Interview
WATCH: Abbi Pulling reflects on her ‘extraordinary’ F1 ACADEMY journey
Over the course of Abbi Pulling’s two seasons in F1 ACADEMY, there was never a shortage of laughter, triumphant celebrations and at times, her share of more difficult times.
As she prepares to embark on her next chapter, the Alpine junior had a chance to reminisce on her time in the series and the bonds she's forged along the way. Starting right from the beginning at pre-season testing in 2023, Pulling takes a look back on some of her highlights, behind-the-scenes hijinks and the moments that defined her path to the title.
We’ve picked out some of our favourite lookbacks and the stories behind them, but you can enjoy even more by watching the video above.
2023
Teaming up with then-named Rodin Carlin for the inaugural F1 ACADEMY season, Pulling set about making her presence known, securing both pole positions on offer at the Spielberg season opener. Unfortunately, a technical infringement would see her and her teammates disqualified from Qualifying.
A run of three consecutive podiums would soon follow in Valencia and Barcelona, with more to come in Monza, Le Castellet and Austin. Despite her seven podiums and two pole positions, a win ultimately eluded the Briton, who finished fifth in the Drivers’ Standings.
“This is me getting in the car at Zandvoort,” Pulling explains. “I can’t tell if it’s pre or post-Qualifying but going off my face, post-Qualifying, a bit angry going into one of the races. Zandvoort is a place that I really love and in 2023, I just didn’t get the results I wanted. I over-pushed in Quali and just drove myself off the track, I was trying to find time which wasn’t there.
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“Then, I had a lot of work to do in the races but the races as a whole were fun in the end because there was a lot of overtaking. One of the moves I remember really well was going around the outside of Hamda (Al Qubaisi) in Turn 7. It's on top of the hill, it’s not a place where you normally overtake. I will never forget going around the outside of her and I was so hyped. When I did it, I was like ‘I’m going to replay this one back’.
MIAMI
With Round 1 already in the books, the American streets were where Pulling really stamped her mark on the 2024 season. Although she finished only seven thousandths off Free Practice 1 pace-setter Doriane Pin, the Alpine driver was adamant there was time to be found.
After pushing for setup adjustments for FP2, Pulling finished two tenths clear of Pin and refused to relinquish the top spot from then on. Blisteringly quick in Qualifying, she claimed both pole positions comfortably, by 0.574s and 0.408s respectively.
Her impressive form in Miami continued into the races as she delivered two lights-to-flag victories, including her first Grand Chelem of the campaign in Race 2.
Pulling continues: “Getting pole in F1 ACADEMY, it’s similar to F1 where you get the tyres and I really wanted to get a tyre in the year, so that was cool. Doing the double by a big margin was crazy! I remember Free Practice 1, I wasn’t happy with how the car felt. We were still really quick and I was P2 and half a tenth off, but I remember getting out and I was so unhappy. I was like ‘I know exactly what I want’ and I remember Alice (Powell) going ‘calm down, we’ll sort it’.
“I just knew exactly what I wanted from the car and I wasn’t getting it. I knew it was something we can achieve and the track felt like it had time in it, I just couldn’t extract it. So, we made a change in Free Practice 2 and it worked really well, but I didn’t expect it to work as well as it did in Qualifying.
“Sixth-tenths is a really big margin and I was just so comfortable all weekend. I think this is the start of everything really, the momentum and it solidified the mindset on everything. It was a really special place to do it, the crowds were incredible and the track was a cool one to do. Driving around Miami between the walls, it’s quite a tight, twisty track in areas.”
“This is one of my favourite photos I think of the whole year. Always after every race weekend, I’d pester everyone and say, ‘everyone we need to get together and have a group photo’. Moments like this and even seasons as a whole, they don’t come around very often and it’s making sure you don’t take it for granted and you make sure you celebrate every moment. This is one of the first, so it was really high emotions at this point and it was nice just to have everyone there.”
BARCELONA
Returning to the familiar Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Pulling didn’t quite have it all her own way. Locked in a tight Qualifying battle with Chloe Chambers, the Rodin Motorsport driver did manage to pip her to both poles, but only by less than a tenth.
After fending off Nerea Martí into the opening corner in Race 1 and driving off into the distance for her fourth win on the bounce, it was Pulling who lost out in Race 2. Bettered off the line by Chambers, the Briton had to go on the defensive to keep Martí and Hamda Al Qubaisi at bay to retain second.
“Barcelona was really tough," Pulling summarises. "I can’t remember Practice for the life of me, but Qualifying, it was so nip and tuck. Every time I looked at the massive timing screen you have going over the line, it’s like a NASCAR-style timing and you can see it from the other side of the circuit as well going into Sector 2.
“I kept seeing Chloe Chambers getting me and I was like ‘Chloe mate, I know you’re like, just stop’. We were actually struggling a lot for the first half, we made a setup change. So, in Practice we struggled with a balance issue, so I was like ‘right I think we need to make this change’ and Zimba (her engineer) put it forward more so. He was nervous that the track would rubber in with the F1 rubber and it would shift the balance back to where we needed it.
