MIAMI – Formula 1 Academy’s second season is in full swing now as it just wrapped up its second race weekend at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix alongside the circus that is Formula 1. Abbi Pulling, driving for Rodin Motorsport and supported by Alpine, convincingly stole first place in both 13-lap races around the Miami Autodrome.
This weekend was the only one that F1 Academy will spend in the U.S. this year, as the other six racing weekends will be at various tracks across the globe. And if you missed it, you missed out on a lot of exciting racing that’s already revealing some standout drivers.
In case you’re still new to F1 Academy (started racing in 2023), know it’s a series launched and supported by Formula 1 in an effort to prepare and develop women drivers in hopes of graduating them to higher series, and perhaps all the way to F1. For example, the series’ champion from 2023, Marta Garcia, has moved on to the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine and will also drive in a Formula E rookie test. And since F1 Academy follows Formula 1 around the world (for seven of the 24 race weekends), that means its drivers race at the same tracks and in front of all the same fans as F1. It’s a huge exposure boost, as Pulling told us right after coming down from the podium in the media pen.
“It’s definitely another level, the fans as you’re getting in the car, there’s people screaming as you’re driving away, and you’re on the grid and there’s people waving at you, and it’s a lot, but I think it’s what we need, and the boost that we need. It certainly drives me to keep going and keep pushing harder. It’s a good thing for women’s sport,” Pulling said.
It’s exciting to see as a fan of motor racing, too. All the ceremony you’re accustomed to seeing post-race in F1 plays out just the same in F1 Academy – there’s even a Drive To Survive-like docu-series coming. Podium finishers pull up to their numbers in parc fermé (celebrate!). They get post-race interviews on camera; the podium procedure is a copycat of F1, and all the pomp and circumstance is present. That said, the champagne is alcohol-free (many of the racers aren’t of legal drinking age quite yet).
American fans got to see an American in Chloe Chambers take the podium in the first race of the weekend with a third-place finish in her Haas-liveried car. Chambers managed a strong fourth in the second race, but was the only American in an open-wheel car…
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