Stunning lap time sees Chloe Chambers top qualifying in Saudi Arabia!

Credit: Pauline Ballet

Chloe Chambers set a stunning lap time in Saudi Arabia to top qualifying and take pole position for Sunday's Race 2 under the night skies of Jeddah.

The Red Bull Ford-backed Campos driver took the pole position award in Jeddah after a stunning performance in the Friday qualifying, for what is her first ever pole position in the F1 Academy Championship. A great achievement from the American driver.

Chambers topped the Friday qualifying with a stunning lap of 2:04.320 which was over two tenths clear of the second place driver Doriane Pin, who will go from the front row for Sunday's Race 2. Ferrari-backed MP Motorsport driver Maya Weug completed the top three. 

Pin has the championship lead heading into the racing action on Saturday and Sunday with 31 points to her name so far in 2025.

Austrian rookie Emma Felbermayr will start on pole position for Rodin Motorsport and Kick Sauber in Race 1. This is due to the top eight from this qualifying session being reversed to form that starting grid,

How F1 Academy Qualifying unfolded in Jeddah

Friday in Jeddah was the return of race weekend action for the 2025 F1 Academy Championship, for the first time in a month, following the season-opening weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit in China.

Having had three days of testing at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, at the start of April and therefore they had some experience of the layout heading into the weekend's action for round two.

In the day's earlier Free Practice session it was the MP Motorsport of Ferrari backed driver Maya Weug who was fastest overall, ahead of the two 2025 race winners so far with Alisha Palmowski second and Doriane Pin in third.

The qualifying session was to last 30 minutes with the order of qualifying determining the Race 2 grid. The top eight from the qualifying final classification is to be reversed to form the Race 1 grid.

Qualifying got underway with the green light on at the end of the pit lane and the 30 minutes to determine the grid for both races, was underway. There was a rush for all the drivers to get out on circuit - barring the Campos team who decided on waiting a bit before heading out onto the circuit.

The benchmark lap time was set by the McLaren Development Driver of Rodin Motorsport Ella Lloyd, as the Welsh driver sat on provisional pole with a 2:06.550 while the others prepared for their first lap times of qualifying.

After topping Free Practice, Maya Weug looked to continue her impressive speed and despite an improvement from Lloyd the Ferrari-backed driver went to the top of the time sheets for MP Motorsport.

Weug got her lap set just prior to the first and only red flag of qualifying. Lia Block who did not participate in the qualifying session back in China due to an incident in Free Practice with Rafaela Ferreira. However, this crash was off Block's own doing.

After locking up into the final corner, Block careered into the wall and damaged her car badly. The red flag was subsequently brought out and the clock was paused with 23 minutes of the 30 remaining.

With the session back underway it did not take long for Weug to continue showing her fine pace around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia. Despite Lloyd briefly spending time back at the top of the times, Weug went quickest again with a 2:05.635.

The track was ramping up and the Red Bull Ford-backed driver Chloe Chambers went to provisional pole for Campos Racing. The American Chambers set a 2:05.158, which had her three tenths clear of Danish driver Alba Larsen who found herself in second position.

With 10 minutes remaining, Chambers led the way in a Campos 1-2 as Alisha Palmowski had moved herself up into second place. Larsen, Lloyd and Weug held the other positions in the top five as qualifying entered the final third.

The Jeddah Corniche Circuit continued to ramp up with Doriane Pin being the next to go to provisional pole position for Prema Racing and backed by Mercedes. The championship leader had to beat an impressive time from Palmowski, which initially had her on provisional pole position.

Chambers was on form though and with a fantastic lap of 2:04.320 saw her take provisional pole by a great distance and the lap from the Red Bull Ford-backed driver was going to take some beating from the rest of the contenders for pole position.

However, the time was failed to be beaten and Chambers made personal history for herself in Saudi Arabia and she took her first pole position with such a stunning lap time. Topping qualifying meant she would have the joy starting Race 2 from the front of the field. 

Despite in her desperate attempts to overcome the lap time, French driver Doriane Pin was forced to be content with second place in qualifying. Completing the top three for qualifying was the driver who topped Free Practice - Maya Weug.

In fourth was the talented British driver Alisha Palmowski who had young Dane Alba Larsen completing the top five just behind. Sixth would be Aston Martin-backed Prema driver Tina Hausmann who was just in front of Ella Lloyd, who with the reversal of the top eight would start on the front row.

In eighth place was Emma Felbermayr and the Austrian driver because of this would be the pole sitter for Race 1 on Saturday at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which would be the next action for round 2.

2025 F1 Academy Championship: Round 2 - Saudi Arabia Qualifying result

1. Chloe Chambers
2. Doriane Pin
3. Maya Weug
4. Alisha Palmowski
5. Alba Larsen
6. Tina Hausmann
7. Ella Lloyd
8. Emma Felbermayr
9. Nina Gademan
10. Chloe Chong
11. Joanne Ciconte
12. Aurelia Nobels
13. Rafaela Ferreira
14. Courtney Crone
15. Nicole Havrda
16. Aiva Agnostiadis
17. Farah Alyousef *WILDCARD*
18. Lia Block *NO TIME*

Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal