Following race 2 of the F1 Academy round at Qatar, a third race has been reinstated as part of the Abu Dhabi weekend, meaning British driver Abbi Pulling is no longer the current champion.

Pulling was crowned the champion at the end of race 1 in Qatar following her finishing second, as her championship rival Doriane Pin took victory. Pin also took pole position for both races giving her four points. 

Doriane Pin, prior to race 1 on Saturday, took pole position for both races in qualifying giving her the two championship points. However, with the race being reinstated at a different venue this coming weekend, the grid will have to be set again, which will now bring about an extra two points. 

Therefore, mathematically, Pulling can not be considered the champion yet as she will have to wait until the weekend's action to try and claim her crown and it will be her second time announced as such if she is to win the 2024 F1 Academy Championship.

The Alpine Academy driver has won seven out of 11 races in 2024 and taken 7 pole positions. In each of the 11 races, she has stood on the podium. Therefore, it is likely she will become champion at some point across the weekend in Abu Dhabi at the Yas Marina Circuit. 

The gap between Pulling and Pin is at 83 points and 84 points is the maximum total this weekend, so in theory, it is unlikely for Doriane Pin to win the F1 Academy championship. Significantly however, Pulling is no longer the champion mathematically as there is still a chance of Pin being champion for however unlikely that may be.

F1 Academy will host the final round of the season at the Yas Marina Circuit between the sixth and eighth of December.

Race 2 in the F1 Academy Championship has been cancelled following extensive track repairs that were unable to be completed in time on Grand Prix Sunday.

The race 2 of the weekend was scheduled to be run following the Porsche Supercup Middle East event in the Sunday schedule at the Lusail International Circuit, that was set to be jam-packed with support series events prior to the 2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix.

​It was a race that was set to be exciting with the 2024 F1 Academy Champion being crowned the evening prior, which was Alpine Academy driver Abbi Pulling. With Doriane Pin once again starting from pole and Abbi Pulling starting on the second row, many were wondering that a battle for victory could have been on the cards.

However, due to the extensive track repairs race 2 of round six in Qatar was cancelled and subsequently would become the first race of the 2024 F1 Academy season to be cancelled - at the 12th attempt.

Sunday dawned on the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar, which meant it would be Grand Prix Sunday for Formula 1. However, it would also have F1 Academy action to entertain supporters with race 2 - the final race of the weekend.

Race 2 would follow race 1 that was run on Saturday and it was a race that will long live in the memory of F1 Academy history and also Abbi Pulling as she finished in second place which is all that she needed to be crowned the 2024 F1 Academy Champion.

Pulling would take second as her championship rival Doriane Pin took her Prema to victory, but ultimately with the finishing position of Abbi Pulling it was not enough to stay in the title fight. Maya Weug would complete the podium in third.

As for the grid for race 2, the top three starting positions would be the same as race 1. Doriane Pin would start from pole position in her Prema machine. The Mercedes-backed driver would have her Prema teammate Maya Weug, backed by Ferrari, starting alongside and in second.

Behind the Prema pair, Abbi Pulling, the already crowned champion, would have her Rodin Motorsport car in third. In fourth, completing the front two rows would be Wildcard entry Alisha Palmowski, who had been having a very weekend.

It would be a delayed start to proceedings in Qatar as damage to a barrier from the Porsche Supercup Middle East race meant that it had to be repaired. However, after half an hour of waiting patiently for things to change and the track to be repaired, the schedule would not allow for them to be completed in time and for the race to be run.

Therefore, the race was cancelled by FIA Race Control with insufficient time to complete the race in any form, as the repairs would be too extensive and would have to be completed in the gap between the scheduled F1 Academy race 2 and the Formula 2 feature race that was to follow.

No points would be scored and all grid positions would be null and void as there would be no further time to complete the race in the rest of the schedule leading up to the final event - the Qatar Grand Prix of Formula 1.

Brandon Whiteside
Writer & X Contributor - F1 Journal

British racing driver Abbi Pulling of Alpine Academy is the 2024 F1 Academy Champion, following race 1 in Qatar on Saturday.

