Doriane Pin, a young driver from Prema Racing, had an impressive debut at the F1 Academy weekend in Saudi Arabia. She started strong by winning Race 2 and scoring all available points in the season opener. Pin, who is a junior driver for Mercedes, showed her determination for another victory by securing Pole Position and winning Race 1. She also set the fastest lap, successfully defending against Abbi Pulling from Alpine for the second time. Pulling closely followed Pin throughout the race, but Pin had enough advantage to cross the finish line ahead of her. Maya Weug, the first female driver from the Ferrari Driver Academy, finished a distant third.
The race had its share of challenges for the young drivers. Lola Lovinfosse from Charlotte Tilbury and Chloe Chambers from Haas Junior Team fought for points positions, but both went off track, allowing Nerea Marti from Tommy Hilfiger to secure fourth place. The street circuit proved difficult for many drivers, with several going off track at Turn 1 and cutting corners. Chambers even collided with Lovinfosse on lap 3, causing Lovinfosse to spin in the middle of the track. Lia Block then hit Lovinfosse’s car while trying to avoid, resulting in a damaged front wing for the Williams junior driver.
The Safety Car was deployed on lap 3 due to Lovinfosse’s stopped car, but Pin managed to maintain her lead after a quick reaction. Pulling tried to overtake Pin from the inside, but Pin managed to pull away and secure her position. Lovinfosse received a five-place grid penalty for causing the collision. On lap 7, guest driver Reema Juffali went off track and hit the wall while trying to avoid Carrie Shreiner from Sauber, leading to another Safety Car period.
Despite the previous incident with Lovinfosse, Lia Block managed to climb up to eighth place before eventually dropping to 11th. Pin once again demonstrated her skill by holding off the pack during the second restart and quickly pulling away from Pulling to secure another victory. She even set the fastest lap on her final lap around the circuit. However, some drivers like Chambers and Bustamente received five-second penalties for cutting the track and gaining an advantage, causing them to lose positions and miss out on scoring points.
Lovinfosse, Juffali, and Nobels retired from the race due to incidents on the track, while Pulling, Weug, Marti, and Edgar safely maintained their positions among the top five. There was some confusion after the race, as Pin completed two additional fast laps after missing the checkered flags due to a communication issue. This led to an investigation into her lack of signaling.
