The old saw in motorsports holds that “second place is the first loser.”
But that was not the case for Abbi Pulling in the first F1 Academy race at the Qatar Grand Prix. Pulling finished second behind Doriane Pin, but it was all she needed to clinch the F1 Academy Drivers’ Championship.
Pulling delivered a dominant performance this season, capturing seven race victories and finishing on the podium each of the first ten races of the F1 Academy campaign She has also swept the weekend twice, doing so in Miami back in May, and at the Singapore Grand Prix the last time the F1 Academy was in action.
Thanks to that incredible run of form Pulling arrived Qatar with a commanding lead in the F1 Academy standings, with 245 points on the season. That gave her a 95-point lead over Pin, who drives for Mercedes, when the weekend began.
Meaning that to clinch a title Pulling just needed to finish second behind Pin, or third behind a victorious Pin while capturing the bonus point for the fastest lap.
Pulling qualified third for the first F1 Academy race at the Qatar Grand Prix, marking the first time all season the Alpine driver was not at least on the front row. That put her behind Pin, who qualified in pole position for both races at the Qatar Grand Prix, as well as Maya Weug.
Off the start, Pulling was aggressive off the line, getting a good launch and settling into second behind Pin, and ahead of Weug who seemed to be struggling for pace through the opening six turns on Lap 1. Pin began to pull away from Pulling, building a gap of over a second ahead of Pulling by Lap 2.
But Pulling was similarly pulling away from Weug, and given what she needed to clinch the Drivers’ title, she was likely content to settle into second and watch the laps tick down. While she was more than two seconds behind Pin by the halfway point, she was also more than four seconds ahead of Weug, putting her within striking distance of locking down the title.
With five laps remaining Pulling remained in second, over three seconds behind Pin but still with a sizeable lead over Weug. On Lap 12 the team advised her that she had a four-second gap ahead of Weug, and that she just needed to “bring it home” to the checkered flag.
Moments later the yellow flag came out for Bianca Bustamante, as the McLaren driver spun off the racing line and into the gravel. She was able to rejoin the fight at the back of the grid, and racing resumed.
“Two more laps, just keep it off the kerbs,” came the warning from the Alpine pit wall to Pulling on the penultimate lap.
Finally, Pin took the checkered flag with Pulling more than five seconds behind her, but having done enough to take second, and the Drivers’ title. The celebrations began down in Alpine’s garage, and those celebrations will likely go into the night.
Even with a race tomorrow.
With that title, Pulling also secures a fully-funded GB3 seat with Rodin Motorsport for the 2025 season.
