The 2025 F1 Academy season has reached a decisive stage. Four rounds are complete, and the field has already delivered a spectacle of resilience, speed, and determination. Each contender has carved out their own story, from dominant performances to hard-fought recoveries. With only three rounds and six races left, the championship fight has grown tighter and more unpredictable. Four drivers stand out at the forefront: Doriane Pin, Chloe Chambers, Maya Weug, and Ella Lloyd. Each has faced challenges, yet each continues to push with unrelenting focus.
Doriane Pin – PREMA Racing backed by Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
Written by: Ana-Maria Androndic
After missing out on the F1 Academy crown in 2024, Doriane Pin returned for her second season with a singular goal: the championship. Rather than being discouraged by last year’s setback, she came back stronger, drawing on lessons learned and the support of her partnerships with PREMA, Mercedes, and Iron Dames. That foundation has allowed her to refine her race craft, sharpen her consistency, and establish herself as the benchmark in 2025.
Setting the pace early
The season opener in Shanghai gave Pin the chance to immediately assert her intentions. In Race 1, she showcased her pace and composure. By Race 2, she was dominant — once she claimed the lead, she never looked back. Saudi Arabia then tested her resilience: a fourth place in Race 1 pushed her to regroup, and she bounced back to secure a podium in Race 2. Her adaptability and steady improvement signalled that she was building a title-worthy campaign.
Wet-weather masterclass in Miami
Miami provided one of the defining moments of Pin’s season. In treacherous wet conditions, she outclassed the field, storming to victory in an action-packed race. The win reinforced why she was a contender in 2024 and proved that her combination of raw speed and calm under pressure had reached a new level. With every round, she was solidifying her reputation as the driver to beat.
Retaking control in Canada
Arriving in Montreal trailing Maya Weug in the standings, Pin knew she needed to strike back. With three races on the schedule, she kept her approach clean and calculated. Her consistency paid off as she secured another victory and reclaimed the championship lead. By capitalising on the chaos around her, she showed her ability to pair aggression with intelligence — a key balance in a title fight.
The consistency advantage
What sets Pin apart is not only her race-winning ability but also her remarkable consistency. She is the only driver on the grid to have scored points in every single race this season. Even on weekends where victory slipped away, she limited the damage and banked valuable points. With 109 already to her name and three wins under her belt, Pin’s blend of speed, resilience, and consistency puts her on course to finally claim the championship title that narrowly escaped her last year.
Chloe Chambers – Campos Racing backed by Red Bull Ford
Written by: Chloe Meehan
Chloe Chambers sits second in the F1 Academy standings, only 20 points behind leader Doriane Pin. With 35 points available each weekend, the American remains firmly in the title hunt. Returning for her second season with Campos Racing, she now carries the support of Red Bull Racing. That combination of team continuity and new backing has strengthened her performances and given her the tools to consistently challenge at the front.
A strong start
Chambers opened her 2025 campaign with intent. Two podiums in Shanghai immediately placed her among the championship contenders. She then followed with more silverware: a second place in Jeddah and a third in Miami. Weekend after weekend, she has demonstrated both race pace and sharp qualifying form. Out of four rounds, she has already secured three pole positions — a crucial advantage over Pin, who has yet to start from the front.
Victory in Montreal
Montreal hosted three races and tested every driver’s resilience. Although Chambers qualified on pole, the first two races did not unfold in her favour. Yet in Race 3, she converted her speed into her first win of the season. Despite multiple safety car interruptions, she stayed composed, defended her lead, and took the chequered flag. That breakthrough victory lifted her into second place in the championship and proved she could deliver under pressure when it mattered most.
Eyes on the final rounds
With Zandvoort, Singapore, and Las Vegas still to come, Chambers enters the final stretch as a genuine title challenger. These circuits demand precision, race craft, and the ability to manage tight street layouts — areas in which she has shown increasing strength. Grid position will prove decisive, and her qualifying record suggests she can maximise that advantage. If she continues her upward trajectory, Chambers has every chance of turning her pursuit of Pin into a championship-winning charge.
Maya Weug – MP Motorsport backed by Scuderia Ferrari HP F1 Team
Written by: Antonina Jaromin
Maya Weug has endured a mixed 2025 campaign, yet her pace, resilience, and home-track form keep her firmly in the title conversation. Racing for MP Motorsport and representing the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy — where she made history as the first female inductee — she opened her season with promise. In Shanghai, she claimed pole position and podium finishes, before converting her form into victory in Jeddah.
