Ella Lloyd wins F1 Academy Race 1 in Jeddah. In an intense session, the McLaren-backed driver managed to come out on top.
In case you missed it, here’s how the race unfolded.
Kick Sauber’s Emma Felbermay starts from pole position, as she qualified on reverse grid pole. Alongside her is the McLaren-backed driver of Ella Lloyd. Both drivers are coming off tricky weekends in China, and will want to maximise their potential this weekend.
The championship leader, Doriane Pin, starts from P7, with her main championship rivals of Chambers, starting alongside her in P8. Ferrari-backed Maya Weug will start ahead of both drivers in P6. AWith a close championship fight anticipated, these drivers will be fighting for every place.
Lia Block will start last on the grid for the second race in a row, as she had a qualifying incident. After a good race recovery in China, the American will be confident she can emulate the same performance.
Lights out for F1 Academy Race 1
As the lights go out, Ella Lloyd immediately gets a good start, overtaking Felbermayr before the first turn. Alisha Palmowski had an amazing start, making her way up from P5 to P3 in a matter of turns. At the end of lap 1, Lloyd has pulled out a 1.3-second lead over the rest of the field.
The wild card entry, Farah AlYousef, is under investigation for a starting infringement. It is likely the Saudi driver will get a time penalty for crossing the safety car line.
Another big mover from the opening lap was Weug. The Ferrari academy driver made up two positions to P4, challenging the front two for a potential podium.
Alisha Palmowski gets past Felbermayr at the end of lap 2; however, she is immediately put under pressure by the Dutch driver of Weug. She is very evidently on a mission in this race to outscore her championship rivals. Pin and Chambers did not have great opening laps, with the pair P6 and P8, respectively.
Lia Block momentarily brings out the yellow flags. The Williams driver spun around with the help of Courtney Croone behind. However, she is quickly able to get away and continue the race. This marks a very difficult beginning to Block’s last season in the category.
Farah AlYousef’s weekend gets tougher, she is awarded a 10-second stop-go penalty for a starting infringement. The Saudi Wild Card is currently 15 and will come out last after serving her penalty.
Early race Safety Car
On lap 4, the safety car is brought out with Chloe Chong stopped on the track. The Charlotte Tilbury-backed driver has had a tough beginning to her second F1 Academy season. The British driver had to take evasive action during the incident with Lia Block. In turn, ending her session.
This Safety Car is ill-timed for the race leader Lloyd, who built up a nearly 1.5-second gap over her rivals. She will now have to manage the field behind her on the restart.
At the end of Lap 7, the safety car comes into the pits. McLaren’s Lloyd has to control the pace of the field. She will be eager to keep her first place; however, with the likes of Weug behind her, it will be difficult.
On the restart, Doriane Pin immediately gets past Sauber’s Felbermayr. The Mercedes-backed driver is slowly making her way up to challenge the front three. Elsewhere, Weug’s unable to get past the Red Bull academy driver, and is held up in third place. With Pin a few seconds doen the road, it is shaping up to be an exciying battle in the final few laps.
Doriane Pin’s next overtake wasn’t as easy. Alba Larsen, despite being one of the youngest drivers on the grid, used her racecraft to keep the championship leader past. Despite all her actions, the French driver sailed past on lap 10, moving herself up into P4. Narrowly behind her championship rival, Weug.
Following her collision with Block, Courtney Croone receives a 5-second time penalty.
Battle for P1
As the final three laps begin, the battle for this sprint race win heats up. The top three of Ella Lloyd, Maya Weug and Alisha Palmowski are separated by less than a second. On the penultimate lap, Weug gets a tow from the McLaren out front, ultimately giving her the speed to pass her Red Bull counterpart. This scrap between the pair has enavled Lloyd to create a second gap over those behind.
The final lap has PREMA giving Pin the hurry up. With her engineer stating she is “faster than these guys by a second.” Currently, the French driver is hunting down Palmowski for a potential podium finish. However, the Red Bull academy driver holds her ground and keeps the championship leader behinmd her. Cliaming yet another podium in F1 Academy.
Maya Weug, on the other hand, manages to catch up to the rookie out front. placing pressure on her throughout the final lap in hopes she would make a mistake. It is almost a photo finish between these two drivers, with a drag race to the line. However, Lloyd holds off the experienced Weug to claim her first victory in F1 Academy. Giving McLaren their first podium of the weekend in Jeddah.
The final classifications for F1 Academy Race 1 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is below.
- E. Lloyd
- M. Weug +0.1s
- A. Palmowski +1.8s
- D. Pin +2.0s
- A. Larsen +3.3s
- T. Hausmann +5.1s
- C. Chambers +5.6s
- N. Gademan +9.3s
- E. Felbermayr +10.5s
- A. Nobels +11.3s
- J. Ciconte +12.6s
- L. Block +15.6s
- R. Ferreira +16.3s
- A. Anagnostiadis +20.8s
- N. Havrda +25.7s
- F. Alyousef (WCD) +98.0s
- C. Crone – (4 laps down)
- C. Chong – (DNF)
