Chloe Chambers delivered a commanding performance to take her first victory of the 2025 F1 Academy season in Race 3 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

After a turbulent weekend marked by several clashes in the opening races, the American driver bounced back in style, leading her Campos Racing car to the top step of the podium in Canada.

Ella Lloyd secured another second-place finish in Montreal and Doriane Pin claimed the final podium spot to extend her championship lead.

The Red Bull Ford-backed driver lined up ahead of her Campos team-mate Alisha Palmowski for the final race of the weekend, eager to bounce back after the challenging start.

In Race 1, both drivers made contact, derailing both of their chances for a race victory.

For Chambers, the disappointment was doubled — and on her birthday no less — as she also tangled with Pin in Race 2.

Backed by Mercedes, she started Race 3 from third on the grid, while her closest title rival, Maya Weug, was left to fight from 15th after she was prevented from running in qualifying.

The problem that plagued her qualifying continued into Race 1 before finishing ninth in Race 2.

Weug was determined to salvage points and regain momentum in the final race.

Lloyd and Palmowski come to blows at the race start

Also looking to make amends, Chambers got off the line well and preserved her lead into Turn 1.

Ella Lloyd, meanwhile, leapt into third ahead of Pin at lights out before sending it around the outside of Palmowski.

Exiting the first corner, the Campos driver became entangled in yet another incident, moving across and colliding with Lloyd.

The McLaren-backed driver escaped without damage, but Palmowski wasn’t as fortunate.

Moments later, she was tagged by Pin and sent into a spin, but remarkably, the Prema driver avoided damage to her car, still dropping down to fifth in the process.

Palmowski was forced to pit for a new front wing, while the Safety Car was deployed following a separate incident.

Wildcard entry Mathilda Paatz lost control of her Hitech car exiting Turn 7 and was collected by team-mate Aiva Anagnostiadis – both cars were forced to retire immediately.

The top three stood as Chambers, Lloyd and Tina Hausman; the Aston Martin-backed driver climbing up the order amid the chaos and into third place.

Weug made up three places and into 12th whilst Palmowski returned to the track in 16th.

The racing action did not resume until the end of Lap 7, in order for the race marshals to clear the wreckage left by the Hitech pair.

Chambers waited until the final chicane to floor it as she held onto the race lead into Turn 1.

Pin made her way into fourth ahead of her team-mate Nina Gademan, Weug into 11th and Palmowski 14th.

Multiple Safety Cars amid several incidents limits racing action

Race 2 winner Emma Felbermayr also moved past Gademan but was spun around as the Alpine-backed driver dived down the inside at the hairpin, Felbermayr falling back to 16th.

Meanwhile, Pin overtook another team-mate, Hausmann, to reclaim a spot on the podium.

Up front, Lloyd set the fastest lap of the race as she closed in on the Campos car ahead.

Pin soon joined the lead battle, snatching the fastest lap away from Lloyd as the fight intensified.

The Safety Car was deployed once again after Lia Block collided with Rafaela Ferreira at Turn 8, unable to brake in time to avoid the Campos driver.

Aurelia Nobels was also caught up in the incident.

Both Nobels and Block were forced to retire, while Gademan was handed a 10-second time penalty for her earlier collision with Felbermayr.

Racing resumed at the end of Lap 12, with Weug having climbed to seventh before the Safety Car period.

Chambers converts pole to victory in Race 3

At the restart, she made a move on Alba Larsen for sixth, with slight contact between the two – Larsen dropped to eighth as a result.

Also on a recovery drive, Palmowski took advantage of the chaos to move up into eighth place.

On Lap 14, Felbermayr and Courtney Crone made contact into Turn 8 and the Safety Car returned for a third time to clear the stricken ART.

Unable to clear the accident in time, the race ended with Chambers converting pole into victory on her third attempt.

Lloyd secured yet another podium finish and Pin completed the top three and extended her lead over Weug in the standings.

Hausmann crossed the line in fourth, followed by Chloe Chong in fifth and Weug in sixth.

Palmowski salvaged her day with a strong recovery to finish seventh, Larsen came home in eighth, Joanne Ciconte took ninth, and Felbermayr rounded out the points in 10th place after a race filled with incidents.

