Maya Weug takes pole position for the first F1 Academy race at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix. In a tight session, which saw the Ferrari-backed driver come out on top.
Rafaela Ferreira has received a 3-place grid penalty for both Race 1 & 2 for causing a collision. The incident saw Lia Block and herself compete in less than half of the only free practice sessions in Shanghai. The Brazilian driver will want to put in a good performance to make the most out of this penalty-stricken weekend.
Lia Block, however, will not partake in this session due to a potential chassis change needed for her car. She will start both races from last on the grid.
Green lights go out
After a disrupted singular Free Practice session, the drivers are back out to qualify for both races 1 and 2. The PREMA duo of Dorianne Pin and Tina Hausmann proved to be the strongest earlier today. Followed by Campos’ Chloe Chambers, this first qualifying session promises to be exciting.
F1 Academy is reverting to the ways of Formula 3 and 2, having a reverse grid for this season. The top eight drivers from qualifying will be reversed for Race 1 on Saturday. With the qualifying results set the grid for Sunday’s ‘feature’ race.
Ella Lloyd sets the first flying lap with a strong 2.06.143. The McLaren-backed driver had a tricky practice session, struggling to find the grip on the track.
As the track ramps up, Ferrari-backed driver Maya Weug sets the fastest time with 2:04.301. Being quick in free practice, the Dutch driver will be fighting against her former PREMA teammates for the pole position in China.
Speaking of PREMA, Pin is eager to set her first flying lap. As her Mercedes teammate, George Russell, watches on, Pin manages to put together a purple first sector. However, remained 0.2 seconds behind her former teammate Weug.
In true Dorianne Pin fashion, she immediately went for another flying lap to attempt to get closer to Weug. The French driver wasn’t able to beat the time; however, she came closer to Weug in front, with only 0.095 seconds separating the pair.
Nina Gademan, on her first full season in F1 Academy, has so far managed P4, being 0.641 seconds behind the leader of Maya Weug.
Final Runs in Qualifying
The rookies of F1 Academy have managed to put in some impressive performances during these first fifteen minutes. With fourteen minutes remaining, Alba Hurup Larsen sits in fifth on her debut in the F1 Academy. This was closely followed by another impressive debut from Aussie Joanne Cicont, who was in eighth place.
Ten minutes remain in this intense qualifying session; the top three remain Maya Weug from Dorianne Pin, with Chloe Chambers closely behind the pair. With the fastest final runs beginning now.
Ella Lloyd sets her fastest lap of the final runs, pushing her into the reverse grid top eight, the McLaren-backed driver managed seventh. However, she is swiftly pushed down to P8 as Chloe Chong manages to put in a breathtaking lap to put her in sixth.
Maya Weug comes out of the pits flying. Setting a 2:03.379, almost half a second ahead of her rival Pin. Extending her lead, the Ferrari driver is doing her very best to claim this pole position from Dorianne Pin. Pin is the only driver on the grid who has claimed pole position in F1 Academy.
Rookie Alba Larsen puts herself third on debut in F1 Academy, only 0.627 behind Maya Weug’s amazing lap. Aussie Joanne Cicont, who was in eighth place earlier, managed to move herself up to fifth. The rookies on debut are proving their brilliance immediately in the sport.
Emma Felbermayr has set green sectors for the beginning of her laps, managing to move up to P6 in the qualifying standings. The Sauber-backed driver knocks out PREMA heavy-weight Tina Hausmann from the top eight.
Dorianne Pin did not look to improve on her initial time set, and a lock-up in the final sector meant the French Driver would remain in second.
Final Standings
The top three during F1 Academy qualifying for the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix were Maya Weug, who set a blistering pace out front. She is followed by the 2024 vice-champion Dorianne Pin, who was 0.497 seconds behind. With an impressive performance from the rookie Alba Larsen, who will start her first F1 Academy race of 2025 from third.
F1 Academy will be back tomorrow for Race 1 of the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix.
