F1 Journal
  • Home
  • Articles
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula 4
    • BTCC
    • Extreme E
    • F1 Academy
    • Formula E
  • Portfolio
  • Contact
  • E-Magazine
  • Meet the Team
  • Formula E

F1 ACADEMY

Doriane Pin stormed to a Race 2 victory in Shanghai

23/3/2025

0 Comments

 
Picture
Image: Steffen Prößdorf

Doriane Pin wins Race 2 in Shanghai with a dominant drive as F1 Academy returned this weekend.

It is her fourth overall win in the championship, her first win of the 2025 season, and her second podium of the weekend.

Joining her on the podium was Maya Weug in second and Chambers in third.


As it happened

​The race start was delayed until 10:50 local time due to an oil spillage, meaning the race got underway with an extra formation lap and a rolling start.

Weug led the pack over the line to start the race but Doriane Pin’s excellent start saw her take the lead round the outside going into Turn 2.

Further down the field, the first lap saw a contact between Nina Gademan and Tina Hausmann in a bid to take P6 in the race. They both spun off to the side of the track, but both continued in the race and Hausmann was handed a 10-second penalty for the incident.

​However, that wasn't the end of the Lap 1 drama. The safety car returned to the track on the opening lap as Joanne Ciconte of MP Motorsport is tagged round by Chloe Chong at Turn 8. Unfortunately, as Ciconte spun, she took out Aurelia Nobels and Nicole Havrda who were innocent by standers to the incident and ended up retiring from the race. 

The green flag was waved and racing got underway again on Lap 5 and Pin remained in the lead after controlling the restart well. 

Rodin Motorsport's Chloe Chong received a 10-second penalty for the collision with Ciconte on Lap 1 that lead to three retirements. 

The race was being controlled brilliantly by Mercedes Academy driver Doriane Pin on Lap 8 as she was building the gap between herself and MP's Maya Weug.

Lap 9 and the battle for the final podium position in Race 2 was a closing laps thriller between Chloe Chambers and Alba Larsen with Chambers taking the third place spot on the penultimate lap of the race (Lap 10).

With the race length being shortened to 11 laps due to the extra formation laps, Pin could see the end in sight, taking the chequered flag in a very impressive performace. 

She held off Weug who came home comfortably in second with Chambers taking the final podium spot in China. 

Chloe Chong crossed the line in P8 but due to her penalty, was demoted to P11 promoting Rafaela Ferreira, Lia Block, and Alpine's Nina Gademan into the points places.

Race 2 Top 10 finishers
1. Doriane Pin
2. Maya Weug
3. Chloe Chambers 
4. Alba Larsen
5. Emma Felbermayr
6. Alisha Palmowski
7. Ella Lloyd 
8. Rafaela Ferreira
9. Lia Block
10. Nina Gademan

Picture

Katie Shepherd
Writer - F1 Journal

0 Comments

Maya Weug dominates in Shanghai to take first F1 Academy pole of 2025!

21/3/2025

0 Comments

 
Picture
Credit: Pauline Ballet
MP Motorsport's Ferrari Academy driver Maya Weug has taken pole position for Sunday's race two, during Friday qualifying in Shanghai, China.

Weug dominated the session and showed great pace throughout the session, and once the chequered flag flew, it was beyond doubt that he would take pole position for the Sunday race 2. The Dutch driver managed a lap time of 2:03.379 - a time over four tenths quicker than Doriane Pin.

20-year-old Weug took pole position for the Sunday race on Friday ahead of Mercedes-backed racer and former teammate Doriane Pin, who was second for Prema Racing. An impressive showing from MP Motorsport debut driver Alba Larsen would see her qualify third for Sunday.

All the places the drivers ended in the qualifying session will be their starting positions for Sunday's Race 2, unless any grid penalties are handed out. As for the Race 1 starting grid, the top eight from qualifying are reversed. Therefore, Nina Gademan in just her second F1 Academy round, will start from pole position.

How F1 Academy qualifying unfolded in China

For the first time in 2025, it was time to go qualifying for the F1 Academy Championship, with the session taking place to be the season opener at the Shanghai International Circuit in China. 

A new beginning of F1 Academy, with a new grid and the largest grid that has ever been seen before in the championship, with 18 cars to take part in every round across the 2025 season. This is due to new team Hitech TGR, who are entering the championship for the first time in 2025.

