RACE 2: Pulling completes the Miami double with masterful victory

Abbi Pulling made it two for two as she brought home her second win on the streets of Miami. Replicating Saturday’s path to success, the Alpine driver kept her attentions focused ahead, building a 3.8s margin out front by the chequered flag.

Bianca Bustamante righted her wrongs from Race 1, fending off a late push from Doriane Pin to earn her first podium for McLaren in second.

Pole-sitter Pulling was instantly on the defensive from Bustamante as the lights went green, locking up slightly into Turn 1. Managing to outbreak the ART car, she managed to hold the lead.

Chambers was once again on a charge after her Race 1 podium. A storming start from P8 for the Haas driver saw her slide past Aurelia Nobels, Nerea Martí and Maya Weug in turn through the opening sequence of corners and move up to fifth.

Not done yet, the American pounced on Hamda Al Qubaisi into the final chicane, managing to make it stick despite a nudge with the Red Bull Racing driver.

Behind her, Tina Hausmann found herself out on the opening lap for the second race in a row. Locking up into Turn 1, Lola Lovinfosse tagged the Aston Martin car ahead, forcing her to retire with a right rear puncture. Lovinfosse later received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision.

Undeterred, the Charlotte Tilbury driver set about climbing up the order, moving up three places from P11. Whilst Lovinfosse had the slipstream behind, Nobels decided to attack rather than defend, as she tried to send a move on Weug for sixth.

On Lap 5, Weug dispatched Hamda Al Qubaisi, but found her mirrors full of a train of cars behind down for P6 to P13. Two laps later, Lovinfosse gambled on another move as Nobels left the door open, with the two running side-by-side. Going in too deep, the PUMA driver ran over the runoff and held position.

Trying once more, Lovinfosse locked up with a late move up the inside of Turn 7, catching Nobels and sending the Brazilian driver into a spin. Both were able to rejoin, with Lovinfosse handed a 10-second penalty for the incident.

Bustamante’s hold over P2 had a momentary scare, as Pin closed right in on her tail. However, the Filipina racer kept up her pace to break the slipstream advantage to the Mercedes driver behind. As they focused on each other, Pulling set repeated fastest laps, extending her advantage out front to 3.3s with three laps to go.

At the tail end of the top 10, Block hunted down her first points of her F1 ACADEMY campaign. Eyeing a move on Carrie Schreiner in 10th, the Williams driver went in too deep, allowing Emely De Heus to capitalise and overtake the American driver.

Jessica Edgar was on the march as she overtook Martí for seventh. However, the Spaniard wasn’t giving up, diving up the inside of Turn 1, but overshooting the corner and allowing the American Express driver to cutback through. However, Edgar’s race unravelled a few corners later, losing the rear through Turns 6 and 7 and spinning wide over the runoff.

Completing her 27th tour of the Miami circuit, Pulling brought home a comfortable second win of the season and extended her advantage over Pin at the top of the Drivers’ Standings to 34 on 99 points.

Bustamante was jubilant as she secured second, whilst Pin’s efforts to close in on her across the final few laps didn’t materialise, with the French racer finishing eight tenths back in third.

Chambers ended her home round on a high in fourth ahead of Weug, Hamda Al Qubaisi and Martí. Amna Al Qubaisi put in another fightback from P14 on the grid to finish eighth ahead of Schreiner, whilst Red Bull Ford’s De Heus earned her first point of the season in 10th.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The opening phase of the season is over and now the battle to be crowned the 2024 F1 ACADENY Champion heads to Europe. Catch us back out on track for Round 3 in Barcelona from June 21-23.