RACE 3: Weug takes maiden F1 ACADEMY win to secure PREMA back-to-back Teams' titles in thrilling final race at Yas Marina

In a race packed with excitement from start to finish, Maya Weug celebrated her first F1 ACADEMY victory as she went wheel-to-wheel in an epic tussle with Alpine's Abbi Pulling.

After finally securing the lead midway through, Weug took control as she pulled out a huge gap ahead, before a Safety Car on the penultimate lap brought the grid back together. Nevertheless, the Ferrari driver maintained her composure to seal first place and help PREMA Racing retain the Teams’ title in style.

Pulling ended her title-winning year with second place, meaning she has finished on the podium in every race this season, with Tommy Hilfiger's Nerea Martí in third.

As the lights went out for one final time this season, it was pole-sitter Pulling who took the lead going into Turn 1. P2-starter Chloe Chambers got off well from the front row, but Doriane Pin also had a fantastic launch from her third-place grid spot to move into second.

However, as the duo entered the first corner they made contact that sent them both into a spin and down the order. Hamda Al Qubaisi was able to benefit and moved up into second, with Ferrari’s Weug now in third.

As they entered the second lap, Weug wasted no time in trying to progress up a position as she challenged Hamda Al Qubaisi into Turn 6. She sent her car down the inside to get ahead, and managed to make the move stick, as Martí and Bianca Bustamante eyed up potential podium opportunities in fourth and fifth behind.

Weug was then rapidly on the gearbox of Pulling as she hunted down her first F1 ACADEMY win. Behind them, it remained a close affair with just under three seconds separating race-leader Pulling and Carrie Schreiner in eighth by Lap 4.

However, more drama would follow as McLaren's Bustamante suffered a huge lock up on the following lap, braking too late as she collided with Hamda Al Qubaisi. The Red Bull Racing-liveried car took to the runoff and maintained third position, with Bustamante receiving a 10-second time penalty for the offence later in the race.

On Lap 5 Weug would also see a chance to take the lead, going down the inside once again at Turn 6, but Pulling bailed and found herself on the runoff. In doing so the Alpine driver put herself back in the lead, but needed to hand the position back to Weug or risk being penalised for leaving the track and gaining an unfair advantage.

Eventually, and after much on-track movement, Weug made it past Pulling for the lead on Lap 6. From there, the Dutch driver put her foot down, having never led a lap in F1 ACADEMY prior to today, and started to build a significant gap to those behind.

As Pulling and Al Qubaisi delivered the fans a brilliant fight for second place, Weug kept extending the lead up front, posting fastest laps in the process, to earn a six-second gap by Lap 10.

Lia Block, who still needed to serve a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, then made a move on Bustamante for fifth before swooping into fourth place after Martí made a small mistake. With Al Qubaisi now in her sights, Block closed up the gap and found herself right behind the Red Bull Racing car. However, a small tap from Block to the rear of Al Qubaisi sent the home hero into a spin and out of podium contention with just three laps of the race to go.

Block, now into third, was slapped with a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision as the Safety Car was deployed to recover Al Qubaisi. The neutralisation of the race also eradicated the 11.5-second gap Weug had created up ahead, which was set to be the biggest winning margin seen in the series’ history.

The race was given the green light for one final lap, but nobody could challenge Weug as she perfected the restart and went on to take her first win in F1 ACADEMY at the final race of the year.

Pulling came home in second, with Martí taking the final podium spot after Block was demoted to 15th when her penalties were applied. For Martí, it was a first podium since Zandvoort and meant she ended the year fourth in the Drivers’ Standings for a second consecutive season.

Tina Hausmann recorded a career-best result of the season to go fourth, with Jessica Edgar ending the year with a fifth-place result. Amna Al Qubaisi finished seventh on the line, but had a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, which saw her classified in 13th and out of the points.

Pin managed a great comeback drive to finish eighth, which became sixth after the above penalties applied. Schreiner, Lola Lovinfosse, Aurelia Nobels and Emely De Heus completed the top 10 in the final classification.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The 2024 F1 ACADEMY season is done and dusted, with the field growing to 18 cars for next year. The 2025 campaign gets underway in Shanghai, China from March 21-23.