Mercedes Junior Driver Doriane Pin dominated the first qualifying session of the 2024 F1 Academy season in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, claiming a double pole position.
The French ace set the fastest time of the session, a 2:03.472, almost eight-tenths clear of the rest of the opposition, with Alpine’s Abbi Pulling leading the chasing pack.
The all-female single-seater series enters a new chapter in its second season, with all 10 F1 teams supporting a nominated driver and global brands Puma, Charlotte Tilbury and Tommy Hilfiger backing drivers as well.
Round 1 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is the first of seven this season that will see F1 Academy feature on the Grand Prix schedule for the entire 2024 campaign.
A 30-minute qualifying session set the grid for both races, with the drivers’ fastest times setting the grid for Race 1 and the second fastest times setting the grid for Race 2.
Prema’s Mercedes Junior Pin set the fastest time in practice with a 0.212s advantage over Alpine Academy Driver Pulling in her Rodin Motorsport machine and both drivers were looking to make good on their practice form in qualifying.
The qualifying format necessitated that not only nailing a single lap was important but also two laps to ensure a high grid position for both of the weekend’s forthcoming races and it was Pin who succeded best in that task.
Race 1 Grid
Pin’s pole position was assured thanks to her 2:03.472s benchmark, with Pulling set to join her on the first row of the Race 1 grid with a time 0.785s back.
Ferrari’s Maya Weug will head the second row with Tommy Hilfiger-backed Nerea Martí set to start fourth.
McLaren’s Bianca Bustamante will start fifth, joined on the third row by Charlotte Tilbury-supported Lola Lovinfosse.
Williams Academy Driver Lia Block will start in seventh place and forms an all-American fourth row with the eighth-fastest Chloe Chambers in her Haas-backed Campos car.
Puma-supported Aurelia Nobels and Rodin’s Jessica Edgar complete the top-10 in Qualifying and Race 1’s grid.
Race 1 gets underway on Friday at 15:10 local time (12:10 GMT).
Race 2 Pole for Pin
Race 2 will complete the F1 Academy action on Saturday at 15:05 local time (12:05 GMT) and it will be Pin starting from pole once again, with her second-fastest time six-tenths clear of the next second-best effort set by Pulling.
Weug will line up third with Lovinfosse completing the second row for Race 2.
Martí and Chambers will line up fifth and sixth respectively, ahead of Aston Martin’s Tina Hausmann.
Nobels, Edgar and Bustamante complete the top-10 grid positions for Race 2.
