PRACTICE 1: Pin top of the timesheets ahead of Pulling in Lusail opener

Doriane Pin's dream of keeping her title hopes alive got off to an ideal start as the PREMA Racing star topped the first practice session around Lusail.

Abbi Pulling of Rodin Motorsport was close behind in second, as the Alpine driver tries to secure the F1 ACADEMY Drivers’ title this race weekend.

The sun was shining in Lusail, as the F1 ACADEMY grid made their way out for their first Free Practice session of the race weekend. Aurelia Nobels in her ART Grand Prix machine was the first to hit the track, but it wasn’t long before she was joined on track by the MP Motorsport duo of Emely De Heus and Amna Al Qubaisi.

It was a slow start to the session for Standings’ leader Pulling, who had an issue with her car's starter motor. The Briton spent the first part of the session in the pit lane but got out on track with just under 20 minutes of the session to go.

Rodin Motorsport’s Jess Edgar looked comfortable around the Lusail circuit as she went top of the timesheets early on in her American Express-sponsored car, and continued to improve over the practice session. Hamda Al Qubaisi tried her best to knock her off the top spot, but despite going purple in the first and second sectors, the Red Bull Racing driver was unable to beat the 1:57.592s benchmark set by Edgar.

Alisha Palmowski, the Wild Card entry for this weekend, certainly made people take note when she slotted into third on the timings. Behind the wheel of the #6 F1 ACADEMY DISCOVER YOUR DRIVE-liveried car, Palmowski looked at home in the Formula 4-spec machine. At just 18-years-old, the GB4 Championship runner-up already made headlines when she topped the opening morning session in the F1 ACADEMY Lusail test earlier this month, as well as finishing sixth across the six sessions.

With the track rapidly improving, Doriane Pin of PREMA Racing put her Mercedes to the top with a time of 1:56.654s. This would be the quickest time of the session, with Pulling getting close to her title rival, as the Alpine driver finished just under three tenths behind Pin in second.

Ferrari's Maya Weug placed her PREMA Racing car in third, with Edgar forced to settle for fourth. Bianca Bustamante will be hoping for a strong end to her F1 ACADEMY season, and finished in fifth for ART Grand Prix. Hamda Al Qubaisi ended the session in sixth, with Wild Card entry Palmowski in seventh.

Carrie Schreiner crossed the chequered flag in eighth, with Lia Block in ninth as the American hopes to continue her strong form from Singapore where she recorded back-to-back fourth place finishes for ART Grand Prix. Campos’ Chloe Chambers rounded out the top 10.

The grid will be back for a second Free Practice this afternoon at 18:00 local time, with Qualifying and Race 1 tomorrow followed by Race 2 on Sunday.