In a thrilling twist of events, Doriane Pin emerged victorious in the second race of the F1 Academy season, battling through challenging conditions on the Shanghai track. The race was marked by high-stakes drama and a plethora of Safety Car interventions.
Pin, dubbed the “Iron Dame,” masterfully outperformed the initial front-runner, Maya Weug, right after the Safety Car rolling start. She kept her lead securely till the finish line, with Weug having to content herself with the runner-up spot.
The excitement didn’t stop there. Chloe Chambers performed a splendid overtaking maneuver on Alba Larsen in the race’s final moments. With a smooth move at Turn 1, she claimed the third spot on the podium, leaving Larsen in her wake.
The race commenced under the watchful eyes of the Safety Car following the discovery of oil droplets scattered around the track. Two additional formation laps were put in place to mitigate the dust problem on the track.
The real action ignited post the third formation lap. Weug was leading the pack around the Shanghai International Circuit, but a fierce contest quickly erupted between her and Pin. Pin seized the moment, outmaneuvering Weug on the entry into Turn 1 and snatched the lead by Turn 3.
The race was not without its share of chaos. Five drivers, including Tina Hausmann and Nina Gademan, found themselves in a perilous situation after a collision at Turn 3. The ripple effect of this incident also impacted Joanne Ciconte, Aurelia Nobels, and Nicole Havrda. Nobels was sideswiped by Chloe Chong, forcing her to retire from the weekend’s races.
Gademan, an Aston Martin-nominated driver, blamed Hausmann for the collision. However, footage revealed that Hausmann had locked up on the corner entry, causing the unfortunate chain of events.
The aftermath of this incident saw a full Safety Car deployment to clear the stranded vehicles. Ciconte, Havrda, and Nobels bowed out of the race on Lap 3.
On Lap 5, normal racing conditions resumed, and Pin demonstrated her racing prowess by immediately pulling 0.5s ahead of Weug.
Meanwhile, 16-year-old rookie Larsen held her ground amidst the disorder, securing the third spot and setting the fastest lap on Lap 6. However, she had to fend off Chambers, who was hot on her heels.
Chambers too had to defend her position against her teammate, Alisha Palmowski, the winner of Race 1. Palmowski made an attempt to usurp fourth place from Chambers at Turn 6 on Lap 7, but Chambers successfully thwarted her advance.
Pin held her lead with a 1.2s advantage, setting herself up for her first race win of the 2025 season. The struggle for third place continued behind her, with Chambers and Larsen locked in a fierce competition.
Pin’s victory in the challenging race earned her 30 points, marking a spectacular comeback after her injury last season. Despite settling for second place, Weug added 24 points to her tally, trailing Pin by a solitary point in the Drivers’ Standings.
Chambers, with her second podium of the weekend, collected 23 points in the first round of the F1 Academy in Shanghai. This put Weug and Chambers neck and neck in the standings as they gear up for Round 2.
Larsen, the 16-year-old rookie, made a commendable debut with a fourth-place finish, followed by Felbermayr, who bounced back admirably from the early chaos. Ella Lloyd and Rafaela Ferreira claimed the seventh and eighth spots respectively, while Gademan pulled off a significant recovery to score a 10th-place finish.