The F1 Academy Dutch GP showed that Maya Weug is still a strong contender for the Championship title, according to MP Motorsports’ Wouter Blokhuis. The team manager believes that MP and Weug both have a chance at recovering lost ground if they can recreate their successful run at Zandvoort. With only two rounds until the end of the 2025 season, Blokhuis sees MP’s clear path into that P1 position.
After Maya Weug’s Race 2 victory, her home Grand Prix became even more special. This result, alongside her podium from Race 1, put her closer to Doriane Pin in the F1 Academy standings. Separated by only 20 points, the Dutch driver has a real chance at beating her rival and winning the title.
The Dutch GP experience
Coming back from an unfortunate weekend in Montreal, MP Motorsport was ready to leave those mistakes and issues behind. While Zandvoort is not an easy track to race at, Maya Weug proved the opposite. Her Race 1 overtakes had her climb up from P8 all the way to P3 and a podium.
Wouter Blokhuis had a lot of praise for their MP driver, with Weug’s incredible driving all throughout the F1 Academy Dutch GP weekend:
“This [Dutch GP] weekend, Maya [Weug] did everything she needed to do. She started Saturday from P8 with the reverse grid and managed to get on the podium. That was the target a little bit.”
In reference to Weug’s Sunday results, Blokhuis recognised the benefit of a P1 result as the F1 Academy title battle is in full swing.
“Today [Dutch GP, Sunday] she had a good start and was leading the race to the finish, so she maximised the points. A little bit of luck for Doriane [Pin] that Ella [Lloyd] got the penalty, so that was not to our benefit,” explained the MP Motorsport team manager, highlighting Pin’s promotion to the podium after Lloyd received a 5-second penalty. “We’ve closed the gap now to 20 points.”
Keeping up the momentum
As far as the rest of the season is concerned, Wouter Blokhuis wishes for the rest of the F1 Academy rounds to go just as well for Weug. With this being her second year in the series, the Dutch driver already has some track preferences.
Setting his sights on the final round, the MP Motorsport team manager hopes Weug can keep up the good results.
“We’re looking forward and having full confidence for Singapore. That’s a track she really likes. And if we can do the same in Singapore, then it will be game on in Las Vegas.”
The Singapore GP will take place on 03-05 October 2025, marking the sixth and penultimate round of the F1 Academy 2025 season. With Weug’s confidence, Blokhuis is sure that the Ferrari-backed driver can regain her lead over the F1 Academy championship.
The Canadian GP disappointments
Unfortunately for the entire MP Motorsport team, the Canadian GP ended up being discouraging. Blokhuis went over the events of that F1 Academy weekend, pointing out Weug’s disheartening results as she could not get a hold of her car.
Furthermore, the technical issues with the MP #64 car ruined any shot she had at securing a better advantage over Pin.
“For the team and for Maya, it was an extremely disappointing weekend,” the team manager admitted. “Everybody was completely flabbergasted with what happened. Yeah. It was fully out of our control, that made it even a bit worse. But I have the feeling it only made us stronger.”
Nevertheless, Blokhuis managed to find some positives from that disastrous weekend. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, he believes Weug found a way to harness that:
“We were in the position where we didn’t have anything to lose, so you can take a little bit more risk and maximise everything. And that’s exactly what happened. So, I have the feeling it only made her stronger.”
Preparing for the Singapore GP
With a month left until the Singapore GP weekend, MP Motorsport will want to take advantage of the prep time. After such a good race week in Zandvoort, the team manager expects the next rounds to be more challenging. Moreover, the pressure for both MP and Weug to keep up the momentum from the Dutch GP has Blokhuis worried.
In terms of the other two MP Motorsport drivers, Alba Larsen and Joanne Ciconte, their rookie seasons are quite different. As Larsen managed to grab a total of 48 points, Ciconte had a rougher time, with only 4 points. Despite the difficult weekends ahead, Blokhuis looks forward to Singapore.
“It’s going to be a difficult weekend. If it will be the toughest, I don’t know, because I have the feeling Las Vegas will be a bit more complicated. We need to do good preparation on the sim for Singapore.
“It will be difficult weekend for Joanne and Alba. With Alba, she showed that she can be quite quick on pace. And for Joanne, let’s see how it goes. It will not be easy for them, but let’s see. For Maya, she knows the track, and she was quick there last year. So from that point of view, we go with full confidence to Singapore.”