Pulling racing for Rodin Motorsport, only needed a second place finish or a third place with the fastest lap, to secure the championship in race 1 around the Lusail International Circuit.  It was a race that was largely dominated by Doriane Pin.

Pin was still in the championship coming into the round but needed a certain set of results to give her to have a chance of staying in the championship fight. Sadly for Pin, this was not to be despite her taking her Prema to victory.

The Mercedes-backed driver took victory from Pulling, who sealed the championship in second place with Maya Weug, backed by Ferrari, made it two Prema cars on the podium as she finished third.

Pulling due to becoming the champion has won a seat in the 2025 GB3 Championship with her current team in F1 Academy - Rodin Motorsport.  It has been a fantastic season from Pulling and she still has more races to shine but she has her reward by being a deserved champion with her consistency throughout the year.

For the first time in over two months, it would be finally time to go racing in the 2024 F1 Academy Championship for round six of the season. Round six of seven in the championship would be set to take place at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar.

It was built up as a weekend that could see the 2024 F1 Academy drivers' title wrapped up for championship leader Abbi Pulling, who has largely dominated the season. With a second place finish or a third place finish with the fastest lap, Pulling would become champion.

The Alpine Academy driver for Rodin Motorsport would start third as her championship protagonist Doriane Pin would start from pole position, after a fantastic qualifying session. Pin, backed by Mercedes and racing for Prema, would take pole for both races. Maya Weug would start second.

All 16 cars would take the start with wildcard entry Alisha Palmowski starting within the top 10.

The lights would go out and it would be a fantastic start from Pin but more so Abbi Pulling as the Alpine Academy driver got through ahead of Maya Weug into a crucial second place and the Rodin Motorsport of Pulling was in that crucial second place to take the title on Saturday evening. 

It however would be a Prema first and third with Pin pulling clear in the lead and Maya Weug sitting behind Pulling in third place. This was the perfect start for Pulling and even if Pin was to win the race and take the fastest lap, the points Pulling was in position to pick up would still conclude the championship fight.

The top three remained in their positions moving onto the second lap as there was a battle going on further towards the back of the pack as the two MP Motorsport teammates, Emely De Heus and Amna Al Qubaisi were battling over 13th. De Heus, backed by Red Bull Ford would move ahead of Al Qubaisi who is backed by Visa RB.

Onto the third lap and out front, it was still a good position to be in for Abbi Pulling as she was in a comfortable second but was not totally losing sight on Doriane Pin with the gap reaching 1.4 seconds.

The start would not have been too positive for Chloe Chambers and Tina Hausmann as they would have jumped the start, Race Control would find out. This would be investigated and the investigation was swiftly concluded. Both Chambers and Hausmann would receive a five-second time penalty each would be added to the end of their race time. 

Chambers though would be embroiled in a battle with Aurelia Nobels, Carrie Schreiner and Emely De Heus. Nobels was leading a train in 10th place with Chambers, Schreiner and De Heus looking for a way past. 

Lap eight and Chambers would find her way through on Nobels with a sensationally bold pass to move up into 10th and Chambers of Campos would find her way through the ART of Nobels. This would leave Nobels exposed to Schreiner but Nobels, now in 11th, would be able to keep Schreiner behind.

This would leave Schreiner exposed to De Heus, who would get ahead into 12th. This would all be while Doriane Pin was remaining ever comfortable out in front and the gap was rising even more.

Meanwhile, Hausmann had passed Lola Lovinfosse for 15th.

Bianca Bustamante was having a quiet race but within the points and was looking at trying to get ahead of the likes of Jessica Edgar and Nerea Marti. However, all her chances of points would disappear as she would spin on lap 12.

Bustamante would spin and she would be able to rejoin the race would be last and 16th. Her race was almost certainly ruined with such little time in the race remaining.

Onto the final lap, although the race was nearing its conclusion, some racers were not finished with the action until the flag and Chloe Chambers was one in particular. She made a sensational double pass on Nerea Marti and Jessica Edgar - to move up into seventh place.