In 2025, compared to other championship seasons, there is a different format of how qualifying will play out. The qualifying session itself will last for 30 minutes where the drivers will compete to have the fastest time.

At the end of the session, the top eight will be reversed for the first race of the weekend, bringing back the reverse grid method that was used in 2023, but was not a part of the championship in 2024.

The qualifying order on Friday would then be the starting grid order for race 2, providing no grid penalties are handed out, which will change the starting position of drivers up and down the field.

Qualifying would get underway following the free practice session earlier on in the day. The session saw Doraine Pin finish fastest for Prema Racing, in a 1-2 for the team as she finished above teammate Tina Hausmann.

The green light would come on at the end of the pit lane signalling the start of the 30-minute qualifying session and cars would begin to filter out onto the circuit but none of them would be the ART of Lia Block.

Block's collision with Rafael Ferreira in free practice resulted in sustained chassis damage for Block meaning a change for her. Meanwhile, Ferreira was deemed to be at fault and would be handed a three-place grid penalty for race 1.

​Once drivers began to set lap times, Alisha Palmowski of Red Bull Racing and Campos would be one to impress as she showed decent speed to go to provisional pole position. However, with the track improvements and also the condition of the circuit improving,

Weug would take provisional pole with a 2:03.781 and it would be a very strong lap time, which would remain unbeaten after two very strong flying lap attempts from Doriane Pin. Ultimately, Weug was having a very good session and had done enough to remain top.

Soon enough, the session reached the halfway point and Weug would be fastest from Pin as the top two would be formed. Chloe Chambers, Nina Gademan and Alba Larsen were holding the provisional top five places with just 15 minutes remaining.

Shortly after the halfway point, the majority of the field would visit the pit lane for a fresh change of tyres and they would be preparing themselves to go for a few more flying laps towards the near end of the session, as the hunt for pole position would be very much on. Could anyone stop Weug?

The task became even harder when Weug extended her gap with a 2:03.379 to over half a second. The lap time of Weug's would be even more difficult for Pin to try and catch as the session was nearing a close. Although, the track was ramping up so if Pin could put a lap together, all might be possible?

Unfortunately not for Pin as when the chequered flag flew from the Race Control tower, it was Weug who took pole position after a fantastic display in Shanghai and would lineup at the front of the field for Sunday's Feature Race/Race 2. Pin would have to settle for second place, behind her former teammate.

An incredible effort from the MP Motorsport of Alba Larsen, as in her first ever qualifying she would achieve a third place result. A great result as she would be ahead of Campos duo Chloe Chambers and Alisha Palmowski who would round off the top five.

Youngest driver on the grid Joanne Ciconte would be sixth ahead of Emma Felbermayr in seventh. In eighth place and taking reverse grid pole would be Nina Gademan of Prema and backed by Alpine.

Action of F1 Academy in Shanghai would return for Race 1 on Saturday with Nina Gademan starting from pole position with Emma Felbermayr alongside her on the front row!

2025 F1 Academy Championship: Round 1 - Shanghai qualifying provisional classification

  1. Maya Weug (Netherlands, MP Motorsport)
  2. Doriane Pin (France, Prema Racing)
  3. Alba Larsen (Denmark, MP Motorsport)
  4. Chloe Chambers (United States, Campos Racing)
  5. Alisha Palmowski (Great Britain, Campos Racing)
  6. Joanne Ciconte (Australia, MP Motorsport)
  7. Emma Felbermayr (Austria, Rodin Motorsport)
  8. Nina Gademan (Netherlands, Prema Racing)
  9. Tina Hausmann (Switzerland, Prema Racing)
  10. Chloe Chong (Great Britain, Rodin Motorsport)
  11. Ella Lloyd (Great Britain, Rodin Motorsport)
  12. Nicole Havrda (Canada, Hitech TGR)
  13. Rafaela Ferreira (Brazil, Campos Racing)
  14. Aurelia Nobels (Brazil, ART Grand Prix)
  15. Courtney Crone (United States, ART Grand Prix)
  16. Aiva Anagnostiadis (Australia, Hitech TGR)
  17. Shi Wei (China, Hitech TGR) *WILDCARD ENTRY*
  18. Lia Block (United States, ART Grand Prix) NO TIME
Picture
Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal
0 Comments

Doriane Pin quickest in F1 Academy free practice in Shanghai

21/3/2025

0 Comments

 
Picture
Credit: Pauline Ballet
Mercedes-backed Prema driver Doriane Pin set the fastest time late on in free practice, to finish fastest in Shanghai on Friday morning.

