Doriane Pin leads the way in the first Free Practice of Round 3

IMAGE: Steffen Prößdorf

Doriane Pin goes quickest in the first Free Practice session as F1 Academy returns for Round 3 in Miami.

The French driver set a time of 1:59.153 and finished ahead of Alisha Palmowski and championship leader Maya Weug.

It was Mclaren junior driver Ella Lloyd who was the one to put the first time of the session on the board, setting the benchmark at 2:03.038. 

Ten minutes into the session and Lloyd was still remained at the top of the timesheet for Rodin Motorsport whilst Pin and Lia Block were hot on her heels. 

Block was then next to take her place at the top, topping Lloyd's time around the Miami circuit. However, the American wasn't there for long before Pin put in a blistering lap and was the first driver of the day to set a time below the 2 minute mark whilst the Campos teammates Alisha Palmowski and Chloe Chambers battled it out for P2 and P3. 

The 11 rookies on the grid took their time to get to grips with the Miami streets with a few drivers pushing it a bit too far over the limit. VCARB-backed Rafaela Ferreira spun in the frist sector but managed to avoid contact and continue with the session. Nicole Havrda and Alba Larsen also had their moments with Havrda going too far onto the kerbs and Larsen having a near miss with the wall.

At the halfway point, Pin was still leading the pack with an improved time of 1:59.622. Lloyd was still following on in second, with Chambers finishing off the top three in the Campos. Nina Gademan sat in P4, putting herself into the top ranks, and Tina Hausmann wrapped up the top five. 

10 minutes to go saw Lloyd return to the top of the times with an impressive 1:59.592 - just 0.030 faster than Pin.

It wasn't long before Pin returned to the top though, the Prema driver set a 1:59.288 to put herself back on top. Meanwhile, Maya Weug had gone relatively under the radar in the first session and was third fastest 0.454 behind Pin. 

The chequered flag was waved and Pin finished fastest after a competitive session and it is all to play for in the second Free Practice session in Miami.

Top 10 in Free Practice 1
1. Doriane Pin
2. Alisha Palmowski
3. Maya Weug
4. Ella Lloyd
5. Chloe Chambers 
6. Nina Gademan 
7. Aurelia Nobels
8. Lia Block 
9. Tina Hausmann
10. Chloe Chong

Katie Shepherd
Writer - F1 Journal