The F1 Academy kicked off its second race weekend of the season in Miami from May 3 through May 5.
Rodin Motorsport driver Abbi Pulling started first in race one after qualifying first with a time of 1:58.507. At the start of the race, Pulling had a clean start to the race, while ART Grand Prix driver Bianca Bustamante struggled to start the race. The track not only seemed to be a tough one for Bustamante and Prema Racing driver Tina Hausman. Hausman went into the wall while exiting a turn and caused severe damage to her car. Unfortunately, she was not able to rejoin the race.
Courtesy of f1i.com
Bustamante was able to make up the pace and be in eighth place by the 11th lap. However, after going over track limits, she still had a five-second penalty to fulfill. The first race ended like it started, with Pulling finishing in first. This was the first time in her F1 Academy career that Pulling crossed the finish line, earning her a first-place podium since her first win was inherited from Prema Racing Driver Doriane Pin. Pin finished in second, while Campos Racing driver Chloe Chambers came in third.
Pulling once again started first in the second race after qualifying at 1:58.714. This race saw an improvement for Bustamante as she was now starting in second behind Pulling. Unfortunately, luck was not on Hausman’s side since she was once again out of the race due to a collision caused by opening lap contact with Rodin Motorsport driver Lola Lovinfosse.
During the 8th lap, Lovinfosse and ART Grand Prix driver Aurelia Nobels made slight contact which caused Nobels to spin out. However, there was no damage caused, and both were able to rejoin the race.
History repeated itself once again. Pulling stood on the podium’s top step and claimed victory as the race winner. Bustamante came in second, claiming her first podium of the season and Pin, came in third.
Courtesy of Formula1.com
“It was a dream weekend in Miami,” said Pulling during an interview for SBNation. “A huge thank you to all my partners, Alpine and Rodin Motorsport for the unforgettable race weekend.”
The Miami race weekend brought in a lot of exciting news for the F1 Academy. It was announced that the F1 Academy docuseries run by Hello Sunshine, a media company owned by Reese Witherspoon, landed its own spot with Netflix. Much like the F1 docuseries “Drive to Survive’, that follows the F1 drivers during the season, the F1 Academy docuseries will follow the same concept.
Courtesy of sportingher.com
Hello Sunshine was created as a way to give women a platform to express themselves in all forms of media. Many F1 fans and now F1 Academy fans started their journey by watching the Netflix docuseries. It is only fitting that a company created by women for women has been given a chance to show the rest of the world what women are truly capable of in the world of motorsports.
Edited By: Sarah Muñoz
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