Saturday started off in a whirlwind of misfortune for two thirds of the F1 Academy Rodin Motorsport crew. Rodin’s Kick Sauber backed driver, Emma Felbermayr ran a great race, until post race scrutineering found her car to be underweight. As a result, she was disqualified from Race 1.
Rodin Motorsport and Emma Felbermayr’s misfortune soon turned around, with Race 2 bringing the team a 1-2, with Felbermayr leading Lloyd to the chequered flag.
A last lap battle for her maiden win
Disappointment struck Felbermayr hard after receiving the news of her Race 1 disqualification. On track, the Austrian had landed herself her first podium finish. Her excitement soon depleted when news broke.
“I was obviously really disappointed because it was my first podium of the season,”
She continued on to reflect on the last lap battle that led to her maiden win. With a late Safety Car brought out, there was a single lap of racing remaining, when it peeled back into pit lane at the completion of lap 16 of 17.
With Gademan leading the restart, Felbermayr was not able to stick to her tail, although she quickly closed the gap. The Austrian looked for the perfect spot to make her move, which came in turn 8, ultimately snatching the lead from Gademan.
The relief was overwhelming for Felbermayr after many attempts to chase down a win. The previous few rounds have proven tough for the 18-year-old, after multiple pointless weekends, and near DNFs.
“It was just an amazing feeling to finally get the job done after having so many attempts before, but now I have the win. It was an eventful last lap, but I got it done into Turn 8, so I’m super happy about that.”
“Honestly, it was super exciting to finally get the win done. Earlier in the season, it was tough not scoring points in the last two rounds and almost a DNF in Round 1. I’m super excited to bounce back like this and here in Montreal. I just want to work and keep building on that momentum.
“[Sunday] we are starting from P6, so we definitely have to overtake some people. I hope for another podium finish!”
The challenges of tackling Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve
With this weekend being F1 Academy’s first visit to Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, drivers and teams entered the weekend with little data and practice. Alongside these already present challenges, the circuit proved to lack grip, making cornering tougher.
Many drivers found themselves struggling with oversteer also, not just within this series, but also across Formula 1. These challenges meant we saw many Safety cars across the board.
Prior to the Race 2 Safety Car seen in the final laps of racing, Felbermayr found herself closing the lap between herself and Gademan. Without the Safety Car, Felbermayr feels she could have gotten past Gademan sooner.
“The track definitely doesn’t have a lot of grip so it’s pretty hard to get the corners right,”
“We’re definitely moving around a lot, especially in the entry of the corners.
“Before the Safety Car, I was closing the gap to Nina and I had a big gap behind. So, it was really unfortunate that the Safety Car got deployed. It was only one lap left of the race, so I knew I had to do it. I had the opportunity and I took it.”
A battle remained with her teammate
In the finals laps of racing, especially after the Safety Car ended, Gademan wasn’t Felbermayr’s only rival. The Austrian’s teammate Ella Lloyd was fighting for P1 also. When Felbermayr made her way around Gademan, Lloyd did too.
In the final chicane, Felbermayr ran across the exit sausage kerbing, sparking debate on whether she would be penalised for not following the entire escape road. Lloyd sitting close behind her was instantly on the radio to their team, questioning whether this win would be hers.
Unfortunately for Lloyd, but fortunately for Felbermayr, the stewards decided that a lap time deletion was suffice, as this wasn’t her final warning. This saw Felbermayr retaining her win, and redeeming herself from DSQ.
“The gap to Ella, especially on the straight was super close,”
“And I just thought ‘I can’t brake too early because otherwise she’s braking into me. I went with too much speed into the corner and hit the kerb. My head was shaking a lot, but in the end, it was okay.
“It’s just another car. I know Ella doesn’t give me anything in racing and so am I. We are both here to race and to win. But of course, we are looking maybe at teamwork because the Teams’ Standings are also important.”
