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2024 marks the second season of F1 Academy, but year two of the all-female championship looks a bit different with new rules, drivers and liveries.
F1 Academy debuted last year in April. The inaugural season consisted of seven rounds with 15 drivers and it was Marta García who was crowned the first ever F1 Academy champion.
Now, F1 Academy is back for 2024, its second season, but things look a little different. So here is everything you need to know about the 2024 season of F1 Academy.
Championship Rules
F1 Academy is an all-female racing series with the aim to aid women in their progression up the single-seater ladder. At the helm is Susie Wolff, the Managing Director, who not only helped F1 Academy come into fruition but has developed initiatives, such as Discover Your Drive, to increase female participation in motorsport.
However, Wolff has also helped F1 Academy gain the support of all 10 Formula 1 teams. For 2024, each F1 team will back and support an F1 Academy driver. This means that the drivers will be part of the team’s driver academies and they will also run the F1 teams’ liveries.
With F1 taking a more active role in F1 Academy, the all-female racing series will race on the F1 circuit for this year as well.
In addition to this, F1 Academy offers the top five drivers in the standings FIA Super Licence points. This rule is new for 2024 onwards and the points attribution is as follows:
- F1 Academy Champion – 10 Super Licence Points
- Second Place – Seven Super Licence Points
- Third Place – Five Super Licence Points
- Fourth Place – Three Super Licence Points
- Fifth Place – One Super Licence Points
Across a race weekend, the points attribution follows that of Formula 1. The top 10 classified drivers receive points with 25 for first, 18 for second, 15 for third and so on. F1 Academy also offers two points for the drivers who take pole position in Race 1 and Race 2. Another point is up for grabs for fastest lap; however this is only awarded if the driver finishes in the top 10 and if they’ve completed more than 50% of the race distance. There is a point for fastest lap available in each race.
Weekend Format
The weekend format for F1 Academy has changed from last year as well. In 2024, there are up to two 40-minute free practice sessions followed by one 30-minute qualifying session.
Qualifying is different compared to 2023 as the drivers’ first fastest laps are what set the grid for Race 1 whilst their second fastest laps set the grid for Race 2. There are only two races over a race weekend this year and each race is 30 minutes each.
The Calendar
F1 Academy still consists of seven rounds this year but they are all on Formula 1 weekends. There are only two circuits from last season to return to the calendar for 2024, which are Zandvoort and Barcelona. The other races are occurring in Asia and North America.
The calendar this year is spread out over 10 months, beginning in March and ending in December, and the schedule looks like this:
- March 7-9: Round One – Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Saudi Arabia
- May 3-5: Round Two – Miami International Autodrome, Miami
- June 21-23: Round Three – Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain
- August 23-25: Round Four – Zandvoort, Netherlands
- September 20-22: Round Five – Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore
- November 29-December 1: Round Six – Lusail International Circuit, Qatar
- December 06-08: Round Seven – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi
But who will actually be racing in F1 Academy in 2024?
The Drivers and Teams
In F1 Academy, there are five teams, all established in junior categories of single-seater racing. These are PREMA Racing, ART Grand Prix, MP Motorsport, Rodin Motorsport and Campos Racing.
Each team consists of three drivers, making a total of 15 competitors for the season. However, PREMA Racing will have a fourth driver, known as the Wild Card Entry.
The Wild Card entry is new for this season and they are for select race weekends. PREMA will run the fourth car and provide support and training to the selected driver and the aim of this is to identify the talent of female racers in the host cities.
Whilst 10 drivers will be representing the Formula 1 teams on the grid, others have the support of sponsors/partners of F1 Academy, including the likes of Charlotte Tilbury and Tommy Hilfiger.
PREMA Racing
PREMA Racing are a successful feeder series team and in 2023, they were the first-ever F1 Academy Teams’ Champion. PREMA’s three drivers for 2024 are:
- Tina Hausmann representing by Aston Martin
- Doriane Pin representing Mercedes AMG
- Maya Weug representing Scuderia Ferrari
Hausmann had her first taste of single-seater racing in late 2022 when she completed a F4 test. She went on to compete in Formula 4 in 2023 and also raced in the Formula Winter Series last year. The Swiss driver also achieved being the highest-placed female driver in Italian F4 and Euro 4 Championships.
Pin’s first go in single-seater was last year, where she won races in the Formula 4 South East Asia Championship and also the UAE Championship. The French driver made the switch to single-seaters following a successful career in endurance; Pin raced as part of the Iron Dames in 2021 for the Le Mans Cup and recently finished sixth in class at the 24 Hours of Daytona this year. She has also won several races in the 2022 Ferrari Challenge Europe Series and the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
Weug was the first female driver to join the Ferrari Driver Academy after winning the FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars programme in 2021. The Spanish born driver, racing under the Dutch flag, has competed previously in Italian and German F4 as well as the 2023 FRECA season.
