Report
Abbi Pulling leads the way in first Free Practice sessions of the season
Abbi Pulling and Hamda Al Qubaisi set the two fastest times in Free Practice ahead of qualifying at the Red Bull Ring this afternoon.
Across the two morning sessions, the drivers completed a total of 357 laps in their final preparation before their first qualifying sessions of the season.
Free Practice 1
Abbi Pulling topped the time sheets in the first Free Practice session of the season at the Red Bull Ring with a 1:31.315, giving the Rodin Carlin driver a one tenth advantage over nearest rival Marta García.
Pulling led the time charts for much of the opening session, with her Rodin Carlin teammates Megan Gilkes and Jessica Edgar also putting in good performances in P4 and P6 respectively. FP1 was so close that only 0.1s separated ART Grand Prix’s Lena Bühler in P3 and Campos Racing’s Nerea Martí in P7.
Despite this, Pulling’s time was 0.5s off the fastest time in pre-season testing yesterday, with there being clear expectations that the times will tumble down in qualifying this afternoon.
Free Practice 2
Testing pace-setter Hamda Al Qubaisi continued to show how her experience and skills at the Red Bull Ring will hold her in good stead for this weekend’s opening round, as she topped Free Practice 2 with a 1:31.362.
The Emirati driver led from García and Bühler who rounded out the top three in both Free Practice sessions and will be hoping to compete for one of the two pole positions on offer in qualifying this afternoon.
The session once again showed how closely matched the field is with Bühler, Amna Al Qubaisi, and Gilkes separated by only two hundredths of a second in the final Free Practice outing.
This afternoon will see two qualifying sessions that will set the grid for Saturday’s three races. Qualifying 1 sets the grid for Race 1 and Race 2 and is set to take place at 15:10. Qualifying 2 sets the grid for Race 3 and will take place at 15:30 local time.
2023 F1 ACADEMY - ROUND 1 - FREE PRACTICE 1 PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
| DRIVER | LICENCE | TEAM | LAPTIME | LAPS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abbi Pulling | GBR | Rodin Carlin | 1:31.315 | 12 |
| 2 | Marta García | ESP | PREMA Racing | 1:31.417 | 10 |
| 3 | Lena Bühler | CHE | ART Grand Prix | 1:31.690 | 13 |
| 4 | Megan Gilkes | CAN | Rodin Carlin | 1:31.816 | 17 |
| 5 | Lola Lovinfosse | FRA | Campos Racing | 1:31.832 | 14 |
| 6 | Jessica Edgar | GBR | Rodin Carlin | 1:31.841 | 19 |
| 7 | Nerea Martí | ESP | Campos Racing | 1:31.851 | 14 |
| 8 | Chloe Grant | GBR | ART Grand Prix | 1:32.085 | 14 |
| 9 | Bianca Bustamante | PHL | PREMA Racing | 1:32.263 | 9 |
| 10 | Carrie Schreiner | DEU | ART Grand Prix | 1:32.974 | 14 |
| 11 | Chloe Chong | GBR | PREMA Racing | 1:35.851 | 5 |
| 12 | Maite Cáceres | URY | Campos Racing | 1:41.931 | 6 |
| 13 | Hamda Al Qubaisi | ARE | MP Motorsport | N/A | N/A |
| 14 | Emely de Heus | NLD | MP Motorsport | N/A | N/A |
| 15 | Amna Al Qubaisi | ARE | MP Motorsport | N/A | N/A |
2023 F1 ACADEMY - ROUND 1 - FREE PRACTICE 2 PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
| DRIVER | LICENCE | TEAM | LAPTIME | LAPS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamda Al Qubaisi | ARE | MP Motorsport | 1:31.362 | 19 |
| 2 | Marta García | ESP | PREMA Racing | 1:31.770 | 8 |
| 3 | Lena Bühler | CHE | ART Grand Prix | 1:32.012 | 14 |
| 4 | Amna Al Qubaisi | ARE | MP Motorsport | 1:32.013 | 20 |
| 5 | Megan Gilkes | CAN | Rodin Carlin | 1:32.014 | 12 |
| 6 | Carrie Schreiner | DEU | ART Grand Prix | 1:32.078 | 14 |
| 7 | Nerea Martí | ESP | Campos Racing | 1:32.080 | 20 |
| 8 | Bianca Bustamante | PHL | PREMA Racing | 1:32.353 | 10 |
| 9 | Chloe Grant | GBR | ART Grand Prix | 1:32.289 | 15 |
| 10 | Lola Lovinfosse | FRA | Campos Racing | 1:32.713 | 22 |
| 11 | Emely de Heus | NLD | MP Motorsport | 1:32.790 | 19 |
| 12 | Jessica Edgar | GBR | Rodin Carlin | 1:34.899 | 15 |
| 13 | Maite Cáceres | URY | Campos Racing | 1:35.763 | 19 |
| 14 | Abbi Pulling | GBR | Rodin Carlin | 1:35.857 | 9 |
| 15 | Chloe Chong | GBR | PREMA Racing | N/A | N/A |