F1 Academy crowned a new Champion last weekend in Las Vegas as the curtain came down on the 2025 Season. Doriane Pin became the third F1 Academy Champion in history, keeping rival Maya Weug at bay throughout the weekend. Here’s how it all unfolded in Sin City.
The Paddock Headlines
- Doriane Pin hit the ground running in Las Vegas by topping the time sheets in the final F1 Academy practice session of the 2025 Season.
- Chloe Chambers claimed Pole Position for Sunday’s Season Finale.
- Nina Gademan took Reverse Grid Pole Position for Saturday’s penultimate race of the year.
- Doriane Pin won Saturday’s Reverse Grid Race, beating Nina Gademan, while Maya Weug crashed out before the race even began.
- Chloe Chambers dominated the final race of the season to take a commanding win.
- Doriane Pin became the 2025 F1 Academy Champion with a measured drive.
Free Practice – Pin Leads the Way
Doriane Pin got off to a flying start in Las Vegas as action got underway for the final round of the 2025 F1 Academy Season. The French driver produced a fastest time of 2:07.967. This was two tenths quicker than main Championship rival Maya Weug.
Part of the reason for this time becoming unbeatable was thanks to the emergence of a red flag ten minutes before the end of the session. Chloe Chambers’ front right suspension broke as the American was heading down into T1. She crashed into the barriers as a result, but was thankfully unharmed. Practice though, was essentially done and dusted. The Red Bull Ford backed driver had herself been in P3 up to that point, behind Pin and Weug. Larsen and Palmowski rounded out the top five.
Wild Card Payton Westcott posted the thirteenth best time, ahead of series regulars such as Felbermayr and Havrda. Rachel Robertson, standing in this weekend for the injured Aiva Anagnostiadis, was P15.
Qualifying – Chambers and Gademan on Top
Fortunes would be reversed when it came to Qualifying though. Bouncing back in style, Chloe Chambers claimed Pole Position for Sunday’s race with a time of 2:06.538. This was almost four tenths quicker than her nearest rival in the session, Palmowski, who had to settle for second. Alba Larsen was a fraction of a second behind her in third.
“No better way to end the last qualifying of the year!” – Chloe Chambers
But main title contenders Pin and Weug would have to find a way to be content with fourth and fifth – something that would be easier said than done. Weug had been hoping that some help from teammate Larsen, in the form of a slipstream, would get her to the top of the timing page but it ultimately wasn’t enough.
“Starting up here, it’s going to be really important so that I’ll hopefully be able to finish where I’m starting.” – Alba Larsen
Tina Hausmann finished her final qualifying session in F1 Academy in P6, with Emma Felbermayr alongside her in seventh. Nina Gademan would line up in P8, giving her Reverse Pole for Saturday’s race. Ferreira and Lloyd rounded out the top ten. Westcott qualified in P17 with Robertson ahead of her in P14.
Finally, post qualifying, Aurelia Nobels was handed a three place grid penalty for both of the weekend’s races. This came as a result of her impeding Ella Lloyd, something the Brazilian-Belgian driver said she was not aware of doing. She would now start from P16 in each race.
Las Vegas – Race I
Chaos reigned supreme in Saturday’s Reverse Grid Race. With rain having come down prior to the start of the race, the Safety Car led the grid out for a couple of formation laps before a planned rolling start. Emma Felbermayr had returned to the pits during this time with a suspected clutch issue, not making it off the start line to begin with as the grid peeled away. Fortunately, Felbermayr was able to return to the race once it was fully underway, her issues apparently dealt with. It was a real shame for the Austrian too as she had been in second place on the grid prior to that point.
Championship-Ending Moment for Weug?
As the drivers began to prepare for the race to begin, Maya Weug collided with the back of Tina Hausmann’s car in a bizarre incident that took both drivers out of the race. It was a heart-breaking moment for the Dutch driver as she proceeded to sit down by the side of the track once out of the car. Tina Hausmann was also not best pleased with the incident. Maya would now have to win Sunday’s final race and hope that disaster came Doriane’s way for there to be a chance for her to still win the F1 Academy title.
Bold Overtakes & Crashes Galore!
Racing finally got underway on lap four and Alba Larsen was the driver who caught the front runners off guard. In T3, she overtook Pin for second place. She swiftly followed this up with an outstanding overtake around the outside of Gademan through T10. But Larsen’s elation was short-lived. A small brush with the wall at T16 appeared to give the Danish driver suspension damage. This resulted in her spinning around spectacularly coming onto the start finish straight and somehow avoided hitting other cars and the walls alike. She was, however, forced to retire.
Ella Lloyd was the next driver to impress, only for her race to also end in heartbreak. The recently re-signed McLaren junior driver had already gained five positions up to this point. But the Welsh driver was determined to get more. Attempting what would have been an impressive double overtake on Palmowski and Chambers into T5, she instead found the barriers and was out of the race.
