Round 5 in Review: Feeling the heat and running the streets

It might have been their toughest challenge yet, but nothing was going to stop the 2024 F1 ACADEMY drivers from pushing it to the limit throughout Round 5.

Alpine’s Abbi Pulling didn’t take her foot off the accelerator in her race to secure the title. Maya Weug and Doriane Pin went wheel-to-wheel, whilst Lia Block delivered a breakthrough weekend. Let’s check in on how the 16-car grid performed in points haul order around Singapore.

1. ABBI PULLING – 55 POINTS

Reigning supreme as the Queen of the Singaporean streets, Abbi Pulling was thoroughly in her element around the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Whilst she knew that her chances of being crowned the 2024 Champion were a mathematical, if unlikely, possibility, the Rodin Motorsport driver’s approach and performance remained unchanged.

Hers was the only name that would sit top of the timing sheets after every session, delivering two pole positions and race victories by comfortable margins. Race 2 saw Pulling seal her fourth grand chelems of the year, missing out on the weekend’s clean sweep by one fastest lap point in Race 1.

Now with a significant 95-point advantage over Pin, the title is Pulling’s to lose. But if there’s one thing we know about the Briton, she’ll be giving it everything she’s got, all the way to the final chequered flag.

2. MAYA WEUG – 36 POINTS

Whilst she didn’t bring home her much sought-after maiden win, Maya Weug will be riding the high of her best weekend of the season. Extending her podium streak to four races with back-to-back P2 finishes, the Ferrari driver got aggressive in the races, coming out on top in an on-the-edge battle with teammate Pin on the opening lap of Race 2.

Although she has a little bit of Qualifying pace to find, ending up two tenths down on Pulling’s best effort, Weug and her #64 car looked like a much stronger package overall. Regaining a spot inside the top three, she sits 30 points adrift of P2, but it might be too little too late to wrestle the spot away from Pin in the season-ending double header.

3. DORIANE PIN – 31 POINTS

Far from a bad weekend by any stretch of the imagination, but Doriane Pin would have wanted more from her time in Singapore. Missing out on pole, the Mercedes driver knew it would be tricky to deliver a win starting Race 1 from third, given the circuit’s limited overtaking opportunities. Unable to catch Weug on Saturday after a penalty for a false start and losing out in the opening lap battle to her teammate in Race 2, Pin had to settle for consecutive P3 finishes.

95 points is a heft margin for the French racer to catch up, and she’d need to repeat feats like those we saw in Jeddah Race 1 and hope for an extraordinary amount of bad luck to fall Pulling’s way to keep her title chances alive. Needing to snatch every point she can, like the fastest lap from Race 1, Pin won’t stop fighting to the finish to help PREMA Racing retain their Teams’ title.

4. LIA BLOCK – 24 POINTS

Wanting to show that her Qualifying wasn’t a “fluke”, Lia Block dispelled that idea throughout Round 5. Building her pace lap by lap in Qualifying, the Williams driver delivered not one, but two personal best results in P4.

READ MORE: Maya Weug’s Singapore Weekend Round-Up: The bittersweet taste of success

Come race day, Block kept her cool, narrowly missing out on a podium in Race 1 by only two tenths after Pin’s penalty. Could a few faster laps in the final stage have been enough for third? Perhaps, but the 12-point haul was more than rewarding enough for Block. Repeating the feat in Race 2, she got her elbows out and fended off the experienced Nerea Martí for fourth once more.

Securing more points in one round than in the previous four, Block’s growth across the season is finally paying off and if she keeps this momentum going, a podium and spot inside the top seven in the Drivers’ Standings could be on the cards.

5. NEREA MARTÍ – 16 POINTS

Another solid weekend in the books for Nerea Martí, but the Tommy Hilfiger driver had aimed for a better set of results at the start of Round 5. Qualifying seventh for Race 1 left her far out of the podium fight, whilst she was left staring at Block’s rear wing for the majority of Race 2.

Rounding out the trip with P7 and P5 finishes, this marks the second round this season that the Spaniard failed to bring home a podium finish. Slipping back to fifth in the Standings, she’ll have some work to do to bridge the 19-point deficit to third-placed Weug but could pip Campos Racing teammate Chloe Chambers at the final hurdle, sitting only two points behind.

6. HAMDA AL QUBAISI – 16 POINTS

Extending her points-scoring streak to 10 consecutive races, Hamda Al Qubaisi’s consistency continued in Singapore. Lining up sixth for both races, the Red Bull Racing driver challenged Chambers for fifth in Race 1 and Martí in Race 2 but couldn’t find her way through on either Campos Racing driver.

Although street circuits aren’t her strongest tracks, a double helping of points will be a welcome result and importantly, keep the Emirati racer within touching distance of the top five, 14 points behind Martí.

7. CHLOE CHAMBERS – 14 POINTS

Whilst they might not have been the results she wanted going into the weekend at Singapore, Chloe Chambers was satisfied to have made up lost ground on a track that isn’t the easiest to overtake around.

After finishing fifth in Race 1, the Haas driver lost two places off the line in Race 2. Clawing back to P9, she delivered one of the moves of the weekend — making a decisive move stick on teammate Carrie Schreiner to snatch eighth.

READ MORE: Chambers reflects on Singapore ‘bounce back’ as she drops a place in Drivers’ Standings

Dropping one place in the Drivers’ Standings to fourth, there’s still time for Chambers to bounce back, but she has to nail her one-lap pace in Qualifying to put her best foot forwards on race day.

