F1 Academy | Dutch GP | FP1 | Palmowski tops the leaderboard before a red flag ending to the Free Practice - Motorsport

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After a two-month break from racing, the F1 Academy drivers are back on track, starting off the Dutch GP weekend with a free practice session. With Zandvoort being one of the most technically demanding circuits on the calendar, precision is key. Therefore, the grid will have to make the most of all the track time in preparation for Qualifying.

Coming into this weekend, Nina Gademan will welcome her first home GP, alongside Maya Weug. After joining the F1 Academy line-up as last year’s Dutch Wild Card, Gademan’s performance earned her a permanent spot. Taking her place as a WCD in 2025, Esmee Kosterman is making her F1 Academy debut at the Dutch GP, starting with Free Practice 1. Backed up by Hitech TGR and TeamViewer, the 20-year-old will surely attempt to execute a stellar GP weekend.

Round 5 begins

The sun was out in the Netherlands, although possible weather changes are expected throughout the weekend. The fifth round of the F1 Academy season began as expected, and the first Free Practice session of this Friday got underway.

As the 18 drivers got ready to get out on the track and figure out their set-ups for this Dutch GP, pressure was on for the leaderboard leaders. With only 3 more rounds to go, Doriane Pin sits comfortably in P1. However, Chloe Chambers and Maya Weug, the latter benefiting from a home turf advantage, remain close to the French driver. Therefore, Pin cannot afford to make any sort of mistake, as the two drivers in P2 and P3 are waiting to steal the lead.

The lights turned green, and the drivers took off on the Zandvoort circuit. Championship leader Doriane Pin made sure to take her Prema car out on track as soon as possible.

A couple of minutes in, and the dust made its presence known fast. This issue is not new, yet it will prove to be quite a challenging problem to avoid.

30 minutes left of the session

Balance will be key this Dutch GP weekend for the F1 Academy drivers. As most of the grid joined the track to learn as much as possible, Esmee Kosterman did a couple of laps, getting accustomed to her Hitech TGR machinery.

The front of the grid has already set a benchmark, with Rodin Motorsport’s Emma Felbermayr leading after the first 15 minutes with 1:43:090. Meanwhile, the track conditions negatively impacted Ella Lloyd as she attempted a flying lap. The McLaren-backed driver had some traffic, which put a damper on her time.

The bad luck did not end there for Lloyd, as a big slide and some lockups showed just how much dust can affect a driver. Kosterman’s effort since the beginning of the session proved to be rewarded as she took P1 with a 1:40:316.

Last 20 minutes of FP

Another big slide for Ella Lloyd as she tried her hand at yet another flying lap. Due to the harsh conditions, a lot of the title contenders decided to avoid going out on track. The F1 Academy grid lacked quite a few familiar faces during this Free Practice session.

Proving just how damaging the dust is to the cars, the Dutch Wild Card, Esmee Kosterman, lost the rear of her car, and she had a tough spin. Thankfully, she managed to avoid a collision as she regained control of her Hitech TGR.

Into the first corner of Zandvoort, Aurelia Nobels had another moment where she just slid as she took the corner. Nicole Havrda triggered the yellow flags in Sector 3 when she lost the car in Turn 11. Lloyd almost got caught in the front wing of Havrda’s Hitech car, but she managed to avoid it just in time.

In the meantime, Alisha Palmowski started a battle for the lead. Yet, her time was beaten quite fast by Chloe Chambers. The American’s in turn, took to P2 as Chloe Chong set a 1:39:065, claiming pole.

Making the most of tough session conditions

Palmowski kept up the exchange of times up front, and she returned to P1 after dropping another second. Pin started a fast lap, which did not get her up that high on the board. Even the F1 Academy championship leader experienced some drifting around during the Dutch GP Free Practice as the dust made her slide through the corners.

As the time dropped under the 10-minute mark, Joanne Ciconte ended her session early as she missed the exit of turn 8. Hitting the barriers, she triggered a yellow flag. The Australian could not get her car back out, turning the yellow into an overall red flag.

With only 6 minutes left, all 18 drivers returned to the paddock. However, due to this being only a Free Practice session, the F1 Academy grid does not benefit from the clock stopping. Unfortunately, this turn of events put a damper on any more track time for the drivers.

Premature end to session

Confirmed by the Stewards, the F1 Academy Free Practice session would not resume. The decision was definitely disappointing for the drivers. Nonetheless, Alisha Palmowski retained her position in the lead with a final time of 1:38:196. Coming up behind her with quite a small gap was Maya Weug with a +0.005. Finally, rounding out the top 3, Chloe Chambers put up a good fight, +0.243.

As a final notice from the Stewards, an incident involving Nicole Havrda was flagged and will be decided after the end of the session.