F1 Academy Round 1 Recap: Doriane Pin Showed Early Dominance In Saudi Arabia

Everything you need to catch up on from the first round of the 2024 F1 Academy season.

The 2024 F1 Academy season kicked off with Round 1 in Saudi Arabia over the weekend. Prema Racing driver Doriane Pin, who is supported by the Mercedes F1 team, dominated the weekend despite ending the weekend with a penalty.

Here is everything you need to catch up on. 

Free Practice Results

Doriane Pin showcased exceptional pace during the first Free Practice session of the 2024 F1 Academy season at Jeddah Corniche Circuit, leading the field with a notable time of 2:04.889 after dominating the session. 

Alpine's Abbi Pulling and Williams' Lia Block, driving for ART Grand Prix, were her closest competitors, finishing in second and third places respectively, with Pulling just two-tenths off Pin's pace. 

The opening round witnessed competitive timings as drivers initially ventured out, with Pin setting an early pace, which was then surpassed by Maya Weug and Bianca Bustamante before Pin reclaimed her lead with a lap time of 2:06.050. 

As the session progressed, despite a brief lead by Pulling, Pin secured the top position by breaking into the 2:04s, highlighting a strong performance from Block, Martí, and others who posted personal bests in the concluding moments.

Mercedes Press Image

1. Doriane Pin, Prema Racing
2. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport
3. Lia Block, ART Grand Prix
4. Nerea Marti, Campos Racing
5. Maya Weug, Prema Racing
6. Lola Lovinfosse, Rodin Motorsport
7. Chloe Chambers, Campos Racing
8. Carrie Schreiner, Campos Racing
9. Tina Hausmann, Prema Racing
10. Jessica Edgar, Rodin Motorsport
11. Amna Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport
12. Aurelia Nobels, ART Grand Prix
13. Biance Bustamante, ART Grand Prix
14. Emely De Heus, MP Motorsport
15. Hamda Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport
16. Reema Juffali , Prema Racing

Qualifying 1 Results

Throughout the season's inaugural qualifying session, Doriane Pin remained the standout driver, securing both pole positions with her commanding performance and a best lap time of 2:03.472. Abbi Pulling and Maya Weug engaged in a tight contest for the second position, with Pulling consistently securing the front row alongside Pin. 

In the early stages, drivers rushed to warm up their tyres, with Pin setting the pace, closely followed by Pulling, who briefly led with a lap time of 2:05.501 before Pin reclaimed her position with an improved time. 

1. Doriane Pin, Prema Racing
2. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport
3. Maya Weug, Prema Racing
4. Nerea Marti, Campos Racing
5. Bianca Bustamante, ART Grand Prix
6. Lola Lovinfosse, Rodin Motorsport
7. Lia Block, ART Grand Prix
8. Chloe Chambers, Campos Racing
9. Aurelia Nobels, ART Grand Prix
10. Jessica Edgar, Rodin Motorsport
11. Tina Hausmann, Prema Racing
12. Carrie Schreiner, Campos Racing
13. Hamda Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport
14. Reema Juffali, Prema Racing
15. Amna Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport
16. Emely De Heus, MP Motorsport

Alpine F1 Press Image

Qualifying 2 Results

1. Doriane Pin, Prema Racing
2. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport
3. Maya Weug, Prema Racing
4. Lola Lovinfosse, Rodin Motorsport
5. Nerea Marti, Campos Racing
6. Chloe Chambers, Campos Racing
7. Tina Hausmann, Prema Racing
8. Aurelia Nobels, ART Grand Prix
9. Jessica Edgar, Rodin Motorsport
10. Bianca Bustamante, ART Grand Prix
11. Carrie Schreiner, Campos Racing
12. Hamda Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport
13. Lia Block, ART Grand Prix
14. Amna Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport
15. Reema Juffali, Prema Racing
16. Emely De Heus, MP Motorsport

Race 1 Results

Doriane Pin secured a dominant victory in her debut F1 Academy race, while Alpine's Abbi Pulling clinched second place and the fastest lap bonus, fending off challenges from Maya Weug. 

