Race 2: Pulling claims her second victory of the season following an intense battle with Chambers

Photo credits: F1 Academy

Race 2 summary

Pulling had a good start off of the line, with Chambers following closely behind in second. However, Abbi suffered a lockup into turn 6 which allowed Chambers to overtake and take the lead of the race at turn 9. 

From there on, Chloe was able to pull away and create herself a comfortable lead ahead of the newly crowned champion. Hamda Al Qubaisi sat in third behind Pulling. 

Mercedes driver Pin was another driver who had a good start to the race, making early moves and advancing her way up into 4th. However, Mclaren driver Bustamante suffered a disappointing race start, dropping down to 7th on the first lap. 

There was plenty of entertainment at the back of the field as Sauber driver Carrie Schreiner was caught up in contact with Lovinfosse, sending the rear of her car airborne momentarily causing her to retire. Lovinfosse was quickly handed a 10 second penalty for her actions. 

The incident resulted in Amna, Nobels and Hannah having to take action in order to avoid the drama. The stewards then gave Al Qubaisi a 10 second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. 

Now halfway through the race, Chambers had half a second lead on Pulling but made an error into turn 12 by going too deep. Pulling close behind meant that she was able to perform the overtake and retake the lead of the race. 

Not far behind, Pin sat right behind Hamda, the both of them fighting for 3rd. It soon became apparent though that due to this, Dorianne's tyres were beginning to become a struggle for her. 

The battle for 5th was also thrilling as Marti and Weug fought as they had done during race one earlier in the day. After keeping the Ferrari driver at bay for the majority of the race, Weug finally managed to pass Marti on lap 10 who as a result would now have to focus on defending Bustamante who was on her tail. 

With only three laps left to go, Amna was yet to serve her penalty and remained on track fighting her teammate De Heus. Hausmann and Block soon joined in on the battle for 8th, but the Williams driver would soon receive a 5 second penalty for a jump start. Hausmann then pulled a brilliant overtake around the outside of Al Qubaisi to take 9th, with Block getting past the RB driver one lap later to take 10th. 

On lap 12, yellow flags were brought out as there was a collision between Lovinfosse and Edgar after the Charlotte Tilbury driver attempted to overtake on the inside at turn 9. This move saw her hit a kerb and bollard, clipping both Edgar and Nobels in the process. Jessica was able to drag her car to a safe area of the track, but the safety car would quickly be brought out as Lovinfosse's car needed to be recovered. 

The race ended under safety car conditions, Pulling cruised to take her 9th victory of the season with Chambers and Hamda following behind. Pin settled for 4th and Weug for 5th while Marti crossed the finish line ahead of Bustamante in 6th. 

Wildcard entry Logan Hannah earned her first point after being promoted to 10th due to the penalties from Block and Amna Al Qubaisi, the both of them respectively dropping to 12th and 13th. 

Race 2 results

1) Abbi Pulling
2) Chloe Chambers / + 0.398
3) Hamda Al Qubaisi / + 0.833
4) Doriane Pin / + 1.155
5) Maya Weug / + 1.634
6) Nerea Marti / + 2.117
7) Bianca Bustamante / + 2.766
8) Emely De Heus / + 3.612
9) Tina Hausmann / + 4.038
10) Logan Hannah / + 6.525
11) Aurelia Nobels / + 7.113
12) Lia Block / + 10.330
13) Amna Al Qubaisi / + 15.019 
14) Lola Lovinfosse / DNF
15) Jessica Edgar / DNF
16) Carrie Schreiner / DNF

Written by Kelsie Jayes