Maya Weug wins eventful F1 Academy finale at Yas Marina

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

The final race of the F1 Academy season at Yas Marina featured a thrilling lead battle and a late safety car period, with Prema’s Maya Weug prevailing to take a maiden victory.

The third contest of the weekend replaced the cancelled race from Qatar, and again it was Rodin Motorsport’s Abbi Pulling that lined up from pole. The newly-crowned champion led away at the start while her closest two pursuers collided.

Campos Racing’s Chloe Chambers was slow away from the inside of the front row which allowed Prema’s Doriane Pin to make a challenge on the outside, but the pair tangled at turn one and tumbled to the back of the field. Chambers soon headed for the pitlane with front-wing damage.

Pulling resisted a challenge from MP Motorsport’s Hamda Al Qubaisi on the opening lap, while Weug climbed from sixth to join the lead battle. Weug dived up the inside of Al Qubaisi into turn five on lap two and then completed the move one corner later.

Weug closed onto the gearbox of Pulling on lap three, and Al Qubaisi, Campos driver Nerea Marti and ART Grand Prix’s Bianca Bustamante all followed in the slipstream.

Pulling fended off Weug on the next lap, while Bustamante out-braked herself into turn six, avoiding Marti but collecting Al Qubaisi who managed to avoid damage. Another challenge from Weug ended with Pulling going off the road and remaining ahead, while Weug then had defend from Al Qubaisi and Marti.

Weug reignited her challenge to Pulling on lap six, and Al Qubaisi made it a three-wide battle on the run to turn six . Al Qubaisi briefly moved in front after missing the corner before backing off,  while Pulling and Weug continued to run side-by-side until turn nine, where Weug finally snatched the lead.

Al Qubaisi challenged Pulling on lap seven but then had to defend from Marti, while behind them Bustamante and MP’s Emily De Heus both went off track as they squabbled over fifth.

Pulling continued to hold off Al Qubaisi and Marti over the next couple of laps,  while ART’s Lia Block picked off both De Heus and Bustamante and then swept around the outside of Marti into fourth.

Al Qubaisi attacked Pulling again with three laps to go but was then tagged and spun around by Block. Weug, meanwhile, had built a 10-second lead, but that advantage was wiped out by a safety car period on the penultimate lap.

The safety car was withdrawn before the final lap, and Weug edged clear once more to take victory while Pulling held off Block for second. A time penalty dropped Block to 14th at the finish, promoting Marti to third, while Prema’s Tina Hausmann claimed fourth ahead of Rodin’s Jessica Edgar.

Pin recovered to sixth ahead of Campos driver Carrie Schreiner and Rodin’s Lola Lovinfosse, while ART’s Aurelia Nobels and De Heus completed the top 10.

Race result (14 laps)