The race featured intense on-track battles, including Chloe Chambers' skillful overtakes and a three-wide scramble involving Tina Hausmann, Aurelia Nobels, and Jessica Edgar, with Hausmann prevailing. The event was marked by a Safety Car intervention caused by a collision, strategic restarts by Pin, defensive manoeuvres, and a last-lap effort by Pin to claim the fastest lap, ultimately resulting in a strong finish for PREMA Racing and notable performances across the field.

After the initial race of Round 1 in Jeddah, Lola Lovinfosse was penalised with a 10-second addition to her race time for causing a collision just before Turn 1 on the last lap. This penalty resulted in her drop to 8th place.

1. Doriane Pin, Prema Racing
2. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport
3. Maya Weug, Prema Racing
4. Chloe Chambers, Campos Racing
5. Bianca Bustamante, ART Grand Prix
6. Tina Hausmann, Prema Racing
7. Aurelia Nobels, ART Grand Prix
8. Lola Lovinfosse, Rodin Motorsport
9. Hamda Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport
10. Carrie Schreiner, Campos Racing
11. Reema Juffali, Prema Racing
12. Emely De Heus, MP Motorsport
13. Amna Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport
14. Nerea Marti, Campos Racing
15. Jessica Edgar, Rodin Motorsport
16. Lia Block, ART Grand Prix (DNF)

Ferrari Press Image

Race 2 Results

Doriane Pin initially concluded her debut F1 Academy weekend with a second win in Jeddah, leading Abbi Pulling and Maya Weug to finish in the same order for both races, before penalties were applied after the race. 

Early in the race, Pin defended her position from Pulling, while further back, on-track battles saw Nerea Martí overtake Lola Lovinfosse and Chloe Chambers receiving a penalty for gaining an advantage off-track. 

A collision involving Chambers and Lovinfosse triggered a Safety Car, leading to a series of restarts where Pulling closely challenged Pin but couldn't overtake. In the end, Pin captured the fastest lap on her final attempt, securing a comprehensive victory, while Martí, Jessica Edgar, and Amna Al Qubaisi finished strongly, and penalties shuffled the lower points positions.

Penalties were assigned to three drivers: Doriane Pin received a 20-second penalty for an infringement involving taking the chequered flag twice, Amna Al Qubaisi was penalised five seconds for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, and Lola Lovinfosse faced a five-place grid penalty for the next race due to causing a collision. These penalties led to changes in the race standings, promoting Abbi Pulling to victory, with Maya Weug and Nerea Martí completing the podium.

1. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport
2. Maya Weug, Prema Racing
3. Nerea Marti, Campos Racing
4. Jessica Edgar, Rodin Motorsport
5. Hamda Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport
6. Bianca Bustamante, ART Grand Prix
7. Carrie Schreiner, Campos Racing
8. Amna Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport
9. Doriane Pin, Prema Racing
10. Chloe Chambers, Campos Racing
11. Lia Block, ART Grand Prix
12. Emely De Heus, MP Motorsport
13. Tina Hausmann, Prema Racing
14. Aurelia Nobels, ART Grand Prix (DNF)
15. Reema Juffali, Prema Racing (DNF)
16. Lola Lovinfosse, Rodin Motorsport (DNF)

F1 Academy Press Image

Championship

How the championship stands after Round 1.

1. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport - 44 points
2. Maya Weug, Prema Racing - 33 points
3. Doriane Pin, Prema Racing - 32 points
4. Bianca Bustamante, ART Grand Prix - 18 points
5. Nerea Marti, Campos Racing - 15 points
6. Chloe Chambers, Campos Racing - 13 points
7. Jessica Edgar, Rodin Motorsport - 12 points
8. Hamda Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport - 12 points
9. Tina Hausmann, Prema Racing - 8 points
10. Carrie Schreiner, Campos Racing - 7 points
11. Aurelia Nobels, ART Grand Prix - 6 poitns
12. Amna Al Qubaisi, MP Motorsport - 4 points
13. Lola Lovinfosse, Rodin Motorsport - 4 points
14. Reema Juffali, Prema Racing - 0 points
15. Lia Block, ART Grand Prix - 0 points
16. Emely De Heus, MP Motorsport - 0 points