F1 Feeder Focus: British motorsport is Pulling forward

Abbi Pulling, Rodin, Alpine, F1 Academy, Miami, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Feeder Focus: British motorsport is Pulling forward

A new star in the making

Jim Kimberley

Tuesday 7 May 2024 16:57

British race fans didn't only see the Union Jack flag flying high in Formula 1 over the Miami Grand Prix weekend.

Two further Floridian wins had God Save the King ringing out around the Miami Gardens' Hard Rock Stadium in a British bonanza.

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F1 Academy's Abbi Pulling was another Brit celebrating on the podium after the 21-year-old Alpine-backed driver was peerless all weekend.

It's been a long wait for F1 Academy to return for its second round, but the all-female series put on a spectacle over all three of its Miami days.

It was a big weekend for F1 Academy in Miami

Pulling away with the championship

There's nowhere else to start but Pulling's performances when reflecting on F1 Academy's first trip to Miami.

The girl from Gosberton is one of the favourites to fight for the championship this year after her frustrating 2023 season.

Mercedes' Doriane Pin led one lap too many in Round 1 at Saudi Arabia, continuing at full speed around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and picking up a 20-second penalty.

It's too early to know if that mistake is a pivotal moment in the F1 Academy's sophomore season, but Pulling inherited that Saudi win from Pin and hasn't had anything but a P1 since.

While less than a second covered her 14 'full-season' competitors in qualifying (each round has a local guest driver), Pulling's best lap was almost six-tenths clear of P2.

Even more impressive, her second-quickest time, used to set the grid for Race 2, was still better than anything her competitors could manage by a three-tenth margin.

The only mistakes Pulling made all weekend were her lockups into Turn 1 as she defended the lead from both pole-sitting starts, but neither error was like the dramatic Sergio Perez opening turn chaos in the F1 feature race.

With a 34-point lead over Pin, it's looking like Pulling's championship to lose.

Bustamante and Chambers shine in Miami

While Pulling was the Miami star and Pin reached the podium in both races, the high expectations on both slightly dilute those achievements; it'd be more surprising if they weren't in the top three positions.

Not so for the other visitors to the Miami rostrum, as McLaren-backed Bianca Bustamante and Haas's Chloe Chambers took their first trophies of 2024.

Both drivers joined W Series' trip to Florida in support of the inaugural Miami GP in 2022, potentially enjoying a slight advantage over newcomers, but that doesn't take anything away from their achievements.

Bustamante started both races from the top two rows, but a stall in Race 1 means the final classification masked the speed she had.

Dropping to the back, the Filipino racer set the Fastest Lap and fought forward to P9 and the points in just 13 laps before her faultless Race 2 drive secured her P2 on Sunday.

With Bustamante also stalling in Saudi's first race, she must ensure this weekend is her final start-line stutter as the season progresses to avoid any more lost points.

Chambers, meanwhile, provided two of the best overtakes over the Miami weekend, and I include F1's grand prix in that.

The American executed a duo of double passes in a DRS run down to Turn 11 as her bravery and car placement advanced her up the order from a P7 start.

A P3 trophy was the reward for her efforts, but it's notable that her Race 2 progress netted a second P4 finish of the season.

The American teenager looks a far more potent threat than she was in her maiden W Series campaign in 2022.

Progress and problems for F1 Academy

Although F1 Academy bringing in American Express as its latest sponsor shows Suzie Wolff's series is attracting high-level backing, I have to address the elephant in the Hard Rock Stadium.

The two-month gap between the opening round and this Miami weekend nullifies any momentum for the championship.

It's a sensational advert to have F1 Academy supporting the Miami GP, and I've no doubt thousands of fans loved the wheel-to-wheel racing on show.

Yet it's seven weeks before the 15 drivers return to the track in Barcelona, then two months before Round 4 in Zandvoort.

Some Floridian fans will be interested in seeing more, but those curiosity levels will be near non-existent by mid-June.

If Formula 1 wants to accelerate the prospects of its 2024 F1 Academy grid, I don't think this stop-start approach is the best option, and I hope another solution comes in for next year.

However, it makes more sense if these 15 drivers are merely there to inspire young girls in the grandstands to follow in their footsteps.

Pulling and Pin have shown, though, that there is talent in the class of 2024, and it's a shame both have to fill their weekends up with British F4 and Formula Regional to keep their development growing.

Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix