Interview
‘I never thought to win until the last lap’ – Colombo hails PREMA Racing’s resilience as recipe for Teams’ title defence
It all came down to those last few laps around the Yas Marina Circuit as PREMA Racing were crowned Teams’ Champions for the second consecutive season.
Facing stiff competition from Rodin Motorsport throughout the 2024 campaign, the Italian team’s defence didn’t go all their own way. Crucially, Maya Weug’s maiden victory in Race 3 alongside Tina Hausmann and Doriane Pin’s top five finishes were enough for them to retain the title by 40 points.
Speaking after the weekend, Team Manager Camilla Colombo admitted that she didn’t think the title was within their grasp until Weug fended off the rest of the field in a one-lap sprint to the line.
“Honestly, I never thought to win this title until the last lap,” she said. “So when Maya took the chequered flag, it was a big satisfaction for the team.
“I think winning the Teams’ title is the best moment of the season. It’s the second year we’ve won the Teams’ title and it means a lot for us. It means we’ve worked in a good way and we continue to grow (…) We look forward to winning a third title, and next year our drivers are as good as this year, so we have all the possibilities to win this title again.”
Although PREMA entered the final race with a X-point advantage — having led since the end of Round 5 in Singapore — Colombo says that nerves still ran high on the pit wall as their trio’s fortunes ebbed and flowed throughout the race.
“The last race had been quite eventful and stressful for us,” she summarised. “A lot of action happened on the track, where our drivers were able to climb up positions. Maya did a fantastic start and was able to take advantage of Hamda (Al Qubaisi) and (Abbi) Pulling, going majestically to victory.
“Tina avoided all her rivals' missteps to take a splendid fourth place. Doriane was a bit unfortunate but climb back the pack to finish into the points. It was quite tense on the pit wall as engineers had to react to any unexpected action on track and the mechanics in pit lane were always ready to intervene on the cars in case of problems.”
Whilst rivals Rodin’s charge was predominantly led by eventual Champion Abbi Pulling, the combined strength of PREMA’s trio ultimately came out on top. All three drivers finished inside the top 10 in the Drivers’ Standings, with Pin and Weug securing top three finishes.
“All three have had a great growth path, both as pilots and as people, and this makes me particularly proud,” Colombo reflected. “Doriane and Maya were drivers with more experience, but they were able to get up from mistakes and difficult moments with great maturity and always proactive towards the team.
“Tina has grown a lot and I think that with the last race she has demonstrated her potential even if we have always been convinced of it.”
She added: “It has been a great battle between Abbi and Rodin against us during all the season. Abbi did a fantastic a job the whole year, always being at the front and finishing every race on the podium has been a tough battle with us.
“In the second part of the year, we came back stronger to clinch this Teams’ title. I thank Rodin for being a strong and fair opponent, and I wish Abbi the best for her career.”
READ MORE: Abbi Pulling’s Yas Marina Weekend Round-Up: One last chance to shine
Pinpointing the key factor behind their success a second time around, Colombo praised the team’s work ethic and expects PREMA to be in the hunt for third back-to-back title next season.
“Resilience has been the biggest strength this year as we faced some difficult moments,” she remarked. “But we always worked to improve every area until winning this title in the last race of the season.
“Inconsistent performances and some misjudgements have certainly played a crucial role this season. For next year, the aim is to work hard to avoid these problems and bring PREMA back to the title for the third consecutive year.”