Pin took top spot with her last lap of the session as the chequered flag flew at the Shanghai International Circuit in China. She set a 2:04.198, which left her at the top of the time sheets as the session reached it's conclusion.

It was a positive start to F1 Academy in 2025 as Pin finished just short of a tenth ahead of her Prema teammate Tina Hausmann, who has second and who has the backing of Aston Martin, Campos driver Chloe Chambers, backed by Red Bull Ford completed the top three.

The session was heavily disrupted with a red flag as Williams-backed ART driver Lia Block and VCARB-backed Campos driver Rafaela Ferreira collided on the run down to turn 14. The session would be paused for roughly 10 minutes and would be restarted with nine minutes remaining.

Both would be investigated for the incident after the session had concluded.

How Free Practice unfolded in China

Friday morning rolled around in Shanghai, China which marked a historic day in the legacy of the F1 Academy Championship. This was because Friday marked the start of the first ever F1 Academy race weekend in China.

The drivers would not be total strangers to the Shanghai International Circuit with pre season testing taking place at the venue prior to this weekend's season opener. However, the pressures would be different, with this being a race weekend and the first of the F1 Academy 2025 championship.

18 cars would be participating in the championship, and this extended grid was about to enter a race weekend for the first time. As were Hitech TGR, who had entered the championship for the first time in 2025. Hitech were the team who helped extended the numbers to 18 cars for a weekend.

Hitech would be tasked with fielding two full-time drivers for the 2025 campaign as well as a wildcard entry at every round of the season. For round one, Hitech had chosen Chinese driver Shi Wei.

The start of the weekend would be the free practice session, which would last for 40 minutes and would start the weekend's action and the regular season of the 2025 F1 Academy Championship.

Green light would be on at the end of the pit lane and that would signal the start of the session in Shanghai. There would be little action in the opening stages with no lap times set in the first 10 minutes of the session. 

Soon there would be and an early lap time from Ella Lloyd would be a 2:06.155 but she would be the first driver out setting a lap time for Rodin Motorsport. The McLaren-backed driver was at the centre of the action in the early stages.

A spin at turn 9 for Lloyd cut short her continuous lap times that she was aiming to set in succession. However, the spin flat-spotted the tyres and she would pit after getting her F1 Academy machine back going again.

By this point, other drivers had headed out on circuit including the MP Motorsport pair, Maya Weug and Alba Larsen. Weug, who would be returning to F1 Academy for her second season, would go to the top of the time sheets with a 2:04.970. Larsen would be sat in second place.

At the halfway point of the session, Weug would be quickest ahead of Rodin's Chloe Chong who was second and Larsen, who was in third place. Ella Lloyd and Nicole Havrda  would be the top five drivers.

Soon the session would be paused due to a red flag being brought out, due to a huge incident on the back straight - on the run down to turn 14, which involved Lia Block and Rafaela Ferreira.

Ferreira would be trying to warm her tyres up down the back straight but was unaware of Block closing up and attempting to manoeuvre around her. Therefore, Ferreira would collide with Block and both would end up sustaining significant car damage - ending both of their sessions.

Rather unsurprisingly, this would lead to an investigation into The incident would cause a significant delay to the resumption of the session while the track marsahls cleared up the carbon fibre debris as well as the two machines.

Eventually, the session would be restarted with just nine minutes of the session remaining and there would be a hurry for the drivers who would be wanting to get some lap times set ahead of the day's later qualifying session, which was to come.

Doriane Pin had been unable to put a decent lap time together up until the final 10 but had started to find some speed like many others. The Prema racing driver would go to second quickest but it would not be quite enough on that occasion to beat Weug.

However, Pin would go quicker than Weug on the second attempt with the french racer having to dislodge Chloe Chambers who had managed to set a brilliant lap in between. However, even Pin would be beaten, by her teammate Tina Hausmann, which was a clear indication of the track improvement.