Chambers and Palmowski themselves would have a long-fought battle. The latter bested the former towards the end of the race in some close racing action. In an attempt by Chambers to get back past, the pair were alongside one another into T14/15 – a risky idea if ever there was one. The pair collided and Chambers crashed into the wall and was out of the race.
Doriane Pin Victorious in Las Vegas
Meanwhile, after a couple of attempts, Pin was finally able to get past Gademan, going down the Strip. She stayed there until the chequered flag was waived – the Safety Car having come out again for the incident between Chambers and Palmowski. Gademan came home in second place and consequently, PREMA wrapped up the Team’s Championship with one race to spare.
Palmowski came across the finish line in third. But the British driver was then disqualified after the race! Her car was found to have an incorrect Belleville stack configuration, breaching technical regulations. Aurelia Nobels thus inherited third place. This would be her first podium in F1 Academy in her penultimate race in the series – better late than never.
Best of the Rest
Rachel Robertson had an amazing F1 Academy debut, finishing in P4. Surely, she’ll have caught the attention of F1 Academy and F1 teams up and down the grid for a possible seat in 2026?
Lia Block won last time out in Singapore but would have to settle for P5 on this occasion. Wild Card Driver Payton Westcott stayed out of trouble to finish in an impressive P6. This was the best result achieved by a Wild Card driver since Nina Gademan back in Zandvoort in 2024.
Crone and Ferreira rounded out the top eight. This was only Crone’s second time finishing in the points this season. Having started in P9, Ferreira will have had mixed feelings about finishing in P8. The Brazilian was spun around early in the race by Ciconte. She then had to fight her way back through the field to get back up to P8. It’ll be a case of what if for the Racing Bulls backed driver. Ciconte was penalised for that incident and this was then compounded by the late safety car. She dropped from P5 to P10.
Las Vegas – Race II
The final race of the season was a much tamer affair. Controlling the race from the word go, Pole Sitter Chloe Chambers never looked to be in any real danger of losing the lead. The American driver would go on to dominate and win the final race of the year, almost five seconds ahead of teammate Alisha Palmowski. Campos would thus finish their year with 1 -2 result and clinched P2 in the Team Standings, just a single point ahead of MP Motorsport.
“I think after Zandvoort I didn’t really have a realistic chance at the title, so for me I had nothing to lose.” – Chloe Chambers
Maya Weug needed the impossible to happen for her to be in with a chance of stealing the title away from Doriane Pin. It was not to be for the Dutch driver. Despite finishing in third after a good battle with Pin, it was simply not enough. P2 overall would be where she ended the season, fifteen points shy of Pin.
Behind her, Alba Larsen put on another stellar performance while doing her best to stay out of the Championship battle happening around her. Stuck between Pin and Weug for the majority of the race, the Dane did a good job not to get too involved and came home in P4. P7 overall for the rookie makes her a Championship contender for 2026.
Final Points of the Year
Behind them, Ella Lloyd finished her impressive debut season in F1 Academy with a P6 result. She ends the year in P4 overall – the highest placed rookie of 2025. Gademan, Hausmann, Ferreira and Nobels collected the last points on the board to round out the top ten. It was also Nobels best weekend of the season.
Felbermayr again had clutch issues off the start and had to begin the race from the pits. She finished in P12. Lia Block finished in P11 after a battle with rookie teammate Courtney Crone who overtook her off track into the final turn of the circuit. Some fiery team radio between the two demonstrated how seriously the last race of the year was being taken.
Westcott and Ciconte had a coming together going into T5 and both crashed out as a result. While an unfortunate end of them both, it won’t be surprising if both return full time next season.
Pin Seals Title in Las Vegas
Having been in control of the Championship since Montreal, it wasn’t a big surprise to see Doriane Pin win the Championship. But for the French driver, it was a dream realized nonetheless. She also holds the impressive record of scoring points in every single F1 Academy race that she’s contested.
“I’m very happy about my entire journey, and obviously my journey with F1 ACADEMY has been unforgettable. I’m very proud of all of this, and now we can celebrate it.” – Doriane Pin
She now joins Marta Garcia and Abbi Pulling in the elite club of F1 Academy Champions.
F1 Academy in Las Vegas
Hello Kitty may have provided a unique backdrop for the season finale in Las Vegas – but in the end, it wasn’t the main attraction. That was down to the combination of wet weather racing and a Championship battle that went down to the wire. Doriane Pin has made an impressive statement and her future in single seater racing looks bright. She is now also one of seven full time drivers in the series who won’t be returning in 2026. With so many seats to fill with so many potentially unknown drivers, it’s an exciting time to be an F1 Academy fan.
In 2026, the likes of Larsen, Palmowski, Lloyd and Gademan will be returning for the sophomore seasons. Each one of them has impressed massively this year. Will it be one of them that’s crowned F1 Academy Champion next year? Or will a rookie take that honour for the first time in history? We’ll have to wait and see.
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F1 Academy returns in 2026.
Feature Image: Mercedes Media Centre