F1 Academy: The season so far and who to watch

F1 Academy on grid in Montreal | Photo taken from @f1academy on instagram

This is the third edition of F1 academy and across the season, the drivers will visit seven rounds across three continents including debuts in Canada and Las Vegas. 

Round One: Shanghai (21st-23rd March) 

The opener kicked off in Shanghai, China with the drivers taking part in two races. Campos Driver, Alisha Palmowski won the first race and initially made her entrance as the wildcard entry last season in Qatar. 

Mercedes Driver, Dorianne Pin won the second race of the weekend and became the first race winner in the 2024 season, battling it out with eventual season winner Abbi Pulling throughout. 

Round Two: Jeddah (18th-20th April) 

Jeddah saw two different race winners this time with McLaren’s Ella Lloyd being the winner of the first race. Despite never having karting experience previously, she jumped into F4 in 2024 and made her debut as a Wildcard in Singapore 2024. 

Maya Weug won the second race in Jeddah being the fourth different race winner this season so far. She fought hard last season in the Ferrari Red and looks to continue to her strengths this season. 

Round Three: Miami (2nd-4th May) 

In Miami, there was only one race due to conditions but Dorianne Pin became a five time race winner in the reverse grid race, with Alisha Palmowski and Chloe Chambers finishing the podium. 

Round Four: Montreal (13th-15th June) 

Due to only one race last time out in Miami, there were three in Montreal, which made its debut this season. 

Dorianne Pin won the first of the weekend after her win in Miami with Emma Felbermayr and Chloe Chambers winning the second and third race. 

Sauber driver Emma Felbermayr is in her debut season in a single seater and is also competing in Spanish F4 as well as her commitments in F1 Academy. 

Chloe Chambers rounded off the weekend winning in the third race and is currently in her second season. She got her maiden win in Barcelona last season in Race 2 and looks to get more race wins under her belt this time out. 

Current Standings: 

Currently, Dorianne Pin is leading the standings with 109 points, with Chloe Chambers (89) and Maya Weug (72) finishing the top 3. 

Ella Lloyd (67) and Alisha Palmowski (53) also round off the top five in the standings currently at the race five stage. 

Final Races: 

After a two month pause, it returns to Zandvoort, Netherlands on 29th August as there will be only three rounds remaining.

It then goes on another pause with the competition returning on 3rd October in Singapore and the final race weekend happening in Las Vegas (for the first time) on 20th November. 

Drivers to watch in the final three rounds: 

Apart from the top five leaders, some drivers to also look out for are Tina Haussmann and Alba Larsen. 

Born in 2006, Tina Haussmann is supported by Aston Martin and a Swiss driver who is in her second season in F1 Academy. Last season, she finished in the top ten in the Drivers’ Standings and looks to improve this campaign, currently sitting in 7th with 36 points. 

Supported by Tommy Hilfiger, Alba Larsen is a 2008 Danish born driver who scored points in the Indian F4 Championship last year. Like many other drivers, she has had no single seater experience and started in karting. 

The Dane is also mentored by fellow Dane and Ex Formula One Driver Kevin Magnussen and aims to support the next generation of female racers in her Alba Academy. She is currently 6th in the Championship on 46 points.