Hausmann was looking good to finish the session fastest but Pin still had the opportunity to set one final lap time in the free practice session as eventually the chequered flag would start to fly as the session reached its conclusion.

Pin would take top spot in the very latter stages of the session with a 2:04.198 and therefore would finish the first F1 Academy free practice of 2025 quickest overall. The Mercedes-backed racer was fastest in a Prema 1-2, with Tina Hausmann in second, while Campos' Chloe Chambers was third.

Just behind Chambers in third would be MP Motorsport's Maya Weug in fourth with the third and final Prema driver of Nina Gademan rounding of the top five.

Ella Lloyd was sixth ahead of debut drivers Joanne Ciconte and Emma Felbermayr who were seventh and eighth respectively. Alisha Palmowski and Chloe Chong completed the top 10.

After practice, attention in Shanghai turns towards qualifying with the action continuing on Friday, which will determine the grid for both of the weekend's races.

2025 F1 Academy Championship: Round 1 - Shanghai free practice result

  1. Doriane Pin (France, Prema Racing)
  2. Tina Hausmann (Switzerland, Prema Racing)
  3. Chloe Chambers (United States, Campos Racing)
  4. Maya Weug (Netherlands, MP Motorsport)
  5. Nina Gademan (Netherlands, Prema Racing)
  6. Ella Lloyd (Great Britain, Rodin Motorsport)
  7. Joanne Ciconte (Australia, MP Motorsport)
  8. Emma Felbermayr (Austria, Rodin Motorsport)
  9. Alisha Palmowski (Great Britain, Campos Racing)
  10. Chloe Chong (Great Britain, Rodin Motorsport)
  11. Alba Larsen (Denmark, MP Motorsport)
  12. Aurelia Nobels (Brazil, ART Grand Prix)
  13. Aiva Anagnostiadis (Australia, Hitech TGR)
  14. Nicole Havrda (Canada, Hitech TGR)
  15. Courtney Crone (United States, ART Grand Prix)
  16. Shi Wei (China, Hitech TGR) *WILDCARD ENTRY*
  17. Lia Block (United States, ART Grand Prix)
  18. Rafaela Ferreira (Brazil, Campos Racing)
Picture
Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal
0 Comments

A new season awaits F1 Academy as 2025 begins in Shanghai! F1 Academy Shanghai preview

20/3/2025

0 Comments

 
Picture
Credit: Pauline Ballet
For the first time since September, F1 Academy goes racing this coming weekend, as the 2025 campaign is to get underway with the season opener taking place in the Chinese city of Shanghai.

It will be the very first time that f1 Academy will visit China and more importantly the Shanghai International Circuit, as the F1 Academy Championship acts as a support series this coming weekend for the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix.

Following pre-season testing at Shanghai, the new 18-car grid will take to the circuit for race weekend action this coming weekend, to kick start the seven-round 2025 championship.

The start of the season in China will begin the quest for all of the 17 full time drivers, who will aim to go and try to clinch the championship title just like Marta Garcia and Abbi Pulling previously have managed to achieve.

F1 Academy will also this weekend see the very first Chinese driver to compete in the championship, participate at the Shanghai International Circuit this coming weekend. Wei Shi, who will be backed by Juss Sports, is to take up the wildcard entry space at HItech TGR for the opening round of the 2025 season.

Shi will race with the number 24 on her car. Having previously won the Challenge Cup at the Chinese F4 Championship in Shanghai, Shi has also competed in the China Endurance Championship and the Toyota Gazoo Racing GR86 Cup on route to being selected as Wildcard Entry for this weekend's round.

A look at the track: Shanghai International Circuit - Round 1

Visiting another venue to create more history is the theme for F1 Academy this coming weekend, as they visit China for racing for the first time, with the championship taking a trip to the Shanghai International Circuit - home of the Chinese Grand Prix.

A circuit that first entered the Formula One World Championship in 2004, the Shanghai International Circuit has a long list of legendary and iconic moments. F1 Academy will be hoping that it can find some iconic moments for the championship here at this venue too.

The 2025 F1 Academy pre season testing was completed at the Shanghai International Circuit where this year's class of drivers were able to get a decent amount of lap times completed, which provided a chance for the rookies to get an idea for how the car operates and the different challenges that the car presents.

