After a long break, the series resumes in Barcelona. Maya Weug and Aurelia Nobels are all set to do battle on a technical and demanding circuit.
After a six week break, the F1 Academy is back in action at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit for the third round of the season. The Catalan track is very familiar for most of the teams and drivers as it is frequently used for testing for European race series. However, there’s one unknown factor this weekend, as the forecast is for very changeable weather.
Season so far. Maya Weug and Aurelia Nobels are the standard bearers for the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy, both women in their first year in the series. Weug’s car sports the Scuderia Ferrari HP livery and she started her season with two podium finishes in Jeddah, third in Race 1 and second in Race 2. Here strong form continued next time out in Miami where she finished sixth and fifth, picking up enough points to move up to third in the standings. This weekend’s Montmelo venue will be the first track at which she has raced before, which means she can concentrate on car set-up right from the start of free practice. Nobels, who races in Puma colours, is also no stranger to this track, whereas the first two venues were new to her. Aurelia is currently 12th in the championship and is aiming to continue her learning curve in the category while looking to move into the top ten.
Programme. Track action starts on Friday with a 40 minute free practice session starting at 08.50, followed by qualifying at 18.30. Each driver’s fastest time sets their grid position for Race 1, (Saturday at 18.00) while their second fastest lap decides the starting order for Race 2 (Sunday at 08.50). Both races last 30 minutes with points going to the top ten, the winner taking 25, down to one point for the tenth placed finisher. Two additional points are also awarded for each pole position, as well as one point for the race fastest lap. All times are CEST.