The F1 Academy is all set to tackle the final two rounds of the season over the next two weekends at Lusail and Yas Marina. Maya is aiming for a top three championship finish, while also chasing her maiden win and Aurelia is looking for a top ten finish.
The F1 Academy is back after a two month break with a busy fortnight of racing, starting in Qatar this weekend at Lusail, which recently hosted a group F1 Academy test session. “We got through a lot of work,” said Weug after the session. “Overall, I’d say we made good progress. Conditions were changeable with very strong winds at times while in the others the temperature dropped considerably, so we will have to be ready for any changes in the conditions over this race weekend.”
Two goals. Maya comes to Qatar off the back of three consecutive second place finishes, which meant she picked up plenty of points, moving up to third in the standings. She is aiming to end the year in the top three, but she’s also hoping to claim that first win which so far has eluded her by a whisker on several occasions. “From what we saw at the Lusail test weekend, it looks like being very close,” confirmed Weug. “I expect that every small detail can make a difference. The test was a valuable opportunity to get to know this track that I’d never seen before, and I had a good feel for it, especially in the quickest sections. Let’s see how it goes, but I’m confident.”
Aiming for the top-10. Nobels is looking to confirm all the hard work from her 2024 season. Having finished in the points in both Zandvoort races, Aurelia found life tougher on her debut at the difficult Singapore track, but the signs are more promising at Lusail. With two rounds remaining, Nobels is tenth in the standings, equal with Jessica Edgar. Her aim is to finish in the top ten in the final races and in the championship classification.
Programme. There are two free practice sessions on Friday at 13 local (11 CET) and 18 (16 CET). Qualifying takes place on Saturday at 15.20 (13.20 CET), with the first race of the weekend getting underway at night at 23.05 (21.05 CET). Race 2 is on Sunday at 14 (12 CET), when conditions will be much hotter than for Race 1. Both races run for 30 minutes with points going from 25 for a win to one point for tenth place, plus two points for each pole position and one point for each fastest race lap.