READ MORE – Emma Felbermayr clinches maiden F1 Academy victory in Canada

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Emma Felbermayr claimed her maiden F1 Academy victory by winning Race 2 in Canada, finishing ahead of Ella Lloyd.

The Kick-Sauber bounced back from disqualification in Race 1 due to being under the weight limit, which denied her a first podium finish in the series, to take the chequered flag in first place.

Lloyd claimed second ahead of Nina Gademan in third after she had led most of the race.

Chloe Chong started Race 2 from reverse-grid pole position, lining up alongside Gademan on the front row.

The Rodin Motorsport driver was taken out of Race 1 by Rafaela Ferreira, looking to make amends for the missed points-scoring opportunity with a first win in F1 Academy.

Championship contenders Doriane Pin and Maya Weug began further back, starting from sixth and 15th on the grid, respectively, at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Before the second race on Saturday, it was announced that F1 Academy would continue to race in Canada until 2028, following a three-year extension to its current agreement.

Considering the drama that had already unfolded in the first race at the iconic venue, the news will come as a welcome development for fans eager to see more action-packed weekends in Montreal for years to come.

Chong drops down the order from pole

It was an initial good getaway for the British driver as Lloyd swept up into third place.

However, heading into Turn 6, Gademan made a bold lunge down the inside to seize the race lead, while Chong lost two positions in a single corner — Lloyd moving up into second.

Chong’s struggles continued as she slipped further down the order, eventually falling to 13th.

Up front, Lloyd came under increasing pressure from behind, Felbermayr made her way past, and then Pin applied the pressure on Lap 3.

By Lap 5, as replays of the race start were being shown, the broadcast cut back to Chloe Chambers, who had spun onto the grass at Turn 1.

While attempting to pass Mercedes-backed Pin for fourth, she was squeezed heavily into the corner, triggering a spin.

The American rejoined in 14th place — a further blow in a weekend that could have promised a solid points haul on her birthday.

Alba Larsen overtook Alisha Palmowski into Turn 6 to move up to fifth, while Pin passed Lloyd for third — but both drivers ran wide and went straight on at the chicane before the final corner.

The French driver was instructed by her team to relinquish the position on Lap 9, and she promptly complied.

Pin and Lloyd battle intensely for final podium spot

Further down the order, Weug fought hard with Aurelia Nobels for ninth place as she continued her recovery drive from a disappointing qualifying session.

After letting Lloyd through, Pin came under immediate pressure from Larsen at the hairpin, where they made contact, but the Prema Racing driver held onto fourth place.

Weug and Nobels made contact into Turn 14, the latter coming into the pits after sustaining damage to her car, as the title contender took ninth place.

On Lap 12, Pin and Lloyd went side by side once more, but Pin ran wide at Turn 14, handing the position back yet again.

Once conceding the position, the 21-year-old lost out to Larsen from behind on Lap 14 as the Safety Car was called out.

Nicole Havrda had gone straight into the back of her Hitech team-mate, Aiva Anagnostiadis, into the braking zone of the hairpin.

As her stricken car was cleared, the Safety Car peeled back into the pits to allow a one-lap shootout to commence.

Gademan went early to preserve her race lead before Felbermayr closed to the rear of the Alpine-backed driver into Turn 1.

The Austrian dived down the inside at Turn 6 to take the lead, Lloyd also making her way past at the hairpin as a three-way fight ensued on the last straight.

Felbermayr went over the sausage kerb at Turn 14 but crossed the line in first place.

Lloyd crossed the line in second and Gademan settled for third after leading for the majority of Race 2.

Pin crossed the line in fourth, securing valuable points for her title campaign, followed by Larsen in fifth, Palmowski sixth, Tina Hausmann seventh, and Lia Block rounding out the top eight with the final point in Race 2.

READ MORE – Doriane Pin pounces after Red Bull team-mates collide to win F1 Academy Race 1 in Canada

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Mercedes-backed Doriane Pin capitalised on early front-row drama to seize victory in Race 1 of the F1 Academy weekend in Canada, taking over the championship lead in the process.

