued to cruise, setting the fastest lap.
Going into Lap 3, Wild Card Driver Westcott as well as Ciconte executed a synchronised spin at Turn 5, and were both taken out of the race, bringing out a Safety Car.
The race being neutralised allowed Felbermayr to catch up to the pack, after a clutch problem on the formation lap caused the Sauber driver to start from the pit lane.
The Safety Car period ended on Lap 5, as Chambers executed a clinical getaway on the restart down the main straight.
Behind her, Palmowski and Larsen’s tussle continued, but Larsen was caught unawares by Pin who dived up to third with a precise late-braking move, followed by Weug moving past her MP Motorsport teammate into fourth.
Meanwhile, Robertson received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision, while further ahead, Gademan and Lloyd were battling for sixth behind Larsen.
The stewards also flagged Havrda for a false start, who received a five-second time penalty.
Pin’s charge continued as she set the fastest lap, and was now sizing up a move on Palmowski in second.
With five laps to go, the top five was occupied by Chambers, Palmowski, Pin, Weug and Larsen.
Chambers remained in control of the race, while Weug took the fastest lap from Pin.
The Ferrari driver’s relentless charge continued, as she chanced a brave move around the outside of title rival Pin at Turn 3, taking P3 ahead of the championship favourite.
Weug’s next target was Palmowski, who put up a sturdy defence with three laps to go. The Dutch driver went wheel-to-wheel with Palmowski, and momentarily leaped up to second, but was then overtaken by the Red Bull driver once again.
The drivers treated us to more action for the season finale as Larsen also slipped past Pin, the Mercedes driver dropping down to fifth but still hanging on to her championship.
Meanwhile, Lloyd made a clinical pass on Gademan for sixth as the pack entered the final lap.
At the head of the field, Chambers continued to cruise into the distance with a near five-second margin to second-placed Palmowski, proceeding to win the final race of 2025 on home turf.
As the chequered flag waved, the final points order was Chambers followed by Palmowski, Weug with an incredible P3 effort, Larsen, Pin successfully securing the title, Lloyd, Gademan, Hausmann, Ferreira and Nobels.
Drivers’ Thoughts
The star of the weekend was none other than F1 Academy's third Drivers' Championship winner, Pin.
Celebrating a momentous title feat with her team and the Mercedes crew, Pin was jubilant following the race, sharing: "It’s amazing, champion is a beautiful word to really fit our season.
"We can be really proud of all the work we have done since last year. We never gave up, we worked so hard on winning races, winning the title."
The Mercedes driver added: "Since the very first time I got in a go-kart, I wanted to win every single race I competed in. I'm very happy about my entire journey, and obviously my journey with F1 Academy has been unforgettable.
"I’m very proud of all of this, and now we can celebrate it."
The Las Vegas spotlight was also shared by Chambers who secured a home win in her final F1 Academy race. The American driver expressed: "It was a really good race from me – pretty boring from my side, to be honest!
"The first couple of laps I knew were going to be difficult because I was expecting the tow to be a big factor, but it turned out to be slightly less than what I expected."
Final 2025 Championship Standings
Drivers’ Championship
Doriane Pin — 172
Maya Weug — 157
Chloe Chambers — 127
Ella Lloyd — 109
Alisha Palmowski — 91
Teams’ Championship
PREMA Racing — 296
Campos Racing — 236
MP Motorsport — 235
Rodin Motorsport — 164
ART Grand Prix — 57
Hitech TGR — 20
Up Next
After the exciting highs of the 2025 season that came to a fitting close under the Las Vegas lights, F1 Academy will now take its annual winter break.
Another unforgettable season is sure to follow in 2026, which already promises more thrilling championship battles, memorable narratives and non-stop racing action while bringing visibility and empowerment to women in motorsport.