Out front it was pure brilliance from Doriane Pin and she controlled the race since the lights went out and she was dominant in the lead of race 1 and never looked like losing it. Out of the final corner she would take the chequered flag first to take victory in Qatar.

Behind the Mercedes-liveried Prema, a champion was about to be crowned. Abbi Pulling had been absolutely superb throughout the course of the season up until this point and she had managed to take seven pole positions and she had won seven races, heading into race 1.

The Alpine Academy driver, racing for Rodin Motorsport, would cross the line in second place to become the 2024 F1 Academy Champion with three races remaining of the season and a full round to spare. An incredible achievement from the British driver. 

Maya Weug completed the podium for Prema, after the Ferrari-backed driver started second. Fourth place would be Red Bull Racing backed Hamda Al Qubaisi of MP Motorsport with a fantastic first F1 Academy race for wildcard entry Alisha Palmowski saw her complete the top five.

ART's Williams backed driver Lia Block was sixth ahead of Jess Edgar in seventh, following Chloe Chambers' penalty which dropped her to 11th. Nerea Marti was eighth ahead of Aurelia Nobels and Emely De Heus who rounded off the points-paying positions.

F1 Academy would not be done there though, for action around the Lusail International Circuit, and the weekend's action would be completed on Sunday with race 2.

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer & X Contributor - F1 Journal

Mercedes-backed driver of Prema, Doriane Pin, has had a hugely significant and successful  qualifying session in Qatar, as on Saturday, she has taken pole position for both races.

Pin delivered a fantastic performance and continued her form in the shortened and delayed qualifying session around the Lusail International Circuit. After topping both practice sessions, Pin has continued topping every session of the weekend so far and she will start both races from the front of the field.

French racing driver Pin took a double pole position and in the overall qualifying classification she was fastest ahead of Maya Weug, who is her Prema teammate and backed by Ferrari. Championship leader Abbi Pulling was third.

Pulling can clinch the championship this weekend should she score 18 points across the round. This would complete a dominant season if she was to win the title with a round to spare.

After practice was to put to bed under the night skies of Qatar, Saturday would bring a new day filled with action, which would begin with qualifying.

The qualifying session would set the grid for both of the races to take place across the weekend. This would require two strong lap times from the drivers to help them get a good grid position for both races. The best lap time from the drivers would be the used to set the grid for race 1, whereas each driver's second best lap time will set the grid for race 2

On Friday, it was Doriane Pin who was fastest in both practice sessions showing her speed around the circuit as she did in the testing F1 Academy had at the Lusail International Circuit, earlier in November.

Qualifying would be delayed from the scheduled 15:30 start local time as there would be repairs made to part of the barriers around the circuit, following an incident in a Porsche support race.

Eventually at 15:34, the session would start with Race Control shortening the session to 23 minutes, to help balance out the schedule, with the Formula 1 sprint race waiting to commence and this would end up creating a backlog.

The green light would come on at the end of the pit lane and the session would be underway for 23 minutes of qualifying with all 16 cars peeling out of the pit lane.

Some drivers would be opting for different running plans compared to the rest of the field, so a real split of qualifying strategy. The drivers would not have as long as they would have liked and therefore changing tyres would leave them with an even less amount of time.

The first flying laps would be pin and it would be Doriane Pin who would go to provisional pole, continuing where she left off from the practice sessions on Friday. It was a great lap from the Mercedes-backed driver, who had her Prema sitting at the top from her teammate Maya Weug.

Weug though was showing strong pace and she herself would be the next to go fastest overall and she would take the spot of provisional pole in her Ferrari-liveried Prema machine.It was a great lap and specifically was a 1:55.779 from the Dutch driver.

Emely De Heus would then be noted by FIA Race Control for speeding in the pit lane. This would be investigated following the conclusion of the session but a grid penalty would be unexpected.

Pin would return to the top of the pile with another lap to see her take provisional pole as the clock began to tick down continuously and the drivers were running out of time.

Abbi Pulling, the championship leader, was having a difficult session and not reaching top spot like she has been used to. Maybe this was exactly the fortune that Doriane Pin may be needing to stay in championship contention.