The Campos Racing team-mates of Chloe Chambers and Alisha Palmowski collided on Lap 2 after starting on the front row.

Pin claimed her third victory of the season as Ella Lloyd secured another podium finish in second place and Emma Felbermayr crossed the line in third place.

On her birthday, Chambers started from pole as the grid for Montreal’s opening race was set by the cancelled Race 2 in Miami.

The Red Bull Ford-backed driver also topped Friday’s qualifying, securing a front row start for Sunday’s Race 3.

Joining her on the front row for Race 1 was Palmowski; the British driver will also be on the front row behind Chambers for Race 3.

Pin went from third on the grid with championship leader Maya Weug all the way down in 10th place.

Since this race effectively replaced the final event of the Miami weekend, points were awarded to the top 10 finishers.

Chambers and Palmowski collide at the race start

Chambers got away well, keeping her lead ahead of team-mate Palmowski as Pin and Aurelia Nobels made contact into Turn 1.

On Lap 2, as Palmowski piled the pressure on her Campos team-mate, the two collided at Turn 1 while she attempted a move for the lead.

Palmowski spun off and rejoined well down the order, while Chambers sustained front-wing damage.

The stewards announced the incident would be investigated after the race.

Meanwhile, Pin moved up into second, with McLaren-backed Lloyd slotting into third.

Further back, Weug encountered more issues with her MP Motorsport car, pulling into the pits on Lap 2.

She returned to the track before coming back into the pits on Lap 6 as the team worked to diagnose the persistent mechanical problem.

At the front, on Lap 3, Chambers surrendered the lead to Pin at Turn 8, then launched a bold dive into the hairpin — unsuccessfully.

But on the following lap, she tried again into Turn 1 and completed the move around the outside.

However, her damaged front wing began to deteriorate, and Pin reclaimed the lead through Turns 6 and 7.

Chambers was shown the black-and-orange flag and was forced to pit for repairs, dropping her down the order.

Lloyd, having reeled in the leaders, moved up to second, with Kick Sauber’s Felbermayr now running in third.

Wildcard entry Paatz brings out the Safety Car

Palmowski, who now found herself in 10th place, battled hard for the final point in 10th with Race 2 polesitter Chloe Chong.

Behind the pair, German wildcard entry Mathilda Paatz took too much of the sausage kerb at Turn 14 before slamming into the Wall of Champions.

This brought out the Safety Car to remove the stricken Hitech car on Lap 11.

Drivers made their way through the pit lane to allow the race marshals to clear the scene of the accident.

Back to the front, Pin still led the race with Lloyd in second and Felbermayr in third.

The Alpine of Nina Gademan was in fourth, Lia Block fifth, Rafaela Ferreira sixth, Alba Larsen seventh, Tina Hausmann eighth, Palomowski ninth and Chong 10th.

Heading into Lap 15, the racing resumed as Pin executed a fine restart to maintain the race lead.

The order remained the same until the Racing Bulls-backed driver of Ferreira locked up into Turn 8 and took the escape road.

She returned to the circuit into the path of Chong and made contact, ending the 16-year-old’s race.

Further contact at the back of the grid at the hairpin brought the Safety Car back out to bring the race to an end.

At the same time, Chambers found her way into ninth behind her team-mate amid the chaos and Aiva Anagnostiadis for Hitech inherited 10th place.

Pin crossed the line for victory and a 24-point lead in the Drivers’ Standings, with Weug suffering mechanical issues and failing to score points, but still remaining in second.

Lloyd took the chequered flag in second and Felbermayr finished third on track before she was disqualified from Race 1 afterwards as her car was found to be under the minimum weight.

Gademan, therefore, claims the final podium spot and her first top-three finish in the series.

Block inherits fourth, Larsen in fifth, Hausmann sixth, Chambers seventh, Anagnostiadis eighth, Nobels ninth and Nicole Havrda with the final point-scoring position in 10th.

Palmowski finished eighth but received a 10-second time penalty for her collision with team-mate Chambers, dropping her out of the points.

