British driver Abbi Pulling has laid down an emphatic marker after securing two pole positions on the inaugural weekend of the all-female F1 Academy series at Austria’s Red Bull Ring.
The new single-seater championship features a 15-woman grid from 10 countries competing for five professional teams over seven rounds, each with three races – the second in a semi-reverse grid format.
Lincolnshire’s Pulling, 20, racing for Rodin Carlin, topped both of Friday’s qualifying sessions. The Alpine academy driver was also a standout in W Series, where she finished fourth in her first full season.
While it is easy to draw comparisons between W Series – on hiatus since financial difficulties forced organisers to curtail the 2022 season – and the F1 Academy, Pulling’s fellow W Series alumna Bianca Bustamante, 18, marked several significant differences.
All of the teams with F1 Academy entries – which also include Campos Racing, PREMA, MP Motorsport and ART Grand Prix – have well-established experience elsewhere in F2 and F3, desired destinations for Academy drivers.
That is massive for PREMA’s Bustamante, who explained: “One of the greatest things about it is you get to work with such professional teams. And I think that makes the most difference.
“I’ve only started to work with PREMA for about two to three months and I’ve learned so much.
“This opportunity would have never come about if it weren’t for the Academy. To be able to work with such a professional team, to learn with the best drivers and to get the track time.
“It makes the most difference, because now we learn all the good habits. We learn what it’s like to be at the top of the sport and competing with the best teams, the best drivers, overall the best bits.”
F1 Academy’s triple-race weekends also allow for considerably more track time which was a long-standing request from W Series drivers who competed in just one per round.
The Academy season’s venues include grand prix tracks like the Netherlands’ Zandvoort and Italy’s Monza, designed to prepare drivers for career next steps.
The team element also differs in facilitating more consistent relationships with engineers and other key personnel, while W Series rotated engineers of varying experience as part of its own development mission.
Bustamante said: “To have that consistency right from the beginning in your junior years is one of the most important things.”
Organisers of the development-focused competition hope it will provide a critical stepping-stone between karting and other junior categories to F1 feeder series like F3, with the long-term goal of one day seeing a woman back in F1.
Pulling and Philippines-born Bustamante are among the many female drivers who have faced considerable challenges funding their careers, an issue F1 hopes to mitigate by subsidising each car – a T421 Chassis developed specifically for the Academy – with 150,000 euros (£131,600).
Drivers are expected to cover the same amount, while teams provide the rest of the budget.
The series faced early criticism after it was revealed races would not be broadcast live, but instead delivered later in the form of highlights packages, complemented by what organisers promised would be extensive live content on social media.
But the PA news agency understands there are ambitions for future live broadcasts, with the Academy set to join select F1 grands prix as part of next season’s support series.
Having the weight of the increasingly-recognisable F1 brand behind the new all-female venture is also an unprecedented step for the sport, one the drivers feel is significant.
“It makes a huge difference,” added Bustamante. “To have F1’s support means a big change to the sport. We went from not having many female drivers to having our own series.
“F1 has given us that exposure. They’ve allowed us to have a platform where we can expose our vision, our aspirations, and to have a voice.”
Piastri aiming for win in Las Vegas with Norris title chances looking slim
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is targeting victory in Las Vegas on Sunday following the implosion of team-mate Lando Norris' Championship bid.
While it is still mathematically possible that Norris could catch Max Verstappen – who will secure a fourth successive title by bettering the Brit this weekend – his chances are slim.
As a result of Norris' title bid, Piastri had been under orders to prioritise his team-mate above himself. But with McLaren leading Ferrari in the constructors' championship by 36 points, it is likely focus will shift there.
"There's still some, let's say, very specific scenarios where I might be needed to help out. But for the very large majority of situations, it's back to how it was," Piastri told reporters in Las Vegas.
"The drivers' championship picture is very slim, and the constructors' championship is certainly not over for us.
"So, it's a very specific few scenarios that maybe I'll still help out if that's what I'm asked to do, but I'm going into the weekend trying to win."
Ahead of his potential coronation, Verstappen struggled on the first day of practice in Las Vegas, finishing in 17th.
Norris, meanwhile, was second-fastest behind Lewis Hamilton. Piastri finished in eighth, although bizarrely reported that his car would not turn off after reaching the pit lane, although the issue was eventually resolved.
Separately from Piastri, Norris had told reporters that – despite previous orders for Piastri to let him pass in races – the team had always come first and that would not change.
"Everything we've done, we've just swapped a position," he said.