ART Grand Prix
ART Grand Prix have a returning driver and two rookies as their line-up this season. The French team finished fourth in F1 Academy last year and will be looking to improve this year with their drivers, who are:
- Bianca Bustamante representing McLaren
- Lia Block representing Williams
- Aurelia Nobels supported by PUMA
Bustamante raced in F1 Academy last year and finished seventh on 116 points. The Filapina is McLaren’s first female racer in their junior academy and has recently raced in the 2024 Formula Winter Series. In F1 Academy, Bustamante established herself as a podium-sitter, having won two races, but she has moved from PREMA to ART for 2024.
Block will not only be debuting in F1 Academy this year, but also in open-wheel racing. The American has previously raced in the American Rally Association Championship, where she became the youngest ARA Champion last year at 17-years-old. Block has also raced in Extreme E and Nitrocross NEXT.
And finally for ART, Aurelia Nobels. In 2022, Nobels racing in the Brazilian F4 series, being the only female to do so. Like Weug, Nobels won the FIA Girls On Track – Rising Stars programme, but in the Senior category. In 2023, she competed in Euro 4 and Italian F4 whilst keeping herself busy over the winter as she raced in two rounds of the F4 UAE Championship.
Nobels will be sporting the PUMA livery for 2024 as PUMA become an official partner of the series.
MP Motorsport
MP Motorsport are one of three F1 Academy teams this year to have three returning drivers. For MP the drivers are:
- Emily de Heus backed by Red Bull
- Amna Al Qubaisi representing Visa Cash App RB
- Hamda Al Qubaisi representing Red Bull Racing
De Heus raced in F1 Academy last year with MP Motorsport and went on to win a race. Previously, she’s raced in W Series in 2022 as well as Spanish F4.
A.Al Qubaisi is representing Visa Cash App RB this year as she races in F1 Academy for her second season. Last year, A.Al Qubaisi won two races and as a result she finished sixth in the standings. 2024 also marks another season where A.Al Qubaisi is racing alongside her sister.
H.Al Qubaisi finished third in F1 Academy last year, being the highest-placed returnee to the championship. She came into F1 Academy, recovering from an injury and went on to win four races, adding to her career success of winning races in F4 UAE and F4 Saudi Arabia.
Rodin Motorsport
Rodin Motorsport are the second team to have experienced F1 Academy drivers in their 2024 line-up.
- Abbi Pulling representing Alpine
- Lola Lovinfosse backed by Charlotte Tilbury
- Jessica Edgar
Pulling, under the management of Alice Powell, raced in F1 Academy last year, taking seven podiums. She achieved a top five finish in 2023, having previously raced in W Series.
Lovinfosse also raced in W Series in the past and last year she took three F1 Academy podiums in Le Castellet and Austria. The French driver is experienced on European circuits, but for the 2024 season, Lovinfosse will run the Charlotte Tilbury livery, who is an official partner of F1 Academy.
Edgar is the only unsponsored driver on the grid and so will run an unsponsored F1 Academy livery for 2024. The British driver finished eighth last year and her debut in the series did see her take victory in the final race.
Campos Racing
And the final team on the grid is Campos Racing, who has three returnee drivers in:
- Chloe Chambers representing Haas
- Carrie Schreiner representing Kick Sauber
- Nerea Martí representing Tommy Hilfiger
Chambers has made the move from PREMA to Campos for the 2024 season. The American driver has raced in W Series as well as the 2023 Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship.
Schreiner debuted in single-seater racing in 2015, but made the transition to open-wheel racing last year. In F1 Academy’s debut season, the German won Race 2 in Zandvoort but for 2024 has joined the Sauber Academy, who backed 2023 runner-up, Lena Buhler.
The final F1 Academy of 2024 is Martí, who will be sporting the Tommy Hilfiger livery. Last year, Martí achieved pole position as well as several podiums and a race win in Le Castellet, putting her fourth in the championship.
F1 Academy’s First Round
The first round of the 2024 F1 Academy season in this weekend in Saudi Arabia at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. All 15 drivers mentioned above will be racing but so will Reema Juffali.
Juffali is a Saudi Arabian racer, who will join PREMA Racing as the Wild Card entry for Round One.
Round One begins on Thursday this week with one free practice session and qualifying. Race 1 is on Friday and Race 2 is on Saturday.
Headline image: GettyImages