Shanghai International Circuit is one of various different challenges, with long and durable corners but also long straights which could provide great opportunity for overtaking if the drivers need to pass their rivals in order to elevate themselves into a higher position.

The circuit itself is made up of 16 corners and has a lap distance of 5.456km. Unlike the other support series championships of Formula One, like FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3, there is no DRS in this championship. Therefore, the drivers will have to use their own raw speed and benefit from slipstream to aid their chances of overtaking their rivals.

Due to no racing having occurred at Shanghai, in F1 Academy before, there is no lap record at this circuit for the championship to look back on.

As for the racing to come over the course of the season-opening weekend, there will be two races that will both have 13 laps each, which amounts to a race distance of 70.863km.

Free Practice in Shanghai begins on Friday - 09:10 local time in Shanghai!

2025 F1 Academy Championship: Round 1 - Shanghai session times

Track Times
  • Free Practice 21/03: 09:10-09:50
  • Qualifying 21/03: 14:05-14:35
  • Race 1 22/03: 13:50-14:20
  • Race 2 23/03: 10:45-11:15

UK Times
  • Free Practice 21/03: 01:10-01:50
  • Qualifying 21/03: 06:05-06:35
  • Race 1 22/03: 05:50-06:25
  • Race 2: 02:45-03:20
Picture
Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal
0 Comments

2025 F1 Academy Grid: Who are they and who are they racing for?

17/3/2025

0 Comments

 
Picture
Credit: Hugo Hu
F1 Academy returns once again to the motorsport scene for 2025, as the all-female feeder series championship prepares for its third season this calendar year.

The championship was introduced in 2022 following the financial drowning of the W Series and therefore F1 stepped up to the task and gave these female drivers an opportunity to grow in a brand-new championship that was named F1 Academy.

Since 2023, the F1 Academy has run and we have seen many drivers come and go including the only two champions who are Spanish driver Marta Garcia and the reigning 2024 F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling.

This year, the grid will extend from the 14 drivers + a wildcard entry to 17 drivers + a wildcard entry. This is due to the addition of Hitech TGR who join the championship for the first time and add F1 Academy to the list of many feeder series championships they compete in - along with FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3.

Each driver will also be backed by a sponsorship or a Formula 1 team as all 10 teams will sponsor a driver in 2025, with some retaining their drivers from 2024 whereas some have gone for someone else on the F1 Academy grid.

In this piece we will look into the 17 drivers who are signed up to the championship for 2025, across each team. To begin we will start with the reigning Teams' champions - Prema Racing.

3. Nina Gademan - Prema Racing (NLD)

Picture
Credit: Joe Portlock
First up is Dutch racing driver Nina Gademan, who will be backed by the BWT Alpine Formula 1 Team, and is set to have her rookie campaign in the 2025 F1 Academy Championship.
​
Gademan won't be making her F1 Academy debut though as she was a wildcard entry at the Netherlands round in 2024, which was her home event. In the round, she competed at a high level and scored more points than any of the other wildcard entries.

​The 21-year old has limited experience out of karting but does have a full season of British F4 under her belt, where she finished 18th overall with 28 points to her name.

Gademan will be one of three drivers to race full time at Prema Racing for 2025 and will take on Alpine's backing for this season's F! Academy, which was the position Abbi Pulling found herself in, on the way to winning the 2024 title.

28. Doriane Pin - Prema Racing (FRA)

Picture
Credit: Hugo Hu
Next up at Prema is the 2024 F1 Academy runner up Doriane Pin, who continues being supported by the Mercedes AMG Formula 1 Team for the 2025 campaign.

Pin shone in her rookie season back in 2024, taking three race victories and five additional podiums on the road to finishing second in the standings - 121 points behind eventual champion Abbi Pulling.

Away from the F1 Academy scene, Pin has competed in a variety of different motorsport championships including the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA).

She will join up for her second season of F1 Academy with Prema, for her second consecutive season with the team. After finishing runner up in 2024, she will be hoping to go one further by winning the title in 2025.

78. Tina Hausmann - Prema Racing (SUI)

Picture
Credit: Joe Portlock
Completing the trio at Prema Racing is returning Swiss driver Tina Hausmann, who is backed by the Aramco Aston Martin Formula 1 Team for the 2025 campaign, just like she was in 2024.