Soon enough the drivers would move onto their final laps with limited time to make their two best lap times good enough for top grid spots with the chequered flag soon out and being waved from the race control tower. 

At the end of the session, Doriane Pin would improve on her best lap time to take pole position for both races and would give herself the best possible chance to stay in championship contention. The Mercedes-backed driver of Prema was so consistent with her lap times and is definitely the driver to beat this weekend.

Pin would be top ahead of her Prema teammate Maya Weug, who showed great speed and would finish second in a Prema 1-2. Weug showed great speed throughout with Abbi Pulling rounding off the top three in third.

Williams-backed driver Lia Block put in a fantastic effort to qualify fourth for ART with Hamda Al Qubaisi in fifth for MP Motorsport rounding off the top five. Wildcard entry Alisha Palmowski would end up qualifying in sixth, in a fantastic first qualifying in F1 Academy for her.

In seventh would be Tommy Hilfiger backed driver Nerea Marti, who would be the highest placed Campos driver. She would be ahead of Bianca Bustamante in eighth, with Aurelia Nobels and Jess Edgar completing the top 10.

Action of round six in the 2024 F1 Academy season would continue in Qatar later on Saturday, with race 1 under the night skies and getting underway at 11pm local time.

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal

A very strong performance in the latter stages in Qatar of free practice 2, in F1 Academy, sees Doriane Pin end the session top on Friday night.

The Mercedes-backed driver, racing for Prema, had a phenomenal final 10 minutes where she set consecutive fastest laps, in a very competitive latter stage of the second practice session, in what is a significant weekend that she has to make count.

Pin needs a pretty much flawless weekend if she is to avoid losing the championship to the current championship leader Abbi Pulling of Rodin Motorsport and Alpine Academy. Pulling currently has a 95-point lead over Pin with two full rounds worth of points remaining.

Prema's Pin was fastest with a 1:54.794, which was a tenth faster than her championship rival Pulling, who had to settle for second in a closely-fought session. Wildcard entry Alisha Palmowski was third in a superb effort.

F1 Academy action would return on Friday to conclude the day's running as it would be time for the second and final practice session of the weekend.

In contrast to the day's earlier free practice 1 session, the night skies had fallen and the lights were shining on the circuit and the drivers would be set to complete another 40 minutes of free practice in the evening at the Lusail International Circuit.

Mercedes-backed driver Doriane Pin, the only driver that is mathematically in contention for the championship other than Abbi Pulling, would set the fastest time in the opening practice session - in her Prema machine.

Pin was fastest ahead of Pulling, who missed the early stages of the session with mechanical problems. Maya Weug, backed by Ferrari, made it three Prema drivers in the top three. In FP1, wildcard entry Alisha Palmowski was seventh.

It would be time for free practice 2, and with the green light on at the end of the pit lane, the session would be underway and a flurry of drivers would head out almost immediately. Some of them though would pit after just one out lap.

For the drivers in the early stages, it was all about trying to get temperature into the tyres and warm the brakes up ahead of pushing on flying laps around this tricky and demanding circuit. However, it was not going quite to plan for Bianca Bustamante, as in the first few minutes, she would have a spin but thankfully would be able to continue.

In the first 10 minutes, for a lot of drivers they would be laying down their first representative lap times and Abbi Pulling would be the driver who would be at the top of the times ahead of Chloe Chambers and Jess Edgar. 

Drivers would still be searching for improvements and lap times would be improved, meaning positions were constantly changing up and down the order with Abbi Pulling moving away from top spot for a couple of moments as Maya Weug would have a small stint up at the top of the times.

By the halfway point, all of the drivers had headed to the pit lane for any mechanical changes, tyre changes or simply for the drivers to have a chat with their engineers and review any data. Abbi Pulling was sat at the top with Weug in second and wildcard entry Alisha Palmowski was having another strong showing in third place.

Eventually, slowly but surely the drivers were making their way back out onto the circuit and as the session was approaching the final 10 minutes, qualifying runs would be needing practice ahead of qualifying on Saturday.

The times would change multiple times with many different drivers having spells at the top of the time sheets as drivers were making significant improvements in their lap times. Pulling and Palmowski were shining but as to was Doriane Pin.