READ MORE – Chloe Chambers takes third F1 Academy pole after qualifying in Canada

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Chloe Chambers claimed her third pole position of the 2025 F1 Academy season, edging out her Campos Racing team-mate during qualifying in Canada.

The American will also start Race 1 from pole after the adverse weather conditions in Miami led to the cancellation of Race 2.

She will line up from the front row on Sunday for Race 3 after a commanding performance at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Alisha Palmowski in second and Dorianne Pin in third.

The Red Bull Racing-backed driver topped the timesheets in the sole free practice session of the weekend, leading a Campos Racing 1-2.

Chambers, backed by Red Bull Ford, trailed the Briton by just 0.074s, as Palmowski set a best lap time of 1:38.898s.

It was determined before the race weekend that the Race 1 grid would be set by the cancelled Race 2 in Miami.

Races 2 and 3 would be set by qualifying in Montreal, with the top eight reversed for the second race on Saturday.

The fastest laps from Friday will set the grid for Sunday; the fastest driver is awarded an extra two points for pole position.

Chambers clinches Race 3 pole in Canada

After the first few laps of the 30-minute qualifying session, Chambers shot up into first before Alba Larsen went quicker for MP Motorsport with a 1:40.910s.

Williams-backed Lia Block briefly claimed the top spot before Palmowski carried her practice pace into qualifying, setting the early benchmark with a 1:40.101s.

Ella Lloyd slotted into second for McLaren, just 0.053s off Palmowski’s time after the opening 10 minutes.

But the 16-year-old Larsen found significant time to eclipse Palmowski, who had her lap time deleted and dropped down to seventh, behind championship leader Maya Weug.

She improved once again with a lap time of 1:39.552s, more than six tenths quicker than Lloyd in second, with Block in third place approaching the halfway mark.

After making some adjustments in the pits, Pin finally headed out for Mercedes to set her representative lap time.

She managed to set a lap time good enough for third, but still over half a second off Larsen’s superb lap time.

However, the Tommy Hilfiger-backed driver was soon bumped off the top spot, with Pin coming close to provisional pole before the Campos duo lit up the timing screens.

Palmowski briefly reclaimed P1, only to be immediately bettered by her team-mate.

But the 18-year-old struck back on the next run, edging Chambers by just 0.057s to take pole — at least temporarily.

Chambers responded again as the times continued to tumble, setting a 1:38.696 with the session approaching its climax.

The track conditions continued to improve and the American set a 1:38.125s, over five tenths quicker than her last lap, a staggering gap to the rest of the field.

Pin finally split the Campos pair to go into second as Lloyd held onto fourth but Weug languished down in 15th with three minutes left.

She improved one place with her last attempt but it was disappointing qualifying for the 21-year-old.

Palmowski set her final lap to go second and snatch a front row start behind Chambers, who held on for pole.

Pin settled for third ahead of Lloyd in fourth on the second row.

Tina Hausmann finished the session in fifth, Emma Felbermayr sixth, Nina Gademan seventh and Chloe Chong in eighth to secure reverse-grid pole for Race 2.

READ MORE – F1 Academy Race 2 cancelled in Miami due to heavy rain

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F1 Academy Race 2 at the Miami International Autodrome was called off as heavy rain made its presence felt.

After a series of formation laps and a postponed start, the decision was ultimately made to call things off rather than run a wet race.

Poised to start the race that never was from pole was Chloe Chambers, after the American topped Saturday’s qualifying session, and she was joined on the front row by her Red Bull team-mate Alisha Palmowski.

Race 1 winner, Doriane Pin lined up third with Ferrari’s Maya Weug set to start from 10th once again due to her qualifying disaster.

As the field set off for a formation lap, more rain hammered down around the Hard Rock Stadium, making conditions even trickier for the 18 competitors.

One of them got caught out ahead of lights out, and that was Sauber’s Emma Felbermayr, unsighted by the spray into Turn 17 and heading to the run-off, as did McLaren’s Ella Lloyd.

With visibility a key concern, one formation lap wasn’t enough and Amex’s Nicole Havrda was another driver enduring a spin.

The conditions kept getting worse as a third formation lap commenced, with rain continuing, spray cascading and the 18 F1 Academy cars wading through a sodden circuit.