Hausmann had a bit more of a difficult 2024 than her teammates Pin and Weug, who both finished in the top five in the championship, while Hausmann languished down in 10th with 31 points. In contrast, Weug picked up 177 and Pin picked up 2017.

The 18-year old secured a highest finishing position of fourth across 2024, which came in the final race of the season at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Hausmann's second best result was sixth in the season opener at Jeddah back in February.

She will complete the Prema lineup and will be hoping to make improvements on her season in 2024, where she was learning her trade but now she will look to build and use the powerful Prema team system to her advantage.

5. Emma Felbermayr - Rodin Motorsport (AUT)

Picture
Credit: Hugo Hu
Over at Rodin Motorsport, Austrian driver Emma Felbermayr, will be entering the championship for the very first time as she takes up the backing of Kick Sauber for the 2025 season.

Felbermayr is from a family that is evolved around motorsport with her being a third generation racer - this comes after her grandfather and father having both competed in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The 18-year old is yet to race in open-wheel feeder series championships for the first time after having competed in karting up until the 2025 year, which is set to see her start her journey as she learns the challenge of the open-wheel racing machinery.

Felbermayr will be one of three drivers racing in 2025 and will be hoping to make her mark on the Feeder Series championships and take a big step in her career as she will no doubt have her sights set on making it to the very top of world motorsport.

20. Ella Lloyd - Rodin Motorsport (GBR)

Picture
Credit: Joe Portlock
Next up at the Rodin Motorsport team is Welsh racing driver Ella Lloyd, who backed by McLaren, will be entering the championship for her first full season in the F1 Academy championship.

Lloyd participated as a Wildcard member of the Singapore round of the 2024 season. Lloyd impressed in her only weekend in the championship by scoring eight points in total. A great achievement as she finished ninth and seventh in race 1 and race 2 respectively.

Outside of F1 Academy life, Lloyd competed in the British F4 Championship in 2024, where she finished overall after scoring four podiums across the season's events. This included three second place finishes as she finished 11th overall.

Lloyd will be backed by the McLaren F1 Team for 2025 as she is part of their Driver Development Programme. She will be part of the Rodin Motorsport trio and one of two rookies that will form their lineup.

27. Chloe Chong (GBR)

To complete the Rodin Motorsport lineup for the 2025 F1 Academy season is returning driver Chloe Chong, who will be backed by Charlotte Tilbury for the season.

Chong is making a return to the F1 Academy championship after her first season came in the 2023 championship, which was the inaugural season of the championship's history. She would finish 14th overall and took one fastest lap.

As for 2024, Chong competed in the British F4 Championship with JHR Developments. At the end of the season, she would finish 16th in the overall final standings whilst scoring a total of 29 points.

This will be a big year for Chong with her returning to the championship, with a bit of extra experience compared to what she had when she started her first season in 2023.
​

14. Chloe Chambers - Campos Racing (USA)

Picture
Credit: Pauline Ballet
At Campos Racing, continuing with the team for the second season in a row and her second season in F1 Academy is American Chloe Chambers, who is backed by Red Bull Ford.

Chambers will continue at Campos after competing in her rookie season of F1 Academy, with the team in the 2024 campaign, as she was backed by the Haas F1 Team. It was a rookie season of positives for Chambers as she was one of only four drivers to taste victory that campaign.

The American racing driver ended up sixth in the standings with 122 points to her name and three further podiums along with her victory. Chambers also has a history of competing in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship (FROC) and the W Series, which concluded in 2022 due to a lack of funding.

Chambers will be hoping to build on her victory and podiums in 2024 by pushing herself towards the title of F1 Academy Champion in 2025, with the support of Red Bull Ford for the upcoming campaign.

18. Rafaela Ferreira - Campos Racing (BRA)

Picture
Credit: Meg Oliphant
Entering the F1 Academy series for the very first time is Brazilian talent Rafaela Ferreira, who will be racing for Campos while being backed by the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula 1 Team.

Ferreira will be entering the F1 Academy championship for the very first time, with no previous wildcard entries that she can use to her advantage. It will be a tough season for Ferriera at Campos, with the spotlight of the Formula One world on her.

The 19-year old joins the world of F1 Academy following a good season in the 2024 Brazilian F4 Championship where she picked up an array of trophies on her way to fourth in the standings. Three victories, with seven further podiums would go alongside the two pole positions and two fastest laps she picked up.