Pin would set rapid lap time after rapid lap time and she would do this at the very end of the session to take top spot as the clock hit zero and the chequered flag was brought out. A stunning lap from Pin, and she looked to have great pace and looked to be the favourite for pole position in a potentially championship-deciding weekend.

Pin was fastest by a tenth ahead of Abbi Pulling in second place with a fantastic session from Alisha Palmowski saw the British wildcard entry finish third and completed the top three. Maya Weug of Prema would be fourth with Red Bull Racing backed Hamda Al Qubaisi completing the top five for MP Motorsport.

Jess Edgar would be sixth ahead of Lia Block in seventh with Emely De Heus, Chloe Chambers and Bianca Bustamante completing the top 10.

Action will return at the Lusail International Circuit for F1 Academy this weekend, with qualifying taking place on Saturday afternoon that will set the grid for both races.

Brandon Whiteside
Writer and X Contributer - F1 Journal 

Mercedes-backed Prema racer Doriane Pin was fastest in the opening practice session on Friday, at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar.

It was a 40-minute session that had a slow first 10 minutes with little action on track but throughout the other 30 minutes of the session there was a lot of on track action with all drivers setting lap times.

In a weekend where she needs to be on form to keep the championship alive, Doriane Pin set the fastest time of the session and showed great pace, which is eactly what she needs to show this weekend.

Pin would finish top ahead of championship rival and leader Abbi Pulling, who would be second despite mechanical difficulties ruining the first part of her session. Maya Weug was third making it two Prema cars in the top three, with their teams' championship battle very much alive with Rodin Motorsport.

Abbi Pulling could be champion this weekend with her coming into the weekend with a 98-point lead over Doriane Pin.

For the first time since September, F1 Academy had a race weekend to look forward to with round six coming at the Lusail International Circuit, in the Qatari capital Doha. This would be the start of two rounds in consecutive weekends, with the final round in just over one wee's time in Abu Dhabi.

The 15 full-time drivers would be participating in the round alongside a wildcard driver to make the grid size 16, for the fifth time of the season. The driver that has been selected for the wildcard entry at this weekend's round in Qatar is British talent Alisha Palmowski.

Palmowski has spent 2024 competing in GB4 where she finished runner up to Swedish driver Linus Granfors. The British talent set for her F1 Academy debut will be racing the F1 Academy 'Discover your Drive' campaign livery and will be racing with the number six on her car.

Before long though it was time for F1 Academy to return to on-track action in a race weekend. Although a new venue, the drivers would have familiar feelings with it as they did some testing on the track earlier on in November.

The green light would be on at the end of the pit lane and the session would be underway. however, there was no real eagerness to head out onto the circuit and therefore the drivers would sit in the pit lane for a while. 

Abbi Pulling did not have the option as she was rooted to the pit lane, with a suspected mechanical issue that the Rodin Motorsport mechanics were working on in order to make sure she could get out at points in the session.

In the first 10 minutes, not much would happen as Jessica Edgar and Aurelia Nobels would be the drivers who were making small appearances on the circuit and towards the end of the first quarter of the 40-minute session, more drivers started heading out. However, representative flying laps were still being waited on.

Flying laps would be laid down eventually by the drivers as most drivers were heading out on circuit and looking to try and get a feel for the circuit and how the temperature were affecting the tarmac.

Jessica Edgar was leading the way from Bianca Bustamante as it stood as the session reached the halfway point, with 20 minutes complete and 20 minutes still remaining. Lola Lovinfosse, Edgar's Rodin teammate was third, ahead of MP Motorsport's Emely De Heus. 

Edgar's other Rodin teammate and the championship leader, Abbi Pulling, would make it out onto the circuit with mechanical problems put behind the car and now she was getting some valuable circuit experience under her belt and was looking to make her way to the top of the times.

Alisha Palmowski as the wildcard entry would be looking to try and make an impression, following a successful year in the GB4 Championship would be looking at securing a seat potentially in F1 Academy for 2025. The British driver impressed by leaping up to second, less than two tenths behind Edgar.

