After a devastating race weekend back in Round 4 in Canada, Maya Weug bounced back at the F1 Academy Dutch GP, where she walked away with pole position, a podium and a race win with the fastest lap at her home Grand Prix.
“I’m super happy for the team, for everyone. I think they could relax a bit today on the pitwall — yesterday was a bit more stressful for them and for myself as well. We’ve shown that the pace is there, like we showed at the beginning of the season.”
Weug’s 2025 F1 Academy Dutch GP weekend
After Round 2 in Jeddah, Weug led the Championship standings ahead of current leader Doriane Pin. However, her campaign faltered with a disappointing Qualifying in Miami that left her starting P10, and she walked away with little to show for her efforts. Canada compounded her struggles, widening her deficit in the title fight.
Heading into the Dutch GP weekend, Weug faced a daunting 37-point gap to Pin, but the Dutch round brought a resurgence. By the end of the weekend, she had cut that margin to just 20 points, reigniting her championship challenge.
Qualifying set the tone for her revival. In a nail-biting session, she edged Alisha Palmowski to pole by just 0.039s. Though that put her P8 for the reverse-grid Race 1, Weug charged through the field to secure a podium, her first since her win in Jeddah.
Race 2 was the true highlight. Holding off an early attack from Ella Lloyd, Weug quickly pulled away, controlling the race with confidence and pace. She crossed the line more than seven seconds clear of Palmowski, delivering one of her strongest victories of the season and putting the pressure back on Pin.
“It’s difficult to stay focused when you have such a big gap so I just had to relax but not relax too much because in the end, we’re driving around Zandvoort. I think I did quite well with the help of the engineer, of course, over the radio. It was just about trying to stay focused even though I had to manage the tyres a bit in case of a Safety Car.”
The Championship battle growing closer
After Canada, the 20-point difference behind Pin seems achievable for Weug, hauling in 35 points from the F1 Academy Dutch GP weekend. Pin was promoted to P2 in Race 2 following Lloyd’s five second penalty for a false start, but there are still plenty of points and opportunities to close the gap over the last two rounds of the season.
“I think we just have to keep going, keep pushing and focus on ourselves because that’s all we can focus on,” she said. “Try to maximise our places and our points because we cannot influence what the others do.”
“That’s what we’ve got to do now, looking ahead to Singapore and Las Vegas. I’m honestly super excited and looking forward to the next two rounds because now we’re getting closer and I think we still have a good chance to do it.”
Huge bounce back after Canada
Weug has now leapfrogged Chloe Chambers in the standings, after the American endured a difficult weekend at the Dutch GP. Chambers, representing Red Bull Ford, suffered heartbreak before Race 2 even began, when her car failed to start on the formation lap due to a mechanical issue.
While it was a stroke of misfortune for Chambers, it turned out to be exactly the opportunity Weug needed to bounce back after Montreal. With consistent results across the weekend, the Dutch driver capitalised fully, pushing herself ahead in the fight for second in the championship.
“Yeah, definitely. I think Montreal was probably the worst race weekend of my life, and for the team as well. This was a huge bounce back for the team and for me.”
“I think the team is just stronger than ever together — we are pushing so hard, everyone wants to win the title and that’s what we’re going to keep pushing for. This weekend showed that if anyone can bounce back with 37 points and three rounds to go, then it’s us. I think we can still do it.”
