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F1 Academy hit the track at Zandvoort this morning for the qualifying session of Round 4 of the 2024 season, which saw mixed conditions, a Red Flag and two pole-sitters.
F1 Academy returned to the track after two months had passed since the last race weekend. Heading into Zandvoort, Abbi Pulling led the championship by 66 points, having won all but two races this year.
Doriane Pin and Chloe Chambers are second and third in the championship, equal on 81 points. But coming into the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, it was still Abbi Pulling out at the front of the pack after the British driver topped the two practice sessions that happened on Friday.
However, lots of the F1 Academy have experience around Zandvoort. The returnees raced around the Dutch circuit last year and five drivers took part in the British F4 round at Zandvoort as well. It’s also three drivers home race with Maya Weug, Emely de Heus, and wild card entry, Nina Gademan. Pulling touched on this saying “it’s very close out there” in terms of the grid’s competitiveness.
So, let’s get into just how competitive Qualifying for F1 Academy’s two races in Zandvoort was and how Pulling and Pin achieved pole position for Race 1 and Race 2 respectively.
Start of the session
For F1 Academy, the qualifying session sets the grid for both races this season. The drivers first fastest lap sets the grid for Race 1, taking place later today, whilst their second lap sets the grid for Race 2 tomorrow.
The weather forecast had predicted mixed conditions all weekend, but for Qualifying, it was wet weather conditions and the wet tyres were on the cars. But for the F1 Academy grid, rain at Zandvoort isn’t an unusual scenario.
Aurelia Nobels led the pack out onto the track whilst Chloe Chambers stayed in the pit lane, being one of the final drivers out on track. Drivers began completing laps in the rain, but four minutes into the session there was a yellow flag.
Yellow Flag
Amna Al Qubaisi in the Visa Cash App RB-liveried car spun on track and stopped in the centre. However, the MP Motorsport driver was able to reverse the car and turn it around.
Yellow Flag as Amna Al Qubaisi comes to a stop on track #F1Academy #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/4jfOac6MOr
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) August 24, 2024
With the yellow flag then cleared, Bianca Bustamante had a close call, nearly scraping the wall on a banked corner, but thankfully, the McLaren-backed driver was able to avoid any contact.
With green flags waved, the drivers could start completing more flying laps. Jessica Edgar and Lia Block briefly occupied the top two positions, but the two drivers were bumped down as Weug went fastest with a 1:48.842.
Doriane Pin came in second but after Pulling set her lap time, she soon went fastest, becoming the first driver to enter the 1m 47seconds. Pulling then improved on her initial time on her second lap, despite setting a yellow middle sector.
A replay showed a brief yellow flag for Chambers who spun in the same place as A.Al Qubaisi on the banked corner. The American did, fortunately, carry on without too much damage.
With just over 15 minutes to go, Pulling continued demonstrating her dominance, setting a time of 1:46.746. Weug remained in second for the majority of the session, whilst Lia Block sat in the third.
Just over half distance and your quickest three are;
– Abbi Pulling
– Lia Block
– Doriane Pin #F1Academy #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/i7gzcrAJke— F1 Academy (@f1academy) August 24, 2024
Halfway point
Halfway into the session, Tina Hausman and Hamda Al Qubaisi were the two drivers who came back into the pits. Others followed suit whilst a brief yellow flag was waved, but it was cleared rather quickly.
Block had a moment on one of her laps, going straight on at a corner and had to use the run off. A replay showed that Pulling had done a similar thing just beforehand.
With the wet track, Bustamante had another moment heading into Turn 3, doing a 360 spin.
More drivers then came into the pits with 10 minutes left on the clock. In the pits, Pulling called over the Rodin Motorsport engineers as her radio wasn’t working properly.
Back on track, Hausmann, who had left the pits, asked whether or not it was raining, and her team confirmed it had stopped. However, the track was still very much wet.
Bustamante, who was setting a fast lap with two green sectors, decided to abort the lap and came into the pits. This left her in P14.
Gademan set a lap that put her P2 in her first-ever F1 Academy qualifying. However, Pin quickly bumped the Dutch driver down to P3.
Red Flag
Bustamante had just changed to a new set of wet tyres and unfortunately, replicated her close call from earlier. But this time, she was unable to avoid the wall and made contact, damaging the front wing.
With the Red Flag, the clock stopped with 6 minutes 33 seconds left of the session. At this moment, Pulling was in P1, leading the pack, ahead of Pin, Gademan, Block and Weug as the top five.
Red Flag ?
Bianca is out of the car and okay #F1Academy #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/UBJL7nHDqJ
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) August 24, 2024
Session restart
The session restarted after the Red Flag and all drivers headed back out on track. With only five minutes now left on the clock, track position was crucial. For Pulling, whilst she was in P1, she was positioned behind a few cars.
Block was forced to use the escape road at Turn 1 on her first push lap, meaning she only had one attempt at a flying lap left. Whilst laps were being completed, Hamda Al Qubaisi was noted for a Red Flag infringement.
The timesheets began changing as final laps were completed. Nobels put her PUMA car in P2, but was bumped down to third by Pin. Nerea Martí went fifth fastest ahead of Gademan, whilst Alice Powell, Pulling’s manager, was shaking her head in the garages.
With most drivers improving, Pulling wasn’t able to improve. Pin had closed the gap to 0.1 seconds.
Results
Pulling achieved pole position for Race 1, however, for Race 2, it will be Pin on pole position.
The final results for Race 1 after the Qualifying session were:
1 – Abbi Pulling
2 – Doriane Pin
3 – Nerea Martí
4 – Maya Weug
5 – Aurelia Nobels
6 – Nina Gademan
7 – Chloe Chambers
8 – Lia Block
9 – Hamda Al Qubaisi
10 – Jessica Edgar
11 – Carrie Schreiner
12 – Tina Hausmann
13 – Lola Lovinfosse
14 – Bianca Bustamante
15 – Emely De Heus
16 – Amna Al Qubaisi
Headline image: X @F1Academy