"It benefited me because I was in the fight for the championship and that's the game we also have to play, just as I've helped Oscar in a few occasions and helped him win in Baku, you know. I did my job there.
"I think Andrea [Stella] made it very clear from the beginning that we would never do something that would make the team result worse. So no, nothing is going to change."
Norris believes he has 'what it takes’ for future world title after Verstappen battle
Lando Norris believes he has what it takes to challenge for a world title in the future after his battle with Max Verstappen during the 2024 season.
Norris arrives at the Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend 62 points behind Verstappen, knowing a win is a must if he is to keep his faint world championship hopes alive.
Verstappen and Red Bull started the campaign as they left off last year, only for Norris and McLaren to emerge as genuine contenders after a series of car developments.
On a dramatic weekend in Brazil, Norris reduced the Dutchman's advantage to 44 points by winning in the Sprint race, but that victory proved to be in vain.
Despite starting 17th on the grid, Verstappen regained his sizeable margin with a stunning wet weather performance, and can clinch a fourth world title in Sin City this weekend.
When asked what he had learned from this season, Norris said: “That I have what it takes. It’s the first time in the last six years of F1 that we’ve had a chance to fight at the front.
"This is our, and my, first opportunity to do so, and my first opportunity to see where I stand.
“I definitely was not at the level I needed to be at the beginning of the year, even [after beating Verstappen to a maiden win] in Miami.
"Since the summer break I feel like I’ve done a very good job and performed very, very well – by far some of my best performances that I’ve done.
“I’ve been very happy with how the last few months have gone, honestly. I wouldn’t change many things that have happened.
"I still need to make tweaks and I still need to improve on things, that’s clear. I’m not completely satisfied with how I’ve done and I definitely know I need to make improvements.
“But, for the first time, I’m confident to say I have what I think I need to fight for a championship. It doesn’t mean I’m complete, it doesn’t mean I’m perfect.
"When you’re competing against drivers who are close to that, like Max, you have to be close to perfect if you want to challenge him.”
Despite Norris' disappointment, this weekend marks an opportunity for McLaren to edge closer to a first constructors' championship since 1998.
The British-based team are currently 36 points ahead of Ferrari at the top of the standings with two races and a sprint remaining this season.
McLaren have 19 podiums in 2024, their best record in a campaign since 2007 (24). In only four years have they achieved more (20 in 1998, 22 in 2000, 24 in 2007 and 25 in 1988), though Norris insisted the battle was far from over.
“Ferrari have been strong for a long time,” said Norris. “They have two very good drivers, they’re a very good team, they’ve clearly improved their car a good amount and found a better direction to head down.
“They probably will be with us. Some races are a bit better, some races a little bit behind, some races the same as a competition. Maybe [the momentum is] a little bit with them, but we’re close. Red Bull are close at the same time.
“It’s more about who can do a better performance on a weekend. We do know that Vegas is probably a track that will suit the Ferraris a bit more.
"It suited them well last year, but we know Qatar will be more favourable to us.”
Hamilton 'still loves' Mercedes and will give everything in final races
Lewis Hamilton has pledged to give everything in his final three races for Mercedes, despite admitting he had thoughts of an early exit after struggling at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished 10th in the grand prix and 11th in the sprint race in Brazil three weeks ago, then described the weekend as a "disaster" and suggested he was not averse to an early exit.
The seven-time world champion – who will join Ferrari ahead of next season – said over team radio: "If this is the last time I get to perform, it was a shame it wasn't great."
However, with just three races remaining before his 12-year stint with the Silver Arrows comes to an end, Hamilton has put those troubles behind him and is determined to finish 2024 on a high.
Speaking ahead of this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix, Hamilton said: "In the moment, that's how I felt. I didn't really want to come back after that weekend but that's only natural.
"In the heat of the moment, for sure I'd much rather be on the beach and chilling. I don't need to do this.
"It wasn't a great feeling in that moment but I'm here, I'm standing strong and I'm going to give it absolutely everything for these last few races.
"Nothing can take me down. I've got a team that I genuinely still love and even though I'm leaving, I want to give them the best that I can in these next races.
"If they provide a car that wants to stay on track, then hopefully we'll have a better result."
Sunday's race will take place exactly 10 years since Hamilton won the second of his seven drivers' championships, sealing his 2014 title triumph at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
He is currently seventh in the drivers' championship standings, just two points adrift of Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Russell has won 50.26% of Mercedes' points this year to Hamilton's 49.74%. That is the smallest percentage split between any pair of team-mates in F1, with Red Bull pair Max Verstappen (72.24%) and Sergio Perez (27.76%) having the largest split.
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