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“It was literally that, we needed to wait for the car and track to come to us rather than changing it. Luckily, Zimba thought on his feet and Danny (her mechanic) changed the car really quickly. We got out again and we were in a great position to fight for pole and managed to do the double again.”
SINGAPORE
Pulling was once again in her element, this time racing around the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Completing extensive preparations ahead of Round 5, she seemed right at home from the moment she hit the track in Practice.
Locked in a back-and-forth battle with Maya Weug and Doriane Pin in Qualifying, Pulling eventually snatched both pole positions, posting an unbeatable 2:03.631 with five minutes remaining, which set her up nicely for another dominant weekend.
Producing fastest lap after fastest lap, Pulling was in completely control of Race 1, taking the chequered flag over two tenths clear of Weug. Race 2 was less of a straightforward affair, but one the Alpine driver navigated with ease. After pulling ahead off the line and beginning to build an advantage, Pulling had to overcome a Safety Car restart, which she did expertly.
Repeating her Race 1 performance, her buffer over Weug grew to 3.2s as she added another Grand Chelem to her CV. Crucially, with a 95-point advantage over second-place Pin, thoughts about the title began to form in Pulling’s mind.
“With Singapore, I did so my prep for it," she explains. "I knew that there was limited track running and I did so many days on the simulator, so when I turned up it was like I’d already done not even just one race weekend there, like five or six race weekends there. It was a track that I almost put quite a lot of pressure on myself on to perform at because if there was anywhere I wanted to win, it would have been Singapore. That’s the only one that I was like ‘I can't leave without taking the biggest trophy’.
“This was the first point in the year I started thinking about kind of the end goal and more on the Standings. I was like ‘it’s going to take a lot to stop this now’. I think I had to finish P7 in the rest of the races and that would have been enough, I think one more win and that would have been it.”
LUSAIL
Standing on the edge of glory, Pulling knew she could play it safe and bring home the title, but her racing instincts meant that she’d never settle for less than her full potential.
However, the Qatari circuit seemed to play less to her strengths and instead favoured her title rival Pin, who swept both pole positions in Qualifying, leaving the Briton to claim two P3 starts.
Squeezing past second-place Weug into the opening sequence of corners in Race 1, Pulling set about trying to catch up to Pin. However, the gap would prove impossible to close and the Mercedes driver would win by over six seconds. Nevertheless, Pulling’s previous hard work in building a significant buffer in the Drivers’ Standings paid off, as second-place was enough for her to claim the 2024 title in front of her jubilant Rodin Motorsport team.
“It’ll be my mechanic Danny holding the Champion board and me crossing the line," says Pulling. "Track limits exist so you can’t go over the white line, I wish I went a bit closer to them and high-fived them on the way past! No, I couldn’t do that. I was emotional at this point. You can’t see it because I’ve got my helmet on.
“I didn’t plan any celebrations for if I won the title, I remember just pulling up to the number one board, standing on top of the car, just looking up and going limp. I didn’t know what to do with my arms, they just went so heavy. Then I let out a massive scream, all the emotion flooded out and I was over the moon really.
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"It was so cool hearing people in the grandstand chanting my name. I didn’t even really realise it was happening, I was so in the moment, it was like a blur. It was like I was dizzy, I didn’t know what was happening. I just wanted to hug everyone as well, but I had to get whisked away for interviews.
“Winning the prize of a fully-funded seat is priceless. Last year, it was all or nothing and I had to win and get that prize. I think if I’d finished P2, who knows where I would be now? I don’t think I’d be sat on this couch talking to you with this trophy next to me. I had a really comfortable winter, no stress in that department and just fully focused on doing the job this year.”
YAS MARINA
With her 2025 plans sorted, courtesy of the fully-funded GB3 Championship seat, Pulling had a chance to enjoy one final F1 ACADEMY weekend. That didn’t make her any less determined though as she swept the board in Qualifying, delivering three pole positions by over a tenth each.
In a repeat of Barcelona Race 2, Pulling lost out off the line to Chambers in the first race but regained the lead after an error from the Haas driver and eventually took another comfortable win. Race 2 followed a similar pattern, as the Briton initially dropped behind Chambers but capitalised on a mistake from the American to deliver her ninth win — setting a new series record.
By contrast, she had to get her elbows out in Race 3. Overtaken by eventual race winner Weug in the early stages, Pulling struggled with the car’s balance and had to fight hard to keep the pack behind. Coming home in second, Pulling’s 11th podium of the season meant she finished every race inside the top three and it was one she wanted to savour.
She concludes: “Final podium of the year — this was Maya getting her first win, me and Nerea being on the podium together once more. I thought that it was really cute to end out the year together. Whenever I’m sharing a podium with Nerea it’s always a good one.
"So after the race, Nerea just goes to me ‘I’m going to start crying’ and I was like ‘don’t cry because I’m going to cry if you cry’. I think for us because we that it was our last race, we were just so happy we got to spend it together because we’ve been really close throughout the whole two years. We wish the best for each other all the time and it was a nice final moment together as competitors.”