As the formation laps continued along with the rain, Palmowski came onto the radio to say, “I’m all up for a wet race, and I really like racing in the rain, but I think there’s too much here.”

Concerning words from a racer who made their single-seater career debut on home soil in Britain.

Several formation laps later, Chambers was told “it’s still going to get heavier than this.”

Shortly afterwards, the Red Flag was waved and a restart was declared for 13:31 local time, approximately 26 minutes after initial proceedings kicked off, with rain expected to cease for good.

But the race wasn’t to be as the organisers cancelled proceedings, much to the frustration of the drivers who were keen to face the challenge Miami was set to provide.

Weug was a big benefactor though, maintaining her one point lead in the Drivers’ standings over Pin.

F1 Academy will resume in Montreal, Canada, on June 13-15.

READ MORE – Doriane Pin holds off Red Bull rivals to take F1 Academy Race 1 victory in Miami

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Mercedes’ Doriane Pin took F1 Academy Race 1 victory in Miami on Saturday amid the backdrop of the Hard Rock Stadium.

The Frenchwoman fended off the charges of Red Bull’s Alisha Palmowski and Red Bull Ford’s Chloe Chambers to take the win and close within one point of Championship leader Maya Weug.

Qualifying for the reverse grid Race 1 placed Sauber’s Emma Felbermayr lined up on pole, sharing the front row with Racing Bulls’ Rafaela Ferreira.

Conditions were dry after rain had interrupted qualifying and the F1 Sprint.

Felbermayr started strongly at lights out, but behind there was chaos as McLaren’s Ella Lloyd made an error, locking up into Turn 1 and collecting Ferreira (who was luckily able to continue) and forcing Williams’ Lia Block to take evasive action.

Pin had a mightily impressive start from sixth and was challenging for the lead halfway around Lap 1 of 13 before the Safety Car was called due to the stricken Lloyd.

Puma’s Aurelia Nobels was third at this point, and Chambers found herself in fourth having climbed four places on the opening lap.

Palmowski found herself in fifth, with Ferrari’s Weug in sixth, who started 10th after the rain dashed her chances in qualifying.

The race returned to green flag running at the end of Lap 2 and Felbermayr pulled the pin going into Turn 17 to retain her lead well.

But a lap later, Pin took the lead going into Turn 17, having successfully drafted Felbermayr down the back straight.

Not to be outdone, Felbermayr retook the lead going into Turn 1 to start Lap 4.

There was movement further back as Palmowski passed her Red Bull team-mate Chambers through the twisty Turn 12/13 complex.

Pin challenged Felbermayr at Turn 1 on Lap 5, as the Suaber driver locked up, running deep and losing the lead through the following corners.

The leading pack was tight, and ruthless, and Felbermayr found herself losing ground to Nobels and Palmowski through the first sector.

Chambers and Weug also found their way past Felbermayr who saw damage to her dampner cover hinder her efforts even further.

In clear air, Pin began working on building a lead, stretching her gap to Nobels to eight-tenths midway through Lap 6.

Palmowski then drafted Nobels down to Turn 11, holding the outside line, which then became the inside line into Turn 12, helping the Briton pinch second.

This battle helped Pin stretch the lead to 1.2s by the start of Lap 7, as the race crossed the halfway point.

Further back, three into one didn’t go on the approach to Turn 11, and Joanne Ciconte was the victim, getting tagged by Chloe Chong and damaging her F1 Academy-liveried machine.

This called the Safety Car into action for the second time, with six laps remaining.

Chong, like Ciconte, was forced to retire with the steering on her Charlotte Tilbury machine damaged.

This bunched up the field, led by Pin, followed by Palmowski, Nobels, Chambers, Weug and Felbermayr, who received the black and orange flag on Lap 9 due to her damaged Sauber machine.

Felbermayr pitted, had her machine fixed and returned to the fold at the back of the field in 15th.

The Safety Car came in at the end of Lap 9, setting the stage for a four-lap sprint to the chequered flag.

Pin pulled away at the exit of Turn 17 to retain her lead at the restart, and the order behind her remained the same.

