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The 2024 F1 ACADEMY season so far: The year’s early storylines and what to watch for now
Four races down, 10 to go, but the key narratives of the 2024 F1 ACADEMY season are beginning to take shape.
Whilst Abbi Pulling might have taken a firm grip on the lead of the Drivers’ Standings, it’s a long road to the finish line in Abu Dhabi. Nothing is guaranteed at this early stage, but the numbers tell a tale of how events have unfolded across the first two rounds in Jeddah and Miami.
Let’s take a deep dive into what conclusions we can draw from the opening phase and how they could develop when the European leg kicks off in Barcelona in just over a fortnight’s time.
TITLE CONTENDERS MAKING THEMSELVES KNOWN
If Doriane Pin’s performance in Jeddah and Abbi Pulling’s faultless showing in Miami have set the tone for their seasons, their places at the top of the pecking order look hard to topple.
In many ways, Pulling’s early advantage is akin to Marta García’s approach last year — maximise every points-scoring opportunity and steadily pull away as the season progresses. On 99 points, Pulling’s 34-point gap over Pin is eight points more than the lead García held over Hamda Al Qubaisi after Round 2.
In formidable form in Miami, Pulling won Race 1 by over 5.2s, the third largest margin of victory in the series so far. Meanwhile, the Alpine junior’s clean sweep in Race 2 saw her become the fifth driver to take the Grand Chelem honours.
For Pin, there is only one goal in mind — to win. With that high of a benchmark, it would be hard for any results to match that. Although not the perfection the Mercedes driver would have wanted, her Qualifying and Race 1 pace in Jeddah showed how quickly she’d gotten up to speed in the car. In Miami, something seemed to be missing for her and PREMA Racing as they struggled to find the right balance. Yet if P2 and P3 finishes are an ‘off’ weekend for Pin, there’s no question that she’s a force to be reckoned with.
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The title picture is far from a two-horse race and you’d be remiss counting out third-placed Maya Weug too soon. 14 points behind her PREMA stablemate, the Ferrari driver struggled to make the jump in Qualifying after switching to her second set of tyres, which compromised her starting positions, lining up outside the top three. With a wealth of experience in single seaters, she’ll be keen to avoid any dips in results to keep herself in the title race.
PREMA AND RODIN NECK-AND-NECK
A hair’s breadth separates PREMA Racing and Rodin Motorsport at the top of the Teams’ Standings. The reigning Champions are facing stiff competition from the New Zealand outfit, who sit only two points adrift on 122 to the Italian squad’s 124.
With two drivers inside the top five and nine points-scoring finishes across their trio, PREMA have a slight edge on their rivals. Their margin out front could have been higher if not for Aston Martin’s Tina Hausmann becoming a first-lap casualty twice in Miami, after lining up inside the top 10. Heading to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya could shake things up for both teams. The Spanish track has been neither’s strongest venue, with both failing to claim a pole or win there in 2023.
ON THE HUNT
Not too far behind our leading trio, the pack are closing in. Locked in a tight midfield battle, 21 points cover third place Weug down to Hamda Al Qubaisi in seventh, on 30 points, whilst six drivers have already paid a visit to the podium.
Newcomer Chloe Chambers has already proved how much of a fierce competitor she can be in F1 ACADEMY. The fourth-best finisher, the Haas driver has an average result of 5.25. Gaining 12 places across the four races, she turned a P7 start in Miami Race1 into her maiden podium in third, whilst her quick work in dispatching three cars in the opening laps in Race 2 caught many people’s attention.
The American’s assuredness behind the wheel is boosted by Campos Racing’s upward trajectory. With sixth-placed Nerea Martí currently the fourth-best qualifier, the Spanish team have shown they have both the one-lap pace and punchiness in the races to be regular podium contenders.
Arguably, Bianca Bustamante should have been closer to the top three in the table rather than sitting in fifth with one podium finish. After two top six results in Jeddah, the McLaren driver gelled with the Miami International Autodrome, but a stall on the grid in Race 1 cost her a shot at a top three finish. If she can avoid repeating that misfortune, she could be a real threat moving forward.
Compared to 2023’s success, MP Motorsport’s performances thus far are not where they would have expected to be. Enduring a rocky start to the campaign has them sitting bottom of the Teams’ Standings. Struggling to break into the top 10 in Qualifying has put them on the backfoot, but their race pace has made up for lost ground.
RB’s Amna Al Qubaisi has put on overtaking masterclasses, with three consecutive drives from P15 and P14 to P8 worthy of a bigger points haul. Signs of improvement are trickling in as Hamda Al Qubaisi earned two top four starts in Miami but didn’t quite have the pace to hold on to them. As the season heads to happier hunting grounds, the familiarity of Barcelona will be a much-needed chance for the Dutch team to reassert themselves.