However, both Edgar and Palmowski would drop down a place as the driver next to go top would be French racer Doriane Pin, who was desperate to try and stay in championship contention across the weekend and hopefully for her she can take it to Abu Dhabi, but it will be difficult.

With 10 minutes remaining, Pin would be on top from Edgar and Palmowski. The three drivers would be the top three with the time remaining but lap times were still to be completed.

Pulling would be setting lap times and improving constantly with her flying laps to try and get herself comfortable with the circuit and the conditions in which they were running in. On her final lap of the session, she would go second fastest and would have to settle for that as before long the chequered flag was out.

Doriane Pin was unable to be matched though as she had set the fastest time of the session with a 1:56.654 and the Mercedes-backed Prema driver would be feeling confident and pleased with the session.

Pin would be top by two tenths of a second to her championship rival Pulling, who progressed well in the latter stages to end up in second position for Rodin Motorsport. Maya Weug, backed by Ferrari, would make it two Prema cars in the top three.

British driver Jessica Edgar, also of Rodin Motorsport like her fellow Brit Abbi Pulling, was fourth with ART's Bianca Bustamante, backed by McLaren, would end the day in fifth place.

Hamda Al Qubaisi backed by red Bull Racing was sixth ahead of wildcard entry Alisha Palmowski who delivered a brilliant opening performance to finish in seventh place. Carrie Schreiner, Lia Block and Chloe Chambers would complete the top 10.

After the first practice session, F1 Academy would return for the second practice session of the weekend and of the day later on Friday. 

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer and X Contributer - F1 Journal

F1 Academy makes a return to race weekend action for the first time since September, as the championship heads to the penultimate round of the season at Qatar in a potential championship crowning weekend.

Alpine Academy's Abbi Pulling, who has been driving for Rodin Motosport, could wrap up th championship with a round to spare as she arrives at the Lusail International Circuit with just her and Doriane Pin in contention.

It will be the first of the two final rounds of the season, both taking place in the Middle East with the final round coming at the Yas Marina Circuit, in Abu Dhabi for the final weekend and Pulling is very much favourite to go into that round as the champion.

While the teams' championship is incredibly tight and set to go the distance between Prema and Rodin, the drivers' championship could see the champion crowned by the chequered flag of race 1 on Saturday. 

Pulling leads the championship by 98 points and with 112 points remaining to win, she just needs 18 points to clinch the title and will be unable to be catched by Pin, despite the Mercedes-backed driver of Prema being second in the standings.

F1 Academy heads to the Middle East for the second time in 2024 this coming weekend, after the opening round of the campaign was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The final two rounds will be held at Doha, Qatar and Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi which will see the championship come to a close.

First up this coming weekend, for the penultimate round of the championship, is a trip to the Lusail International Circuit in the Qatari capital, Doha, which is a brand new circuit for racing action in the F1 Academy Championship. This will make the Lusail International Circuit the 11th different venue to host a round of F1 Academy in just the second season of the competition's running.

The Lusail International Circuit will be a circuit that will be recent within the memory of the drivers of the main field ahead of taking to the track earlier this month for testing which saw proceedings largely dominated by Doriane Pin, which is exactly the type of result she will need to keep her championship hopes alive.

However, no points were scored in the testing session and she will need to do all she can to replicate her speed that she showed a couple of weeks prior.

The circuit itself is made up of 16 corners with plenty of overtaking opportunities for the drivers to try and find a way past their rivals. The lap distance in total is 5.419km with the best overtaking opportunity being on the run down the start/finish straight and into the first corner.

There will be two practice sessions on Friday before a qualifying and race 1 that are scheduled to take place on the Saturday. Race 2 will take place on Grand Prix Sunday.

Considering there has never been an event held here previously in F1 Academy, there is no lap record.

On November 20, it was announced that British driver Alisha Palmowski would be the wildcard entry for the sixth round in Qatar and would take part in the weekend's action in the fourth Prema.

Palmowski has spent time in November competing in the all-women's Formula E test, which was the first ever all-female test in a world championship competition. Prior to this throughout the majority of 2024, Palmowski has been competing in the GB4 Championship by the BRDC.