That was until Turn 11/12 when Chambers pulled the same move on Nobels, that her team-mate Palmowski managed a few laps earlier, to take third.

It was a timely move as Palmowski started to pile the pressure on the race leader.

Weug, not to be outdone by the front three, went to the outside, then switched back to the inside to pass Nobels into Turn 11 on Lap 11, to clinch fourth place.

Block passed Nobels at Turn 12 a lap later, but potentially did so outside of track limits to take a dubious fight place.

Coming onto the final tour, Pin led by just over half a second from Palmowski, who enjoyed a 1.6s gap to her Red Bull team-mate Chambers as Weug settled into a lonely fourth.

Palmowski worked hard to get onto the rear wing of Pin going on the run down to Turn 11, but wasn’t close enough to make a move.

There was one chance left, the run down the back straight towards the Turn 17 hairpin, but Palmowski couldn’t get close enough.

This allowed Pin to cross the line and take victory, a hard-fought one ahead of Palmowski, with Chambers rounding out the podium at her home race.

Weug took fourth, with Block crossing the line in fifth, but the Williams driver was demoted to 10th with a five-second penalty thanks to her dubious move on Nobels.

That promoted Alpine’s Nina Gademan to fifth and Nobels to sixth, leaving Aston Martin’s Tina Hausmann and Ferreira to complete the points-scoring positions in Race 1.

READ MORE – Chloe Chambers tops rain-affected F1 Academy qualifying in Miami

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Red Bull Ford’s Chloe Chambers took F1 Academy pole position for Race 2 in Miami after setting the pace in a rain-affected qualifying session.

Chambers set a 2:00.458s effort early on before rain fell and prevented anyone from improving upon their initial laps, placing Red Bull’s Alisha Palmowski in second and Mercedes’ Doriane Pin in third.

Championship leader Maya Weug was the biggest loser as a result, qualifying in 10th.

Coming into qualifying, it was the Championship protagonists who shared the spoils in practice: Pin fastest in FP1, Weug fastest in FP2.

Palmowski was second quickest in the opening session, and home hero Chambers took the runner-up spot in FP2.

Pin was told to push straight away as the 30-minute session commenced, with rain feared.

Chambers and her Red Bull compatriot Palmowski were the first to set times as spots of rain began to fall, the former pipping the latter to provisional pole by 0.018s.

Pin posted an effort 0.071s behind in third as conditions worsened.

Several drivers were seen running deep into the Turn 11 run-off, while others returned to the pits as the rain made it impossible to improve on the initial times.

This was a big worry for Championship leader Weug, who was down in 10th.

Nine minutes in, and the whole field was back in pit lane, dropping slick tyres for wets in order to gather learnings with the potential that one or both races could be impacted by rain as well.

The rest of the session played host to wet-weather reconnaissance laps of the Miami International Autodrome and the order remained unchanged.

That meant McLaren’s Ella Lloyd took fourth, just 0.076s from pole position.

Williams’ Lia Block had her best qualifying effort of the season so far in fifth, ahead of Puma driver Aurelia Nobels and Racing Bulls’ Rafaela Ferreira.

F1 Academy’s Race 1 reverse grid means eighth-placed Emma Felbermayr will start Saturday evening’s race from pole.

That left Aston Martin’s Tina Hausmann and a frustrated Weug to round out the top-10.

READ MORE – Ferrari’s Maya Weug takes F1 Academy Race 2 victory in Saudi Arabia

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Ferrari‘s Maya Weug took F1 Academy Race 2 victory in Saudi Arabia at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit after a time penalty demoted Red Bull Ford’s Chloe Chambers.

Chambers led across the line, but forcing Weug off the road earlier on demoted her to second in front of Mercedes’ Doriane Pin.

Chambers lined up on pole, alongside Pin on the front row, who had charged through to fourth in the reverse grid Race 1 on Saturday.

Weug lined up in third after taking a strong second in Race 1, joined on the second row by Red Bull’s Alisha Palmowski, who’d rounded out the Race 1 podium.

After taking a maiden victory in F1 Academy on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, McLaren’s Ella Lloyd started Race 2 from seventh on the grid owing to her qualifying result.