Ferreira will be alongside Chambers at Campos Racing, in a team that has taken on three members of the Red Bull family in 2025 and Brazilian Ferreira will be one of two rookies in this coming season's lineup.

21. Alisha Palmowski - Campos Racing (GBR)

Picture
Credit: Hugo Hu
Completing the lineup at Campos Racing and being backed by Red Bull Racing is British talent Alisha Palmowski who will be competing in her first full season of the F1 Academy Championship.

Palmowski will be enduring her first full season but will not be making her F1 Academy debut as that came in her wildcard entry appearance at Qatar back in November 2024. It was a positive impression that was left by Palmowski as she finished fifth in her only race in Qatar due to Race 2 being cancelled.

Outside of her one and only appearance in the championship, Palmowki competed in the GB4 Championship throughout the 2024 season, where she finished runner up behind eventual champion Linus Granfors. 

She will complete the Campos Racing lineup for the 2025 F1 Academy season in a very competitive lineup and will be hoping to show the speed she showed in her wildcard entry round at Qatar, being backed by Red Bull Racing.

12. Alba Larsen - MP Motorsport (DNK)

Picture
Credit: Joe Portlock
At MP Motorsport, entering the F1 Academy Championship for the very first time will be Danish racing driver Alba Larsen, who will receive the backing from clothing brand Tommy Hilfiger.

Larsen will be participating in her first season of the F1 Academy championship and will also be making her debut in the series at the season opener in Shanghai, with her keen to make an impression on this championship that has the eyes of the world watching.

The 16-year old is mentored by Danish Formula One podium finisher Kevin Magnussen and in the early stages of her career so far she has made a two-round appearance in the 2024 Indian F4 Championship, where she finished eighth in her second race and claimed a podium as the best rookie.

Larsen will take to a new feeder series championship to get herself learning open-wheel feeder series racing. She will endure her first season backed by Tommy Hilfiger, like Nerea Marti in 2024, as well as driving for the well recognised Dutch team in MP Motorsport.

25. Joanne Ciconte - MP Motorsport (AUS)

Picture
Credit: Erick W. Rasco
Up next as the second of two rookies at MP Motorsport, in the 2025 F1 Academy Championship, is Australian racer Joanne Ciconte who will be backed by F1 Academy for the upcoming season.

Ciconte is also just 16 years old like Larsen but is also the youngest driver in the permanent field of F1 Academy stars in 2025. Ciconte will be making her debut in Shanghai as she has no prior appearance in the series, and therefore will also be enduring her first full season of the championship.

The Australian driver has had very minimal experience in open-wheel feeder series racing before as she has had experience in Australian F4, Spanish F4, the Central European Zone F4 Championship and the Formula Winter Series.

Ciconte will further her experience of different championship machinery in feeder series categories, as she enters F1 Academy. She will join Alba Larsen in being a rookie at the MP Motorsport for the 2025 campaign.

53. Maya Weug - MP Motorsport (NLD)

Picture
Credit: Pauline Ballet
To complete the 2025 F1 Academy lineup for Dutch team MP Motorsport is Dutch driver Maya Weug, who is backed by Scuderia Ferrari as she is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy as she returns for a second campaign.

Weug makes the move to MP Motorsport to form an all-Dutch partnership in 2025, after spending the 2024 F1 Academy season at Prema Racing, where she shared a team with Tina Hausmann and Doriane Pin. During her rookie season, she would finish third overall following one win, one fastest lap and seven further podiums with a points total of 177 points.

The 20-year old has experience in Feeder series racing with her having had time competing in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) and the Italian F4 Championship.

Weug will be hoping to go better than third in 2024, by potentially taking the F1 Academy title in 2025 at MP Motorsport, as she continues to receive the support from Scuderia Ferrari. She will be one of the favourites alongside former teammate Pin.

7. Courtney Crone - ART Grand Prix (USA)

Picture
Credit: Simon Galloway
After a wildcard entry appearance in Miami back in May 2024, American Courtney Crone will be taking on her first full season of F1 Academy in 2025, with the ART Grand Prix team as she receives the backing of Haas.

