Abbi Pulling has won the 2024 F1 Academy championship despite being beaten to second place in the first race of the weekend at Losail.
The Alpine junior driver secured the title with three races to spare, continuing her run of finishing on the podium in all 11 races so far this year.
Doriane Pin converted pole position to win the race, but could not any to prevent Pulling from ending her slim championship hopes. Maya Weug completed the podium in third.
Despite starting off the front row for the first time all season, Pulling successfully found a way around Weug at the start to move up to second place as pole winner Pin held onto the lead.
Pin built a modest gap to Pulling behind, setting the fastest lap as she did so. Weug fell away from Pulling in third but was herself comfortably ahead of Hamda Al-Qubaisi in fourth. Pin continued to grow her advantage to over six seconds by the final lap, crossing the line to secure her third win of the season.
Pulling took the chequered flag to take second place and, with it, sealing the title. Ferrari-supported driver Weug was another three seconds behind in third, visibly disappointed to miss another chance at victory despite taking her seventh podium finish of the season.
Hamda Al-Qubaisi finished fourth ahead of impressive wildcard entrant Alisha Palmowski. Lia Block was sixth ahead of Jessica Edgar, Nerea Marti and Aurelia Nobels. Emely de Heus inherited the final point for tenth after Chloe Chambers dropped four places to 11th due to a five-second time penalty for a false start.
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Race result
| Position | Car | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 | Doriane Pin | Prema |
| 2 | 9 | Abbi Pulling | Rodin |
| 3 | 64 | Maya Weug | Prema |
| 4 | 8 | Hamda Al Qubaisi | MP |
| 5 | 6 | Alisha Palmowski | Prema |
| 6 | 57 | Lia Block | ART |
| 7 | 17 | Jessica Edgar | Rodin |
| 8 | 30 | Nerea Marti | Campos |
| 9 | 22 | Aurelia Nobels | ART |
| 10 | 7 | Emely De Heus | MP |
| 11 | 14 | Chloe Chambers | Campos |
| 12 | 15 | Courtney Crone | Prema |
| 13 | 88 | Amna Al Qubaisi | MP |
| 14 | 3 | Aurelia Nobels | ART |
| 15 | 19 | Tina Hausmann | Prema |
| 16 | 16 | Bianca Bustamante | ART |
F1 Academy
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