F1’s all-female category, the F1 Academy, is heading into its second season, and there is immense buzz around the same. The latest update from the realm is that the 2024 season of F1 Academy will be broadcast in over 160 territories. Following the telecast of the 2023 season finale in COTA, 23 broadcasters have churned up the rights to telecast the races.
Per the official F1 Academy website, there will be seven rounds of racing in the 2024 season. The Qualifying and Race sessions will be available for fans to stream on various platforms such as the F1 TV and the Academy’s YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) channels.
ESPN will take up the broadcasting responsibilities in the US. Meanwhile, fans in the UK can enjoy the races on Sky Sports UK. Fox Sports will be responsible for streaming in Australia, while Bell Media will take up the charge for the Canadian region. As for India, the streaming platform FanCode carries the streaming rights.
Support the @f1academy this weekend pic.twitter.com/JzTZFSvRyt
— Athena ️ (@tarmactorque) March 6, 2024
A new commentary team will be in charge of covering the Academy races in 2024. Sports broadcaster Nicki Shields will be the lead commentator for the season. Throughout the season, former F1 test driver Jordan King and European Sportscar champion Alex Brundle will join Shields as co-commentator.
Starting from Jeddah, the 2024 F1 Academy season has seven races on the calendar. Miami, Barcelona, Zandvoort, Singapore, Lusail, and Yas Island will be the remaining six races.
Structure of the Academy races
With the race in Jeddah, F1 Academy will commence its second-ever F1 season. The format for the series will be slightly different from the F1 race weekends. Split across three days, the weekend is divided into four sessions from Thursday to Saturday.
With only one Free Practice (FP) scheduled for round 1, every subsequent round will feature two 40-minute FP sessions. A 30-minute Qualifying session under the floodlights will follow. This will set the grid for two races, each lasting 30 seconds.
Pas besoin de la F1TV ou canal pour regarder la F1 Academy !
Les fans de toutes les régions peuvent regarder les qualifications et les courses des sept gp de la saison 2024 en direct sur les chaînes YouTube et X de la F1 ACADEMY en plus de la F1TV. pic.twitter.com/xirHQ9Wmuj
— Tristan.OnTrack (@TristanOnTrack) March 7, 2024
One quick flying lap will not be enough for the Academy drivers during the Qualifying sessions. Given there are two races in each race weekend, they will need two quick lap times. Each driver’s fastest lap will set the starting grid for Race 1. Meanwhile, their second-best times will be responsible for setting the grid for Race 2 of the weekend.
Points will be on offer starting from the Qualifying session itself. The driver(s) with pole position for Races 1 and 2 will earn two points (per race). Feature races will offer the regular points distribution for the top 10 finishers. Starting from the race winner, drivers will receive 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, and 1 points, respectively. Should a driver finish within the top 10 and have the fastest lap of the race, they will earn an additional point from the race.
Meet the drivers of F1 Academy
A total of 15 drivers will race in the 2024 edition of F1 Academy. While nine drivers make a comeback from last season, there will be six new faces looking to make it big in the series. Remarkably, all 10 F1 teams have nominated one driver, who will also be seen running their liveries.
PREMA Racing – the returning Drivers’ and Teams’ champions, will be the only team to not run a driver from their first year in the sport. Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy’s Maya Weug will be a member of the team. Alongside her, Aston Martin‘s Tina Hausmann and Mercedes Junior Academy’s Dorianne Pin will make up PREMA Racing’s lineup.
MP Motorsport will feature the Red Bull-backed Hamda Al Qubaisi and Emely De Heus. Amna Al Qubaisi will also be a part of the team, driving for the newly formed Visa Cash App RB. Notably, Hamda Al Qubaisi is the highest-placed returning driver from 2023. She fought back from an injury to secure P3 in the drivers’ standings last year.
Doriane Pin gives Toto Wolff a garage tour#F1 #F1Academy #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/DWjCtlbYsr
— Desi Racing Co. (@DesiRacingco) March 7, 2024
Alpine Junior Abbi Pulling will be a member of the Rodin Motorsport garage. Pulling had seven podiums in 2023 but failed to win a race all season. This year, she hopes to win her maiden Grand Prix and also bring home the winner’s trophy.
Jessica Edgar and Lola Lovinfosse make up the rest of the team. Edgar won the 2023 season finale and will want to carry the same momentum with her this season. Meanwhile, Lovinfosse also had three podiums to her name in 2023. Given the same, Rodin Motorsport have the most experienced F1 Academy lineup in 2024.
Lando stopping by F1 academy today to chat with Bianca pic.twitter.com/JpURLFwzyr
— Lando Norris Fans (@Norrislandofans) March 6, 2024
ART Grand Prix will feature McLaren‘s Bianca Bustamante alongside PUMA driver Aurelia Nobels. Williams-supported Lia Block will also be a part of the team. Meanwhile, Campos Racing will see the return of Nerea Marti. Kick Suaber’s Carrie Schreiner and Haas‘ Chloe Chambers will also compete for the team.
Additionally, the race in Jeddah will also feature Saudi Arabia’s first female driver. Reema Juffali will be in action in Jeddah as the series’ inaugural ‘wild card’ entrant.
