Doriane Pin was never headed in the opening race of the F1 Academy season in Jeddah, the Mercedes-backed driver winning from pole position.
However Pin faced sustained pressure over the 12 laps of Jeddah Corniche Circuit from Abbi Pulling, who finished under a second behind the winner in second place. Maya Weug completed the podium in third.
It was a confident debut victory for Pin, who held onto the lead at the start and kept ahead of Pulling to start her season with 25 points. While Ferrari-supported Weug dropped over six seconds behind the leader, Alpine junior Pulling kept pace with Pin, finishing within a second of her and securing the bonus point for the fastest lap.
Haas-supported driver Chloe Chambers finished off the podium in fourth. Lola Lovinfosse took fifth but appears likely to be penalised for knocking Narea Marti out of the race in the closing laps.
McLaren junior Bianca Bustamante survived early handling problems to finish sixth with Aston Martin’s Tina Hausmann in seventh. Aurelia Nobels claimed points in eighth ahead of Hamda Al Qubaisi in ninth and Sauber’s Carrie Schreiner taking the last point in tenth.
The greatest challenge to Pin’s lead came when she had to overcome a mid-race Safety Car period, triggered by a collision between wildcard entry Reema Juffali and Jessica Edgar, though she expertly contained Pulling as racing resumed. Marti was forced out of the race after running in the top five throughout following her hit from Lovinfosse, while debutante Lia Block failed to finish after spinning out on the penultimate lap at turn five.
Pin will start from pole position again in tomorrow second race of the weekend.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
F1 Academy Saudi Arabia race one results
| Position | Car | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 | Doriane Pin | Prema |
| 2 | 9 | Abbi Pulling | Rodin |
| 3 | 64 | Maya Weug | Prema |
| 4 | 14 | Chloe Chambers | Campos |
| 5 | 3 | Lola Lovinfosse | Rodin |
| 6 | 16 | Bianca Bustamante | ART |
| 7 | 19 | Tina Hausmann | Prema |
| 8 | 22 | Aurelia Nobels | ART |
| 9 | 8 | Hamda Al Qubaisi | MP |
| 10 | 15 | Carrie Schreiner | Campos |
| 11 | 18 | Reema Juffali | Prema |
| 12 | 7 | Emely De Heus | MP |
| 13 | 88 | Amna Al Qubaisi | MP |
| DNF | 30 | Nerea Marti | Campos |
| DNF | 17 | Jessica Edgar | Rodin |
| DNF | 57 | Lia Block | ART |
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
F1 Academy
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…