F1 Academy returns this week after a 1.5-month break following the 2025 Canadian GP. Round 5 takes place this weekend at Zandvoort, leaving just three rounds for the drivers to make their mark on the 2025 season. Following the three races in Canada, the championship battle is tighter than ever, and Zandvoort offers plenty of opportunities for drivers to score crucial points. Check out the top storylines for the 2025 F1 Academy Dutch GP below.
The Championship Battle
Currently, Prema Racing’s Doriane Pin leads the Championship on 109 points, with 3 race wins so far this season. Her closest current threat, Red Bull Ford’s Chloe Chambers, sits behind in P2 with 89 points. After her dominant Race 3 win in Canada, Chambers is closer than ever in her championship fight.
After a challenging last two rounds, Maya Weug sits third in the championship with 72 points, having previously led the standings before Canada. She showed strong pace at Zandvoort during testing in July, setting the fastest overall time and being the only driver to break the 1:37s barrier on Day 2. This was a welcome boost following technical issues in Canada, which caused her to lose her championship lead.
In terms of Team’s Standings, Prema Racing had a 90-point haul in Canada, which saw them reclaim their lead for the first time this season. They are 27 points ahead of Campos Racing on 178 points.
Circuit Preview
F1 Academy has featured in Zandvoort previously, in both the 2023 and 2024 campaigns. In 2024, Abbi Pulling claimed the Race 1 victory, with Pin taking Race 2. With all drivers having tested at this track in July, they will be familiar with the track, unless wet weather makes an appearance.
Circuit Zandvoort features 4.259kms of fast, flowing sections and technical, high-load corners. There is 14 corners across the circuit, and it is known for its undulating terrain and steep banked corners, such as the Hugenholtzbocht and Luyendykbocht. There are also limited opportunities for overtaking, with its narrow nature in track surface, so Qualifying on Saturday, as well as tyre strategy will be key to earning maximum points in the F1 Academy Dutch GP.
The Dutch GP also contains 2 Free Practices sessions, compared to the usual 1 session format, giving the drivers more time to practice if variable weather was to occur.
TeamViewer’s Wild Card Esmee Kosterman
Kosterman is TeamViewer’s Wild Card entry for Round 5 of the season in Zandvoort. The 20-year old Dutch driver will make an appearance in a special edition livery that highlights innovators and changemakers driving progress, both on and off the track. Her previous record includes racing in the Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup Benelux in 2021 when she stepped up to car racing. She then won this series 2 years later, and was also the first woman to do so, before finishing in second in the Junior Cup that year.
Kosterman has also driven in the Dutch Supercar Challenge, BMW M2 Cup and the Lamera Cup. She scored points in her Indian F4 debut last year, and has made appearances in British F4 at Silverstone, Snetterton and Zandvoort.
She will also carry the number 86 on her livery, a nod to TeamViewer’s Women in Sport tech report, which found that 86% of women believe visible female leaders are key to achieving gender equality in the workplace. The design will also feature the names of more than 200 women who serve as role models across a range of industries.
Schedule for the 2025 F1 Academy Dutch GP
Free Practice 1 gets underway on Friday at 10:10 local time, giving drivers 40 minutes on track. They’ll have another 40 minutes in Free Practice 2 later that day at 17:30. Qualifying follows on Saturday at 10:25, with Race 1 taking place that afternoon at 17:05. The weekend wraps up with Race 2 on Sunday at 10:40.