13 laps began with Chambers leading from pole as Weug pounced on Pin to take second through Turns 1 and 2.

Lloyd, meanwhile, had a slow start, stalling at lights out before getting underway at the back of the field.

A strong opening lap from the front two saw them gap Pin by 1.2s as Sauber’s Emma Felbermayr was caught in a spin at the start of Lap 2 in an intense midfield scrap.

Weug tried in vain to challenge Chambers at Turn 22, but had to escape to the run-off, and Chambers was later forced to defend down the start/finish straight.

But it was to no avail, Weug swept into the lead at the start of Lap 3, but side by side action between the pair saw them run wide halfway through the lap.

That dropped Weug into third, and Pin was promoted to second, but had Chambers forced the Ferrari driver off?

Weug, the bit between her teeth, muscled past Pin at the outside of Turn 1 for the second time in four laps to reclaim second, and set about charging after Chambers once again.

After five laps were done and dusted, Chambers punched in the fastest lap of the race, and her lead over Weug was just over a second.

Pin was a further second back, with Palmowski half a second behind the Frenchwoman.

Weug responded to Chambers’ fastest tour of the Jeddah circuit a lap later, and the American’s gap was slashed to eight-tenths of a second.

Making matters worse, race control handed Chambers a five-second penalty for forcing Weug wide in their earlier scuffles, and her Race Engineer put the emphasis on growing the leading gap to mitigate the punishment.

But with five laps to go, Weug wasn’t going anywhere, with Chambers set to lose her lead amid the penalty.

Second, too, looked off the cards as Pin was 2.7s back, but a podium was still on the cards for the Red Bull Ford driver.

That’s because Palmowski and Tommy Hilfiger’s Alba Larsen, in fourth and fifth, were 4.5s back and due for a scrap.

By the penultimate lap, Chambers had crept that gap to fourth beyond five seconds, and looked set to hold onto a podium finish.

Chambers’ pace continued to ramp up on the final lap, and she sought to stretch her margin to take second off of Pin, with the Mercedes driver falling five seconds back in the final phases of the race.

But it was Weug who took victory, her first of the 2025 season, with Chambers setting the fastest lap on the final tour of the circuit to hold onto second.

Pin finished third, ahead of the impressive rookie duo of Palmowski and Larsen.

Aston Martin’s Tia Hausmann finished sixth ahead of Alpine’s Nina Gademan.

Lloyd recovered to eighth after her starting mishap, as 16-year-old Joanne Ciconte and Chloe Chong rounded out the top-10.

READ MORE – McLaren’s Ella Lloyd clinches maiden F1 Academy victory in Saudi Arabia

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McLaren‘s Ella Lloyd took her first F1 Academy race victory with a strong defensive drive in Saudi Arabia at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Taking the holeshot from the front row, Lloyd saw an early race lead neutralised by a Safety Car and did well to defend from Ferrari’s Maya Weug and Red Bull’s Alisha Palmowski, who completed the podium.

Sauber’s Emma Felbermayr lined up on pole position for this reverse grid race, which saw the top eight from qualifying flipped, meaning Red Bull’s Chloe Chambers would start eighth.

Joining Felbermayr on the front row was Lloyd, ahead 13 laps where fewer points were on offer, just 10 for the winner as a result of the reverse grid format.

It was Lloyd who made a better start from the front row to snatch the holeshot from Felbermayer.

Palmowski launched from fifth to third, followed by Tommy Hilfiger’s Alba Larsen and Weug.

Aston Martin’s Tina Hausmann was the big loser at the start, slipping from third to sixth.

Lloyd led the field at the end of Lap 1 as Palmowski sought to challenge Felbermayr, who was the bottleneck in a train of cars stretching back through the top-10.

Palmowski took second from Felbermayr through the final corner at the end of Lap 2 and was followed by the hard-charging Weug into Lap 3.

Lloyd was enjoying the clear air, and the gap to the battle behind was 2.7s by Lap 3, but could Palmowski and Weug catch her?

The battles weren’t cooling off behind Lloyd, with Weug heading to the Turn 1 run-off on Lap 4 after a failed move on Palmowkski as Larsen, Felbermayr and Mercedes’ Doriane Pin scrapped through the opening chicane behind.