However, her momentum faltered in Miami. Qualifying only tenth left her on the defensive, and despite climbing to fourth, she fell narrowly short of the podium. Montreal then proved far more damaging. Technical problems plagued her throughout the weekend, beginning with a lowly 15th in qualifying. In Race 1, repeated issues forced her retirement, and in Races 2 and 3 she salvaged only ninth and sixth. Those results yielded a meagre eight points, dropping her from first to third in the standings — 17 points adrift of Chloe Chambers and 37 behind Doriane Pin.
Home track hope
Despite her Montreal struggles, Zandvoort testing suggested a revival. On home soil, she dominated proceedings. An early morning lap of 1:26.789 made her the only driver to dip under 1:37 across two days. Even with multiple red flags interrupting the afternoon sessions, she stayed composed and, in the final minutes, set a 1:37.389 to reclaim top spot, edging Ella Lloyd by just 0.093 seconds. Her ability to remain sharp and consistent confirmed that she feels both comfortable and confident at the Dutch circuit — a crucial advantage heading into the final stretch.
Familiar tracks, Fresh opportunities
The final three rounds offer fertile ground for a comeback. With two races each at Zandvoort, Singapore, and Las Vegas, six opportunities remain to close the gap. Weug’s history at these tracks bodes well: she claimed double podiums at both Zandvoort and Singapore in 2024. If she unleashes her trademark Dutch lion mentality, harnesses the support of the home crowd, and repeats her form under the Singapore lights, she could erase her current 37-point deficit.
Rising to the fight
Championships are never won in the first half of the season. Despite her Montreal setback, Weug has the pace, focus, and determination to mount a late-season surge. If her Zandvoort testing performance foreshadows her race weekend form, she remains a genuine contender for the 2025 F1 Academy crown.
Ella Lloyd – Rodin Motorsport backed by McLaren Racing
Written by: Shermaine Wong
The 2025 F1 Academy season marks Ella Lloyd’s first full campaign in the series, and the Briton has quickly established herself as a strong contender. Driving for Rodin Motorsport with McLaren’s backing, she has already achieved four podiums, including her maiden victory in Jeddah. Each weekend, she demonstrates raw speed and growing maturity, underlining her potential as one of the grid’s rising stars.
Early momentum in Shanghai and Jeddah
Lloyd began her season in Shanghai with consistent points finishes. After qualifying P11, she worked her way up to P6 in Race 1 and P7 in Race 2, showing her ability to recover from difficult starting positions. That momentum continued into Jeddah, where she delivered her breakthrough. Qualifying P7 set her up for the reverse grid in Race 1, placing her second on the grid. With a lightning start, she leapt into the lead and resisted constant pressure from Ferrari Driver Academy driver Maya Weug to secure her first F1 Academy win. Her composure under fire revealed both her race craft and mental strength.
Learning from setbacks
Her progress stalled briefly in Miami. A rare error at Turn 1 forced her retirement from Race 1, and she left the weekend empty-handed. However, Lloyd quickly proved she could learn from mistakes. At the very next round in Canada, she rebounded with her most consistent weekend to date. Across three races, she claimed three consecutive P2 finishes, collecting 44 points and becoming the second-highest scorer of the event. That performance re-established her as a serious contender and highlighted her resilience.
Championship prospects
After four rounds, Lloyd sits fourth in the standings, 42 points behind leader Doriane Pin. With six races remaining across three weekends, the gap is challenging but not insurmountable. Her ability to combine speed with steady points scoring could see her climb further up the table. If she sustains her podium form, she may yet insert herself into the title fight. Lloyd has already shown that setbacks do not define her — and the final stretch of the season will test just how far her determination can carry her.
A decisive final phase of the 2025 F1 Academy Championship
As the F1 Academy enters its decisive final phase, the battle between Pin, Chambers, Weug, and Lloyd intensifies. Pin holds the advantage through consistency, Chambers challenges with speed and qualifying dominance, Weug lurks with proven late-season form, and Lloyd continues to surprise with relentless growth.
Three rounds remain: Zandvoort, Singapore, and Las Vegas. Each will test precision, race craft, and composure under pressure. The championship will not fall to a single moment of brilliance but to sustained excellence over six critical races. Whoever rises above the pressure will not only claim the crown but also cement their place as the defining force of the 2025 F1 Academy season.
Co-Author: Karishma Persad
