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F1 Academy returned this weekend for Round 3 and the first race in Barcelona provided some great on-track battles as well as some collisions.
The all-female racing series of F1 Academy headed back out on track this weekend for Round 3 of the season around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. So far, there have been two race winners: Doriane Pin and Abbi Pulling. Pin won the first race of the season and Pulling won the next three, having inherited the Race 2 win in Jeddah due to Pin receiving a penalty.
Pulling is currently leading the championship and after Qualifying yesterday, she put herself in a strong position for the races this weekend. The Alpine Junior secured double pole position for both races, continuing her strong performance from Miami.
All 15 drivers have experience around this track due to pre-season testing ahead of the first race. This levels the grid and Pulling even admitted to FormulaNerds that she feels this weekend will see the “closest” results of the season.
Joining Pulling on the front row for Race 1 was Chloe Chambers and home hero, Nerea Martí. The rest of the grid was as follows:
Here is your Race One Grid in Barcelona, brought to you by @americanexpress ??#F1Academy #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/KeqspuVRvJ
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) June 21, 2024
But when the chequered flag was flown it was Abbi Pulling who took the victory in Barcelona, having another perfect race. So let’s get into how Pulling achieved her fourth F1 Academy win.
Lights Out
When the lights went out, Pulling kept the lead down the straight into Turn 1. Her title rival, Pin, stalled off the line and fell to the back of the grid. Those behind her, such as Tina Hausmann and Lia Block, were forced to take avoiding action.
However, Martí managed to make up a space to get P2 from Chloe Chambers, despite a little bit of contact between the two into Turn 1. Unfortunately though, before the first lap was complete, the Safety Car was deployed.
The reason being a collision between Maya Weug, backed by Ferrari, and Amna Al Qubaisi, backed by Visa Cash App RB. The replay showed that Weug went up on the kerb, touched the back of Lola Lovinfosse’s Charlotte Tilbury car.
As a result, Weug ended up taking out A.Al Qubaisi. Aurelia Nobels, at the back of the pack after the crash, watched the collision happen and expressed over the radio: “Oh my God, I almost crashed.”
Amna Al Qubaisi and Maya Weug out ❌#F1Academy #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/dbRh8Leabi
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) June 22, 2024
The Safety Car lasted for six laps but then it was time to go racing once again.
Safety Car Restart
The restart saw Pulling go on the exit of Turn 12. Going down the main straight, Martí remained within one second behind Pulling, but the British driver had a great restart to keep the lead.
Further back, it was a Red Bull vs Aston Battle as Emely de Heus, who won around this circuit last year, attempted an overtake over Hausmann and managed to secure P7.
Just behind, American driver, Block, tried to make a move on Hausmann, echoing de Heus, but on her first attempt, she couldn’t make it stick.
Pin, who was in P12, was a spectator to Lovinfosse battling Carrie Schreiner. The Charlotte Tilbury driver overtook Schreiner in the Kick Sauber livery and Pin soon followed suit, meaning Schreiner dropped back two positions.
Pin then tried to overtake Lovinfosse to obtain P10. Her initial attempts proved futile but on lap 10, into Turn 10, the Mercedes-backed driver was able to get up into P10.
Back up front, Pulling created a 1.5 second lead to Martí, who was under pressure from Chambers. Bianca Bustamante in P4 was on chasing down Chambers.
Meanwhile, Jessica Edgar, who was running in the points, received a five-second penalty for a false start. Race Control also issued a black-and-white flag for Chambers, who was noted for causing a collision (the initial contact with Martí on lap one).
Final few laps
Once Pin had overtaken Lovinfosse to get into the points, she closed the gap to Block and was within one second of the Williams-backed driver.
Doriane sees the opportunity, and takes it! She is now inside the top ten after a slow start to the race#F1Academy #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/x1ufcCL2Zt
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) June 22, 2024
Going down the main straight, Pin went side by side with Block and forced her way past to get into P9. She was then hunting down Hausmann. However, the pressure was starting to show with Hausmann making some small errors, allowing Pin, who clearly had the pace, to get even closer.
On lap 14, Pin and Hausmann went wheel to wheel and the French driver got ahead into P8.
Whilst there were battles in the mid-field, Pulling had a 2.9 second gap to Martí. Bustamante, however, was still chasing Chambers for the final podium position.
Results
The first race of F1 Academy around the Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya saw a lights-to-flag victory for Pulling. Martí scored her first podium of the season in front of her home crowd whilst Chambers held onto P3.
The two drivers who failed to finish the race were Maya Weug and Amna Al Qubaisi.
The results for Race 1 were as follows:
1 – Abbi Pulling
2 – Nerea Martí
3 – Chloe Chambers
4 – Bianca Bustamante
5 – Hamda Al Qubaisi
6 – Emely de Heus
7 – Doriane Pin
8 – Jessica Edgar
9 – Tina Hausmann
10 – Lia Block
11 – Lola Lovinfosse
12 – Carrie Schreiner
13 – Aurelia Nobels
Headline image: X @F1Academy