But the race was neutralised on the same lap by the Safety Car, with Chloe Chong’s damaged Charlotte Tilbury car stranded on the side of the circuit.

Chong was an innocent bystander caught up in an incident at the back of the field that also saw Williams’ Lia Block turned around, although the American continued.

The call from race control to end the Safety Car period came on Lap 7, with Lloyd set to lead the pack back to green.

Lloyd held the pack up on the approach to the final corner, putting pedal to the metal on exit to lead Palmowski through Turn 1, with the Red Bull driver keeping Weug at bay.

Meanwhile, Pin rose to fifth and Hausmann to sixth as Felbermayr fell further back.

Pin was then all over the back of Larsen, keen to progress before the top three stretched too far out in front.

Larsen was unrelenting, as was Palmowski further ahead in defence of Weug.

Chambers, meanwhile, swept around the outside of Felbermayr at Turn 1 on Lap 9.

Pin finally made her move to take fourth down the inside of the final corner and held onto the position down the start/finish straight with four laps remaining.

As Pin closed in on the top three, Palmowski closed right up to race leader Lloyd, with Weug dropping back just a touch.

But Weug used the draft down the main straight to get back in touch with the leading duo, and the top three were separated by just seven-tenths as Lap 11 commenced.

Pin was setting purple sectors behind them, hopeful that a battle could let her into the fight.

But Palmpowski couldn’t make an impression on the race leader, and instead finally succumbed to Weug at the start of Lap 12 as Pin set back-to-back fastest laps, bringing her into the podium battle.

As the final lap came, the leading quartet split into two pairs as Weug ran up to the back of Lloyd, and Palmowski felt pressure from Pin.

Weug closed in at the final corner, tucked into the draft of Lloyd and it was a drag race to the line but the Welsh McLaren driver held on to take her first victory.

Palmowski held onto third to complete the podium as Pin crossed the line in a close fourth.

Larsen rounded out the top five with Hausmann, Chambers and Gademan rounding out the top eight and the points-paying positions in Race 1.

READ MORE – Red Bull’s Chloe Chambers takes maiden F1 Academy pole in Saudi Arabia

The post McLaren’s Ella Lloyd clinches maiden F1 Academy victory in Saudi Arabia appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Red Bull Ford driver Chloe Chambers took her maiden pole position for Round 3 of the 2025 F1 Academy campaign at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia.

The American snatched a tow from McLaren’s Ella Llyod to gain crucial tenths in the final sector, and Chambers’ time of 2:04.320s couldn’t be beaten.

Such was the strength of the tow, Chambers enjoyed a 0.255s advantage over Mercedes’ Doriane Pin in second.

The 30-minute session was stopped at 23 minutes remaining as Lia Block smashed her Williams liveried machine into the outside barriers at the final corner.

Block’s crash came just moments after the American complained to her race engineer over a lack of grip compared to opening practice.

Just like Yuki Tsunoda in the Formula 1 session that came just before F1 Academy qualifying, Block turned the inside wall, sending her car to the outside barriers.

The remaining 17 drivers had no such trouble, however, and the times at the top were tight until Chambers’ tactical effort.

Behind her and Pin was Ferrari’s Maye Weug, 0.524s back from Chambers’ chart-topping effort.

Tommy Hilfiger’s 16-year-old rookie Alba Larsen went fourth fastest, ahead of Aston Martin’s Tina Hausmann and McLaren’s Lloyd.

Sauber’s Emma Felbermayr went eighth fastest, meaning the rookie will line up on reverse pole position for Saturday’s Race 1.

Alpine’s Nina Gademan and Charlotte Tilbury’s Chloe Chong rounded out the top-10.

But the qualifying plaudits belonged to Chambers, who was impressive at the Shanghai season opener, on the podium in both races and she will line up on pole for Sunday’s Race 2 in Saudi.

READ MORE – F1 Academy Exclusive: Chloe Chambers

The post Red Bull’s Chloe Chambers takes maiden F1 Academy pole in Saudi Arabia appeared first on Motorsport Week.