Maya Weug’s 2025 F1 Academy campaign remains alive and well despite a difficult weekend in Montreal. that saw her drop from the championship lead to third in the standings. Racing for MP Motorsport and backed by the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy, the 21-year-old Dutch driver remains in the hunt as the season enters its final rounds.
During the 2024 F1 Academy season, Weug impressed many by quickly adapting in her rookie F1 Academy season, securing eight podiums and one win during Race 3 in Abu Dhabi. With that achievement, her strong inaugural season saw her secure a third place finish in the Drivers’ Standings. It is clear that her trajectory has been carried over into 2025, where in the opening rounds, Weug took pole in Shanghai and four podium finishes, including a win during Race 2 in Jeddah. This highlighted that Weug is capable of fighting for the 2025 title.
Montreal Struggles
Weug’s Montreal weekend was one to forget as she battled with technical issues throughout, ending Race 1 in retirement, Race 2 in ninth, and Race 3 in sixth. These results dropped her behind Doriane Pin and Chloe Chambers in the Drivers’ Standings. Weug knows there is little margin for error heading into the remaining three rounds in Zandvoort, Singapore, and Las Vegas. Despite the Montreal setback, the Dutch driver remains focused.
“Montreal was really tricky, nothing we could have done,” admits Weug. “We maximized it in Race 3, so now there’s a lot of catching up to do from our side.”
“We have to be perfect and push 120% to try and win the title. I think we are strong and we’re going to push for that.”
Championship focus
Despite falling 37 points behind the leader, Weug insists the title fight is far from over.
“There’s still a lot to play for. I’m 37 points behind now, but it doesn’t really matter. We’ll just push as hard as possible to try and win it.”
Her performance in wheel-to-wheel battles have been particularly strong this season, especially in the reverse-grid races where overtaking opportunities are more frequent. This can be seen in Shanghai Race 1, where she started eighth on the reverse grid and finished third, as well as in Jeddah Race 1, where she started sixth and finished second.
“Racecraft has been quite good from my point of view, especially in the reverse grid races,” she states. “It’s fun, I enjoy it a lot and it’s been going well in the races. From that side, it’s been good.”
She contrasts that, “In Quali, there are still some things here and there that we have to maximise. But still, the pace has been quite good all the way through the season, so we keep pushing.”
Zandvoort and beyond
With her home race in Zandvoort up next, Weug has a crucial opportunity to close the gap. A strong performance there could reignite her bid for the championship before the decisive rounds in Singapore and Las Vegas. Recording a 1:36.789 lap time at the Zandvoort in-season test, the only sub-1:37 of the two-day test, highlighted both her confidence and speed around the twisty track.
