As we approach the season finale of the 2025 F1 Academy season in Las Vegas, so comes the end of Alba Larsen’s rookie season in the all-female campaign. The Danish driver is looking to end the season on a high with a possible maiden podium position during the season finale weekend. This newfound confidence comes after a strong weekend finish for Larsen in Singapore for the 2025 F1 Academy Singapore GP weekend.
This was the 16-year-old’s first time racing at the demanding Marina Bay Street Circuit, a track notoriously challenging due to the extreme heat and humidity, as well as the mental and physical drain of racing along the circuit. Despite this, Larsen’s best performance of the weekend was her top-five finish during Race 2 of the 2025 F1 Academy Singapore GP. Earning her sixth top-five placement of the season. A result, she managed to achieve after expertly dealing with the ever-changing weather conditions at the track and perfectly executing her Safety Car restart and rounding off a challenging weekend on a high.
A challenging start to the weekend
Larsen didn’t adapt to the track right away at the start of the weekend; she, like many other drivers, struggled with managing tyre temperature and tyre wear. This resulted in Larsen struggling to extract pace from the car throughout Free Practice and Qualifying. She was hence unable to qualify higher than ninth place on the grid with a timing of 2:04.804, 1.351s slower than pole sitter Maya Weug.
Race 1 of the 2025 F1 Academy Singapore GP weekend was an eventful race for Larsen as a collision with the weekend’s wild car, Lisa Billard, had race control rewarding the Danish driver with a 10s penalty that dropped her down the placements, ending the race in P14.
Turning the weekend around
Larsen’s performance in Race 2 of the 2025 F1 Academy Singapore GP weekend showed significant improvement as she gained four positions to cross the finish line in P5. Marking the Danish driver’s ninth points finish of the 2025 season. The most by any driver who has yet to score a podium thus far in the 2025 season.
The Tommy Hilfiger driver was excited and pleased with her results, especially considering it was her debut at the track and the difficult weekend.
“I’m very happy with the result. Finishing P5 in such a difficult race is an amazing result, especially on top of a pretty difficult weekend for me.”
“It started off pretty difficult and the race yesterday was pretty difficult, so finishing P5 is great. I feel like I had good pace, especially in the rain.”
She recounts fighting Emma Felbermayr for P4 during the final few laps of the race; however, she missed out on the position. Despite narrowly missing out on a higher position, Larsen takes it as encouragement for the next round of racing in Las Vegas. She is now fueled with newfound confidence that a podium finish is possible before the 2025 season ends.
“We only got one lap after the Safety Car and I was pushing Emma (Felbermayr) really hard trying to get that P4. I think with one or two laps more I definitely would have been there. I think I could have got that podium, so taking that away from the weekend is really nice and taking that into Las Vegas will be really cool.”
Heading to Las Vegas
The next time we see the F1 Academy girls on track will be Las Vegas Street Circuit in Nevada, Las Vegas for the 2025 F1 Academy season finale. This will be the all-female series’ first time racing under the glitz and glamour of “Sin City”. The 2025 F1 Academy Las Vegas GP will create an even playing field for the drivers and teams, with no prior experience at the track in F1 Academy or any other racing series.
The Las Vegas Street Circuit comes with its own set of challenging conditions. Low grip from cold desert temperatures, high speeds on the long straights, demanding precise braking into tight corners and the lack of run-off area due to it being a street circuit are just some of the primary challenges of the circuit. These factors make finding optimal tyre temperature and grip difficult for the drivers.
Even playing fields and increased chances of a podium
However, Larsen believes that these challenging conditions and uncertainty from both teams and drivers will increase her chances of a strong finish to her rookie F1 Academy season. Stating that the rookies on the grid will now have an equal opportunity to score, as every driver on the grid will have to take time to adapt to the circuit.
“It’s going to be difficult for all of us but at least we’re even,”
“Half the grid has been to Singapore before so it was especially difficult for me as a rookie being here. I think Vegas is going to be a better opportunity for the rookies – especially for me, I think it’s going to be a good opportunity to be on an even footing with everyone else.”
This in turn will increase Larsen’s chances of obtaining her maiden podium finish before her rookie season in F1 Academy ends. A goal the Dane is determined to reach.
“I’m hoping to achieve a podium – that would be really cool. Finishing off the season on a high would be amazing. We’ll see how it goes, but I’ll just learn as much as possible at a new track and see how much data we can gain.”
