The fourth round of the F1 Academy 2025 Championship ended with Ella Lloyd, Rodin Motorsport driver, claiming three back-to-back P2 finishes. Backed by McLaren for her maiden season in F1 Academy, Lloyd showed great prowess during the Canadian GP. Moreover, she achieved her “hat trick” on the debut round of the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit on the F1 Academy calendar.
Furthermore, her streak of podiums helped her climb all the way up to fourth place in the championship standings. This marked a phenomenal moment in her racing career. Following up on a penalty from the Miami round, she showed off incredible skill during all three races.
Reflections on a possible missed victory
While Lloyd brought home the highest amount of points from the F1 Academy Canadian GP, she remained reticent over the possibility of joining the title fight. Nonetheless, the McLaren Academy driver was unsure of whether a win was in the cards for her during Race 2.
“It’s hard to tell. I think I was under quite a lot of pressure throughout the whole race. I was running P3 for quite a lot (of it) and then the Safety Car came out. I managed to get up to P2, but I think P2 was probably the most we could get.”
Despite her accomplishment, Lloyd wanted to focus more on gathering points race by race. She chooses to believe that switching her attention to the championship will just cause her to make more mistakes:
“I think the first two races have obviously given me a lot of points. I just want more points really for the next race, and not really looking at the Standings. If it (the title) comes to me, it comes to me. At the end of the day, it’s pointless chasing something, you’ll end up making mistakes.”
End concussions for the Canadian GP
Following up on her answer on Sunday after the final race, Lloyd referred to the third race as “the easiest one”. Yet, the Rodin Motorsport driver kept her opinion much the same. She made sure to highlight how her struggle to overtake Chloe Chambers saw her finish P2 again.
“I don’t really think about it, to be honest — it is what it is. I think all three have been pretty good, I moved up in every race. That one [Race 3] was probably the easiest one.
“I didn’t really have to do much, just get my head down and push forward. I couldn’t really overtake Chloe [Chambers]. I think I did have more pace than her, but struggled to overtake.”
Issues with the Safety Car restarts
Unfortunately for Lloyd, all three races of the Canadian GP were interrupted by the Safety Car. With Races 1 and 3 ending under Safety Car, Lloyd did not get many chances to challenge for P1. Nevertheless, she shared the struggles she faced with the Safety Car restarts, which might have caused her to miss out on that victory:
“I think because there were so many Safety Cars, we broke the race up a bit and then I didn’t really have the opportunity. Before the season started, the team brought a car to the track and we practised it.”
“This weekend, I’ve had plenty of practice. The last one was pretty good, stuck with it so I’ve just got to keep improving everything.“
“It’s always hard to gauge because if you’re in a chicane and the car in front is literally pointing out and powers out, it’s a lot easier for them. But if you’re in the middle of turning, the power is a lot harder. So, if you can catch them out like than they’re going to gap you.”