Crone appeared in Miami back in May becoming just the second wildcard entry of the 2024 F1 Academy season, with the driver making her F1 Academy debut on home soil and in front of her home crowd. She had a highest finishing position of 11th narrowly missing out on a points-scoring finish.

The 24-year old has transitioned from growing up with racing two-wheel machines to now racing with four wheels. Previous experience for Crone has come in the United States F4 Championship in 2019.

Crone will take one of the three seats at ART Grand Prix and will be looking to try and grow her skills and her racing record in the F1 Academy Championship as she receives the backing of American Formula One Team - Haas.

22. Aurelia Nobels - ART Grand Prix (BRA)

Picture
Credit: Hugo Hu
One of two returning drivers at ART for 2025 is Brazilian racing driver Aurelia Nobels, who will continue to receive the support and backing of Puma just like she did in the 2024 campaign.

In her first season of F1 Academy, where she was the youngest driver on the grid, Nobels would improve her racecraft throughout the 2024 campaign as she would end the championship 12th overall with 29 points. Throughout the season, she would take six points finishes, with a highest finish of fifth.

Also in 2024, Nobels completed in various championships including the Saudi Arabian F4, UAE F4 and the British F4 Championships, with her sole focus in 2024 being around F1 Academy.

Nobels will enter her second season of F1 Academy in 2025 with ART Grand Prix and she will be hoping to improve her results and be a more consistent appearance-maker at the front of the field, with Puma continuing to support her racing.

57. Lia Block - ART Grand Prix (USA)

Picture
Credit: Joe Portlock
To complete the ART Grand Prix driver lineup is returning American racing driver Lia Block, who is backed by Williams Racing for the second successive season.

Block entered the championship for her first full season in 2024 and in 2025 she will endure her second successive F1 Academy season with the ART Grand Prix team. She finished eighth overall with a total of 44 points, and a highest finishing position of fourth.

The 18-year old, who is the daughter of legendary rally driver Ken Block, has competed in a variety of championships in open-wheel feeder series racing including participating in the 2025 Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship.

Lia will be hoping to step onto the F1 Academy podium in 2025, which is something she could not quite do in 2024. This will be her second season with ART and she will hope to make it count.

2. Nicole Havrda - Hitech TGR (CAN)

Picture
Credit: Hugo Hu
One of the two full time Hitech TGR drivers for the 2025 F1 Academy championship is Canadian racing driver Nicole Havrda, who has received the backing of American Express for the upcoming campaign.

Havrda is to make her F1 Academy debut in Shanghai, ahead of her first full season in the championship with the brand new team on the grid Hitech TGR. The team Hitech, will be competing in the F1 Academy championship in 2025 for the very first time, and will make it six teams now on the grid.

Previous racing experience for Havrda includes two campaigns where she was involved in Formula Regional Americas. In the most recent campaign of 2024, Havrda picked up four podiums in 19 races to finish sixth in the overall standings.

Havrda will be one of just two drivers at Hitech TGR in a full-time drive in 2025 as the third space is designated to a wildcard entry for each of the seven rounds to come in 2025.

11. Aiva Anagnostiadis - Hitech TGR (AUS)

Picture
Credit: Joe Portlock
Last but not least, to complete the 2025 F1 Academy Championship full-time lineup is Aiva Anagnostiadis, who will be participating with Hitech TGR for 2025, as she is backed by Tag Heur.

Anagnostiadis will make her debut in Shanghai, like Hitech teammate Nicole Havrda, and will also be enduring her first full season in the championship, which is under the watchful eye of the Formula One world.

The Australian racing driver, who was born in Melbourne, has limited open-wheel feeder series racing experience with only a full season of the Indian F4 Championship and a few races in the Formula Winter Series so far in 2025.

Anagnostiadis completes the full time drivers of the 2025 F1 Academy Championship, with her partnering Havrda in 2025 and a different wildcard entry at each and every round of the 2025 championship.
Picture
Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal
0 Comments

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    March 2024

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

F1 Journal is not Associated In Any Way With The Formula 1 Companies. F1, FORMULA ONE, FORMULA 1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX And Related Marks Are Trade Marks Of Formula One Licensing B.V
  • Home
  • Articles
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula 4
    • BTCC
    • Extreme E
    • F1 Academy
    • Formula E
  • Portfolio
  • Contact
  • E-Magazine
  • Meet the Team
  • Formula E