Pulling vs Pin and a titanic three-way tussle for the Teams' title – who’s on form with two rounds to go?

With two rounds to go and two titles still hanging in the balance, the 2024 F1 ACADEMY season approaches its dramatic conclusion with a double-header in Qatar and Abu Dhabi in late November.

After refusing to relinquish the lead of the Drivers’ Standings from Round 1 onwards, Abbi Pulling has a chance to wrap up the title early, but Doriane Pin isn’t giving up the fight. Meanwhile, PREMA Racing, Rodin Motorsport and Campos Racing’s battle for the Teams’ title is set to go down to the wire.

Let’s take a deep dive into their performances across the campaign to see who could emerge victorious at the final chequered flag around the Yas Marina Circuit.

PULLING’S DOMINATION WHILST PIN PLAYS CATCH UP

It’s hard to deny that Pulling has got one hand on the Champion’s trophy at this point. The Alpine driver’s hold over the top of the Standings has only strengthened with every round that has passed.

Leaving the opening round in Jeddah with an 11-point advantage, the gap rapidly grew to 66 points after Pulling’s domination in Miami and Pin’s tricky time in Barcelona. A victory for Pin in Zandvoort did much to aid the Mercedes driver’s cause, but she still faced a 71-point deficit, while another sweeping performance from Pulling on the streets of Singapore earned her a 95-point buffer to P2.

On their form this season, Pulling has great cause to feel confident, but she won’t be getting ahead of herself until it’s all over. Accumulating seven wins so far, she has already matched 2023 Champion Marta García’s haul with four races remaining.

Meanwhile, Pin has finished first on track on three occasions, but a post-race drive-through penalty for crossing the chequered flag twice demoted her from the victory in Jeddah Race 2 to ninth.

Whilst neither have raced in Qatar, Pin knows what it takes to win in Yas Marina, sealing her first single-seater pole and second victory in the Formula 4 UAE Championship back in February. Yet the in-season testing pace seemed to favour Pulling, who topped all six sessions across the three days and her quickest showing was over three tenths clear of the Mercedes driver.

Whilst testing pace could indicate how each driver might fair, it’s not definitive — with varying run plans and not wishing to show their hand too soon meaning that Pin might have kept her full performance under wraps.

Left with a maximum of 112 points available across the final two rounds, the odds are highly in Pulling’s favour. To seal the title in Qatar, she needs to score 18 points across the weekend to hit the 263-point mark, which would put her beyond the Frenchwoman's grasp. Victory in Race 1, a P2 finish or third, with the two points for pole and the bonus point for the fastest lap would see her crowned Champion with one round to go.

A THREE-HORSE RACE FOR THE TEAMS’ TITLE

How the battle between the two leading Drivers’ title contenders unfolds is going to have a huge knock-on effect in the Teams’ Standings.

As things stand, on 287 points, PREMA Racing hold a slim seven-point advantage over second place Rodin Motorsport. But the reigning champions haven’t had things all go their way. Sitting in the top spot after the opening two rounds by only two points, a more profitable weekend for Rodin in Barcelona elevated them into the lead by 23 points, whilst the Italian squad slipped to third behind Campos Racing.

That gap was slashed back to six points in Zandvoort, before PREMA flipped the Standings back in their favour in Singapore.

Of the three teams, Rodin have been a winning machine and in convincing fashion, netting seven victories and a further three podium finishes. By contrast, PREMA’s strengths have been rooted in their ability to put more than one driver on the podium, with their two wins being bolstered by a further 10 podium finishes. Campos too have had two of their drivers enjoy silverware, with Chloe Chambers’ maiden win being accompanied by five additional top-three finishes.

Third in the Teams Standings, 59 points adrift of PREMA, Campos retain slender hopes of overturning the deficit. Although the odds might not be in their favour, the statistics are a source of optimism if they want to produce a late comeback at the final hurdle.

As a team, the Spanish outfit have been the most consistent across the board, netting 25 points finishes out of a possible 30 from Chambers, Nerea Martí and Carrie Schreiner. Whilst PREMA have secured 23, Rodin have only earned 17 top-10 results across the same five rounds.

Nevertheless, when it comes down to netting big points, it’s PREMA that has delivered, averaging 28.7 points per race compared to Rodin’s 28 and Campos’ 22.8. Their largest hauls came in Jeddah and Zandvoort on 73 points apiece, with Campos’ 71-point tally in Barcelona coming close. However, Rodin have struggled with Jessica Edgar and Lola Lovinfosse unable to match Pulling’s pace and leaving them with a best haul so far of 62 in Miami.

Nevertheless, the New Zealand squad haven’t experienced the same dips in results, with their lowest scoring round coming in Barcelona, in which they still brought home 54 points. The PREMA trio of Pin, Maya Weug and Tina Hausmann arguably had a more frustrating time at the Spanish circuit which has cost them a much stronger advantage in the Teams’ Standings, scoring only 22 points, whilst the opening weekend in Jeddah was Campos’ least successful with 35 points.

In a repeat of last year’s finale and with all three squads in fine fettle, we likely won’t know who’s going to be crowned the 2024 Teams’ Champion until the very end.

Can reigning Champions PREMA secure back-to-back Teams’ titles? Will Pulling and Rodin do the double or can Campos come through their uphill battle for last-gasp success? We’ll be on the edge of our seats to find out who covers themselves in glory this time around.