The 18-year old finished runner up with Elite Motorsport, behind Fortec Motorsport's Swedish sensation Linus Granfors. However, Palmowski remained strong and claimed second in the standings ahead of Harry Burgoyne Jr. 

Palmowski will be running the F1 Academy 'Discover your drive' campaign livery and she will racing the number six car. On being given the opportunity, speaking on X, Palmowski said she felt "super excited" to be selected as the wildcard entry for the round at the Lusail International Circuit.

Track Time:

• Free Practice 1 29/11: 13:00-13:40
• Free Practice 2 29/11: 18:00-18:40
• Qualifying 30/11: 15:20-15:50
• Race 1 30/11: 23:05-23:35
• Race 2 01/12: 14:00-14:30

UK Time: 

• Free Practice 1 29/11: 10:00-10:40
• Free Practice 2 29/11: 15:00-15:40
• Qualifying 30/11: 12:20-12:50
• Race 1 30/11: 20:05-20:35
• Race 2 01/12: 11:00-11:30

Brandon Whiteside
Writer & X contributer - F1 Journal

​British driver Alisha Palmowski was announced as the sixth wildcard entry for the 2024 F1 Academy Championship for the sixth round of the championship in Losail Qatar - as was announced by the championship media on Wednesday.

Palmowski has spent the year competing in the 2024 GB4 Championship, while also in 2024 being part of the very first all-female test to take place in an FIA World Championship, she participated in the Formula E pre-season testing session at Madrid, Spain on November 8.

The 18-year old from Manchester is someone who is definitely making progress up the motorsport ladder and has been since she made her karting debut in August 2015 and since then she went on to compete in karting championships, and completed her karting journey at the end of 2021.

It was announced on November 20 that Palmowski will race in the F1 Academy round at Qatar as the wild card entry becoming the second British driver in two rounds to become the wildcard entry for a round of the 2024 F1 Academy season as she follows in the footsteps of Ella Lloyd.

Both Lloyd and Palmowski competed in the all-women test in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship pre-season testing in Madrid on November 8 for NEOM McLaren and Envision respectively. Lloyd partnered current F1 Academy McLaren-backed racer of ART Grand Prix, Bianca Bustamante, whereas Palmowski partnered up with Alice Powell at Envision Racing.

Palmowski will be backed by the F1 Academy Discover your drive campaign and she will run the livery on her number six car across the weekend at the Lusail International Circuit. This is to highlight the global programme that has had success in increasing the talent pool of young women and girls that are attempting to get into motorsport.

On X, following the announcement, Alisha Palmowski quoted: "Super excited to have been selected as the F1 Academy wildcard for Qatar!

​"This is a dream come true for me to compete on the same weekend, as a support series, to Formula One and I cannot thank Susie Wolff enough & everyone at F1 Academy enough for this huge opportunity."

Her list of achievements consist of becoming the 2018 Birel ART UK series junior karting rookie champion, 2018 Kier Millar U13 driver of the year, 2021 Henry Surtees racer of the year, 2022 Ginetta Junior Scholarship champion and in 2024 she has become part of the British Women Racing Drivers Club (BWRDC).

For the majority of 2024, Palmowski made her debut and rookie season in the 2024 GB3 Championship partnered by the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) and she would go on to impress throughout the year as she would end runner up and second place in the standings - missing out on the title to Linus Granfors.

Palmowski would race for Elite Motorsport for the course of the season and would partner with fellow Brit Finn Harrison. On the road to finishing second in the standings, Palmowski would clinch three victories and 11 podiums combined across the championship and would finish in second overall - just 45 points behind Granfors who won the title and just one point ahead of Harry Bugoyne Jr.

It was a successful year for Palmowski who while finishing second in the standings also finished 131 points clear of teammate Harrison and did more than enough to earn herself the spot in the all-female driver test in Formula E as she partnered Powell and ended 16th in a disrupted session.

A great year of learning, development and progression for Palmowski will be concluded by her taking part in the F1 Academy round at Qatar from November 29-December 1 in the fourth car to be operated by Prema.

