Interview
Chambers hoping to have ‘good shot’ at victory in Race 3 after securing fourth podium of 2024 in Abu Dhabi
Chloe Chambers is targeting victory in the final race of the 2024 F1 ACADEMY season as she looks to end her debut campaign on a high.
The Haas driver achieved her fourth podium finish of the year at the Yas Marina Circuit in Race 2 – coming home second behind winner and 2024 Champion Abbi Pulling – though it was a day of mixed fortunes for the American.
After taking the lead in the opening lap of both races on Saturday, neither could be converted into a win. For Race 1, a spin and a penalty saw Chambers finish out of the points and, while a spot on the podium in Race 2 was a welcome result, it could have been more as a crucial mistake at the halfway point saw her relinquish the lead to the 21-year-old Briton.
“I was of course coming off a tough Race 1,” Chambers said, as she debriefed her second-place finish for Race 2. “To come out in P2 is okay. I didn’t lose or gain any positions, but I was holding the lead for such a long time, and I just really wanted the win. I just made a mistake at Turn 12 and then lost the lead right there.”
Any hope Chambers had of reclaiming the lead in Race 2 late on was ultimately dashed, following a collision between Lola Lovinfosse and Jessica Edgar with just two laps to go. That would see the Safety Car called upon with the race ending under those conditions.
“We had a Safety Car at the end, but Abbi (Pulling) was really fast,” Chambers added. “So, once she got ahead of me, it was really hard for me to follow and stay behind her close enough to make a pass. It was nice to be able to make a move at the beginning of the race, but it is such a shame to lose it at the end.
“I have to be happy with P2 of course. It is progress and then tomorrow we will just have to do one step more.”
She continued: “It was kind of a hectic start of the race, to be honest. I was able to get into the lead, which I was really happy about. I was just trying to minimise the amount of mistakes I was making, try to minimise the passing opportunities that she (Pulling) had, so just focusing on my exits was kind of the key.
“Of course you're looking in your mirrors, but at the same time I am trying to focus on hitting all my apexes and making sure my exits are good to not give her any opportunity to overtake.
“Coming from Race 1, and having to make my way through the field, I felt like passing would be quite a bit easier on this circuit. It turned out to be a little bit more difficult than I thought. I think that helped me at the beginning, and then when that mistake happened it ended up hurting me a little bit, so now I know more for tomorrow and what I need to do.”
Chambers will once again start alongside pole-sitter Pulling on the front row for Sunday’s Race 3 and is targeting a spot on the top step of the podium – something that would be the perfect ending to her maiden F1 ACADEMY campaign. In doing so she will also hope to replicate some of the form she showed in her dominant victory from Barcelona Race 2 earlier in the season.
“The main thing for tomorrow is getting a good start,” she explained. “Today the start in Race 2 was not great. I think the track was a bit colder, and it had been a little while since people had raced and started from those boxes.
"So I got quite a bit of wheelspin at the start. But, if I can repeat what I did in Race 1 at the start, I think I should have a really good shot at the victory.”