The 2024 F1 Academy season started off with a bang as French racing driver, Doriane Pin dominated the season-opening weekend at the Saudi Arabian GP. The Jeddah Corniche Street Circuit was lit up by the Mercedes-backed driver who went on to win the race. But even before Pin announced herself to the world, ex-F1 Academy racer, Chloe Grant had her down as the favorite to win the title.
The hosts asked Grant about her predictions for the season to come on The Fast and the Curious podcast. She confidently remarked, “I think I can name the champion. Doriane Pin. I mean, I’ve seen results and she’s been unbelievably fast. She even did the F4 UAE, and that is a tough, tough grid and she did really, really good.”
The gap that Pin had pulled to her competition was immense. The 20-year-old racing sensation secured pole position for both, Race 1 and Race 2 with a whopping margin of 8+ tenths of a second from her nearest rival, Abbi Pulling. Pin also went on to lead the Practice session making it an almost perfect weekend for her with one more race to go.
Grant’s assessment of Pin takes high credence given her own exploits on track. The British racing star herself plied her trade in the F1 Academy last year for ART Grand Prix finishing 12th in the inaugural season of the series.
What is the F1 Academy and is it replacing the defunct W Series?
The F1 Academy weekend structure consists of two practice sessions of 40 minutes each (however the Jeddah weekend only had one) which is followed by a 30-minute Qualifying session. In Qualifying, each driver’s fastest lap will set the grid for Race 1. The drivers’ second-fastest laps will set the order for Race 2. The races are 30 minutes long. 2024 sees a seven-round calendar with two races at each round.
Started in 2023, F1 Academy is in many ways the spiritual successor to the W Series. The W Series aimed at giving talented female drivers a platform to showcase their skills. However, independently backed, the series soon lost funding and shut down.
The F1 Academy is not going to be plagued by the same issues, though. With all the 10 F1 teams backing the series and the fact that they are getting unparalleled coverage from the media and the fans alike, Susie Wolff’s 2030 target to see the first full-time female F1 driver seems like a realistic possibility after all.