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal

F1 Academy

At the start of the race, Maya Weug got a better start than her fellow Prema teammate Doriane Pin and made her way up into second. Both of them fought wheel to wheel for a few corners but Weug was able to come out on top and maintain second.

Down in fourth, Lia Block tried to take advantage of the two fighting in front but was unsuccessful in her attempts to make a move. 

Wildcard entry Ella Lloyd was doing well as she beat Carrie Schreiner off of the line before applying pressure onto Hamda Al Qubaisi. 

By the time lap three came around, Pulling had already achieved a lead of over a second to Weug but shortly came to an end as the safety car was deployed due to Bustamante catching the kerb at turn 7 and spinning. She was able to rejoin the race and eventually catch up to the back of the pack. 

It was Pulling out in front who was responsible for the safety car restart as they began making their way into lap 5. She took an early gamble however and was able to build a gap over Weug throughout the last few turns as they crossed the line to begin lap 5. 

At the back of the pack, there was contact between Bustamante and Hausmann which resulted in the McLaren junior bouncing over the run-off area. Hausmann was given a 10 second time penalty for the incident. 

At the front of the pack, Pulling was setting fastest lap after fastest lap and had pulled a comfortable 1.2 second gap on Weug with teammate Pin closely followed behind with only half a second between the two. 
 
Abbi continued to extend her gap out in front and took the chequered flag with a 3.2 gap to Weug in second. Pin crossed the line in third, the gap between herself and Weug having increased to nearly a second and a half.  

1) Abbi Pulling (Fastest Lap)
2) Maya Weug / + 3.276
3) Doriane Pin / + 4.584
4) Lia Block / + 9.471
5) Nerea Marti / + 10.830
6) Hamda Al Qubaisi / + 11.400
7) Ella Lloyd (Wildcard) / + 12.436
8) Chloe Chambers / + 17.909
9) Carrie Schreiner / + 20.078
10) Emely De Heus / + 20.596
11) Amna Al Qubaisi / + 21.928
12) Auelia Nobels / + 22.741
13) Lola Lovinfosse / + 24.080
14) Bianca Bustamante / + 24.944
15) Jessica Edgar / + 30.167
16) Tina Hausmann / + 79.497

​Written by Kelsie Jayes.

Formula 1

McLaren junior Bianca Bustamante caused an aborted race start as she drove over her grid box. She then failed to start from the pit lane for which she got a 10 second stop and go penalty for. The race was shortened to 11 laps due to this added formation lap

Going into turn one, the top four (Pulling, Weug, Pin and Block) all managed to hold their positions. However, Red Bull driver Hamda Al Qubaisi wasn't as lucky and dropped down a couple of places after going wide onto the run-off area at turn 1. Ella Lloyd took advantage of this opportunity and overtook Nerea Marti and Al Qubaisi. Lloyd's hope was short-lived however as she received a 5 second penalty for a false start.

Lloyd wasn't the only driver to receive a 5 second penalty however as 3rd place Pin also got one later on for the same reason. When she was given this penalty, she was 3.8 seconds ahead of Lia Block so decided to put in the work to pull away even further from the young American driver.

Pulling took the chequered flag just over 2 seconds clear of Weug in 2nd. Luckily for Pin, she managed to pull a big enough gap to remain ahead of Block by 2 tenths.

Wildcard Ella Lloyd wasn't as lucky though as her penalty dropped her from sixth to ninth.

1) Abbi Pulling 
2) Maya Weug / + 2.056
3) Doriane Pin (Fastest Lap)  / + 8.564
4) Lia Block / + 8.772
5) Chloe Chambers / + 9.563
6) Hamda Al Qubaisi / + 15.680
7) Nerea Marti / + 16.343
8) Carrie Schreiner / + 17.960
9) Ella Lloyd (Wildcard) / + 19.901
10) Tina Hausmann / + 20.564
11) Lola Lovinfosse / + 22.152
12) Amna Al Qubaisi / + 22.501
13) Jessica Edgar / + 27.377
14) Aurelia Nobels / + 28.000
15) Emely De Heus / + 37.345
16) Bianca Bustamante / + 57.095

Written by Kelsie Jayes