8. ELLA LLOYD – 8 POINTS

Ella Lloyd experienced her first time racing in the F1 ACADEMY car and on a street circuit in Singapore, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell by looking at her behind the wheel. Overcoming limited running in Practice due to a technical issue, she secured two P8 starts and was only seven thousandths off a P5 slot with her best effort.

Making her mark in the races, the results could have been even better. A 5-second time penalty in Race 1 demoted her from sixth to ninth, following it up with a P7 finish in Race 2. Delivering on debut, the Briton proved she’s got raw talent to get on the pace straight away and bring the fight to some of the field’s most experienced racers.

9. CARRIE SCHREINER – 6 POINTS

There were positives aplenty for Carrie Schreiner to take out of Round 5. From the get-go, the Kick Sauber driver seemed to gel well with the circuit, posting the fifth-fastest time of Free Practice. Crucially, in Qualifying, she took two top 10 starts for the first time this season, giving her the opportunity to contend for a double points haul.

Extending her points-scoring run to four races, she gained two places to finish eighth in Race 1 but lost two to seal ninth in Race 2. Adding six points to her total will give Schreiner an extra push to finish her sophomore campaign on a high and beat her previous best five-race top 10 streak.

10. TINA HAUSMANN – 1 POINT

Tina Hausmann didn’t have the easiest time of it in Singapore with technical issues hampering her quest for points. Qualifying just outside the top 10, the Aston Martin driver kept herself out of trouble in Race 1 to bring her PREMA car to the chequered flag in P10, but received a 10-second penalty for contact with Bianca Bustamante on the restart in Race 2.

Realising a childhood dream by racing at the track, Hausmann can still look back fondly on Round 5. Now with in-season tests in Abu Dhabi and Qatar ahead, the additional track time should put the Swiss racer on a stronger footing for the final two rounds and lessen the amount of work she’ll need to do to learn the tracks during the race weekends.

11. EMELY DE HEUS – 1 POINT

Taking a point away from Singapore was the highlight of Emely De Heus’ weekend after a tricky time of things at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Despite looking stronger in the opening phase of Qualifying, the Red Bull Ford driver couldn’t make the same inroads in pace as those around her.

Losing a few positions and having a spin in Race 1, De Heus finished towards the tail end of the order in P15. A stronger Sunday saw her gain a position and finish inside the top 10, but Qualifying remains the biggest task on her to do list if she wants to make the improvements needed to move closer to the front.

12. LOLA LOVINFOSSE – 0 POINTS

It was not the easiest of weekends for Lola Lovinfosse after Qualifying in P12 and P15 compromised the Charlotte Tilbury driver’s chances of fighting for points. A decent show of pace in Race 1 saw her finish on the cusp of points in 11th but overtakes couldn’t be found to make anymore progress than 13th in Race 2.

Singapore marks Lovinfosse’s first round of the 2024 campaign without a points-scoring appearance, something she’ll be eager to address next time out.

13. AMNA AL QUBAISI – 0 POINTS

Enjoying the experience of driving around the Marina Bay, Amna Al Qubaisi managed to make progress throughout Round 5 but ultimately fell short of points. A small issue with the car in Qualifying saw the RB driver line up at the back of the grid for both races.

Overcoming a physically demanding Race 1, she avoided getting tangled up in incidents around her and finished in 12th. Race 2 saw her move further up the order after a solid getaway and Safety Car restart, classifying in P11. Whilst race pace has been there throughout the season, Qualifying and one-lap performance remains a sticking point holding her back from better results.

14. AURELIA NOBELS – 0 POINTS

Coming to Singapore with high hopes of building on her promising Zandvoort results, Aurelia Nobels will be disappointed to leave the Singapore streets without a point to her name. Struggling with her pace in Qualifying, the PUMA driver had to settle for P15 and P14 starts, which effectively wrote her out of the battle for the top 10.

Race 2 was a much stronger showing, with the Brazilian finishing in 12th but over two seconds adrift of the top 10. Leapfrogged by ART Grand Prix teammate Block in the Standings, Nobels slips down to 11th. With two points separating ninth to 11th, there is little margin for error but many opportunities to gain.

15. JESSICA EDGAR – O POINTS

Frustrations abounded for Jessica Edgar during Round 5. From the beginning, challenges arose after a touch to the wall in Free Practice left her with a damaged rear wing and limited running in arguably, the most crucial Free Practice of the season.

Qualifying in P13 for both races, the American Express driver finished where she started in Race 1 but lost two places in Race 2. Remaining inside the top 10 of the Standings on countback, she’ll return to the Middle East for the final two rounds needing to rediscover the pace she had at the start of the campaign in Jeddah.

16. BIANCA BUSTAMANTE – 0 POINTS

What began as a fairytale for Bianca Bustamante sadly didn’t deliver the dream ending she’d been hoping for in Singapore. The closest to a home weekend for the Filipina racer, Bustamante narrowly missed out on a top five starting position in Qualifying by two tenths and had to be content with P9 and P10 starts.

Race 1 was then over before it really began as the McLaren driver rolled over her box on the grid. Failing to start from the pit lane as a consequence of the aborted start, she was then handed a 10-second stop/go penalty in-race, demoting her to the tail end of the field. Race 2 brought more woes following a spin and getting caught up in contact with Hausmann on the restart. Whilst it wasn’t to be for Bustamante, there is plenty of fuel for the fight left for when she hits the track again in Lusail, Qatar at the end of November.