F1 Academy Qualifying in Miami saw drivers rush out early to beat incoming rain. Chloe Chambers set the pace with a 2:00.458, just ahead of Alisha Palmowski and Doriane Pin. Championship leader Maya Weug could only manage P10 with a 2:02.234. As rain began to fall, conditions quickly worsened—Lia Block ran off track, nearly hitting Emma Felbermayr, while Ava Dobson narrowly avoided the barriers. Several drivers switched to wet tyres, but none improved as grip levels dropped. With no further improvements possible, early slick-tyre laps determined the final order. Though starting mid-pack, Weug showed resilience in tricky conditions and remains one to watch should Race 1 on Saturday take place in the wet.
Weug top of the Drivers’ Standings ahead of Miami GP Qualifying
Round 3 of the 2025 F1 Academy season kicked off in scorching Miami, with Doriane Pin and Maya Weug topping the timesheets in Free Practice. In FP1, held in 33°C heat, Pin set the pace with a late 1:59.153 despite a slow first sector. Ella Lloyd led early on, while Alisha Palmowski and Weug also showed strong pace—Weug overcoming a heavy lock-up to finish third. Wild Card entry Ava Dobson impressed but only completed nine laps, and a late spin from Chloe Chong brought out yellow flags, halting final improvements.
In the hotter FP2 session, Weug bounced back to go fastest with a 1:58.545, despite illness and repeated lock-ups. Chloe Chambers took P2 with a 1:58.824, while Emely Gademan jumped to P3 in the final moments. Pin, after initially leading the session, slipped to P7, and Palmowski finished P8 following an earlier stint at the top. The session was not without incident, including a near-miss between Lia Block and Dobson, with Block later claiming she was impeded.
These sessions followed a dramatic Round 2 in Jeddah, where Lloyd claimed her maiden win in Race 1, fending off Weug and Palmowski. Pin finished fourth to stay in the title hunt. In Race 2, Weug inherited victory after Chambers received a five-second track limits penalty, despite her dominant pace. Chambers still took pole and fastest lap, boosting her to third in the standings. Weug now leads the championship by seven points over Pin.
A wet Qualifying hinders progress
After two productive Free Practice sessions, the drivers returned to the track for F1 Academy Qualifying in Miami. However, with clouds looming overhead and rain threatening, they faced a very different challenge to that of FP1 and FP2. All 18 drivers headed out as soon as the session began, eager to set a representative lap before the rain arrived.
Just over five minutes in, Chambers laid down the early benchmark with a 2:00.458. Palmowski came close but slotted into second with a 2:00.476, while Pin settled for third on a 2:00.534. Meanwhile, Weug—hoping to extend her championship lead in the upcoming race—could only manage tenth with a 2:02.234. Further drama unfolded as Block ran off track, narrowly avoiding a collision with Felbermayr, who reacted quickly to steer clear.
As the rain began to fall, conditions deteriorated rapidly. Several drivers struggled for grip, with Dobson nearly colliding with the barriers. In response, Chambers and several others returned to the pit lane. Once on wet tyres, a few ventured back out, treating the rest of the session as a valuable opportunity to gain experience in the wet.
With the rain persisting and the track worsening, no one managed to improve their time. As a result, the times set in the opening minutes of Qualifying proved decisive—potentially setting the tone for a wet F1 Academy Race 1 on Saturday afternoon at the 2025 Miami GP.
As time continued to tick down, wet conditions prevented any further improvements. With drivers much slower on the wet tryes than on the slicks, none were able to improve. Though down in P10, and set to start the race from the midfield, Weug proved herself capable of fighting should the race bring damp conditions.
In the end, however, the drivers’ first lap proved their only and most important with the rain preventing any further improvement.
Full results for the F1 Academy Round 3 Qualifying
- C. Chambers – 2:00.458
- A. Palmowski – 2:00.476
- D. Pin – 2:00.529
- E. Lloyd – 2:00.534
- L. Block – 2:00.742
- A. Nobels – 2:01.469
- R. Ferreira – 2:01.673
- E. Felbermayr – 2:01.761
- T. Hausmann – 2:01.845
- M. Weug – 2:02.234
- C. Crone – 2:02.563
- A. Larsen – 2:02.687
- N. Gademan – 2:02.738
- C. Chong – 2:03.133
- A. Dobson – 2:03.664
- N. Havrda – 2:04.851
- J. Ciconte – 2:04.933
- A. Anagnostiadis – 2:04.972
