Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Abbi Pulling has lost both of her poles for the inaugural F1 Academy event at the Red Bull Ring after Rodin Carlin’s drivers were removed from the results of qualifying.
Alpine Formula 1 junior Pulling had gone fastest in both wet qualifying sessions to put herself on pole for race one and race three of the weekend, but her and her team-mates Jessica Edgar and Megan Gilkes were found to have used non-homologated parts on their Tatuus T-421 Formula 4 cars.
The parts in question “were found to have been installed on the leading edge of the floor under the sidepods of all three cars, breaching articles 1.4 and 4.3 of the technical regulations”. It was not stated whether such parts had a performance advantange.
As a result of the trio’s exclusion from the qualifying results, it means Prema’s Marta Garcia now has pole for the races Pulling had been set to start from the front.
Garcia’s team-mate Bianca Bustamante moves up one spot to fill the front row for race one, but for race three moves up two places to fill the same position on the grid as Edgar had gone third fastest in the second qualifying sesion.
Neither Hamda Al Qubaisi (MP Motorsport) or Maite Caceres (Campos Racing) set a laptime within the 107% qualification limit in Q1, but have been given approval to start the first two races of the weekend and will do so ahead of the Carlin trio for both.
The exclusion of the Carlin drivers also influences the front of the reversed grace for race two, which ART Grand Prix’s Lena Buhler had been set to start from the front of as she had gone eighth fastest. But as she now sixth in the results of Q1, it means MP’s Amna Al Qubaisi will be on pole for that race.
Chloe Chong in the third of Prema’s cars did not set a laptime in Q2, which set the race three grid, but has also been given permission to race and will start ahead of the Carlin drivers on the grid. In each race, the starting order of the Carlin drivers will be Pulling, Edgar then Gilkes.