Original subtitles

Heat. Heat.

[Music]

[Music]

After competing in China and Saudi

Arabia, F1 Academy is all set for

qualifying in the United States. Welcome

to the third round of the series where

the talented young female racers compete

in junior single seaters to establish

their careers in motorsport. And once

again it is on a challenging circuit.

There are 19 turns to deal with some

fast sweeping corners but also some

tricky tight and narrow sections as well

where you need to be close to the wall

but try not to hit it. Last year, the

fastest race lap was

159322, but the fastest qualifying lap

was a

158.507, which was set by my co-

commentator today and the reigning F1

Academy champion, Abby Pulling. Now,

Abby, you've just been showing me as

well the weather forecast for today

slightly different to the way it was

yesterday. Yeah, I'm nervous looking

outside the commentary box. It's looking

really overcast, a bit a bit sad in the

air. It's It's not like the Miami heat

that we had uh yesterday, but it's uh

it's going to be a challenge for the

drivers. I mean, the the track temps a

lot lower. It's going to be different.

It actually rained overnight, so that's

an additional thing that they've got to

deal with. Going to be a lot of dirt on

the track that's been brought on. So,

the track evolution throughout the

session is going to be massive. Abby,

it's great to have you with us this

weekend as you are the reigning champion

of F1 Academy. And uh well, let's just

see how this qualifying goes. They've

had those two practice sessions which

you were studying yesterday. Dorian Pan

who we saw just a moment ago, she was

fastest in the first practice session.

Maya Ver was fastest in the second and

those two are really battling for the

title at the moment. Mayberg is now

leading the championship, but it is a

close battle as expected in this early

stages of the season. And the cars now

all heading out onto the track. So,

track conditions obviously, even though

the weather at the moment is looking a

little bit questionable, nice and dry,

maybe not as warm as sometimes, but

they've still got to warm these tires up

to get the best out of them, haven't

they? Yeah. Track track temp is 15°

lower than it was uh yesterday in FP2.

So, a little bit more work for the

drivers, but but the ambient is so hot

here that it it does end up helping. 27

degree air temp. So, there isn't too

much they've got to do. Like, for

example, the braking, you can overheat

the brakes quite quite easily. Uh so

it's more that that lateral load. You

see them weaving down this down this

second straight on on the track. We're

looking at a weather map there and you

can see there is rain around whether

it's going to affect this session or

not. So it is really important now the

track is dry. You need to get out there

and do it quick, don't you? Yeah. I mean

if it if if there is a chance of rain,

it's definitely a case of you're not

going to go quicker on the wet tires.

That's for sure. So it may be that uh a

different different strategy for some of

the teams. I' I've seen actually some of

the the teams have have scrubbed in a

set of tires. Some some of the the cars

don't have the the white stickers on on

the tires. That means they've gone out

on a scrubbed set um that they've

they've done an outlap on yesterday. So

maybe strategic they've they want to put

the new set on earlier in the more newer

let's say set on earlier in the session.

So straight away push straight away.

It's going to get the rain. We are going

to get it in a few minutes. So full

push. Well, there we are. They are being

told to get on with it. And actually,

they're all out together. So, yeah, try

not to get all tangled up. There is

Dorian Pan. And she's just going past

Ava Dobson. Ava Dobson is the wild card

entry by the way. American uh the fourth

American now in the series for this

particular event. She's just doing the

one-off event and we'll see how she gets

on. Khloe Chambers, number 14 you're

looking at at the moment in the Red Bull

livery. And Khloe can be very rapid as

we know. She was on pole position last

time in Saudi Arabia, ended up finishing

second despite crossing the line first

with some penalty. But Khloe Chambers,

one to watch here, Abby. Yeah, and she's

got prime of place as well obviously on

the pit lane. They're they're further

forward as they're the first in in the

queue and she's got clear track ahead of

her. That's going to help so much,

especially as we see a few spots of rain

on on that camera. I think it's it's

looking like it's really really

important to get your lap in early and

and putting it together. And it it seems

that it it's going to be it's going to

be decided potentially in in this first

10 minutes if if the rain does come.

Yeah, look at that. Even more drops of

rain on the next camera. So, as you say,

it's absolutely crucial to get these

first laps absolutely as quickly as you

can because if the track's going to get

wet and slippery, there's no way you're

going to be able to improve. You're

riding on board with Chloe Chambers

right now as we're heading up into that

tighter section of the track now, turns

11, 12, and then it all gets quite

complicated here. Just talk us through

this, Abby. This sector is the slow

speed sector 2. It's all all mainly in

second gear. Uh this this uh collection

of corners, but you can see she's

struggling for grip. It's not as

comfortable as she's as the onboards

have been in this sector. And and it

looks like there's a bit of under steer

when she's pushing the minimum. And then

the rear comes out around around turn

11. we saw as uh they're all towing each

other along down this back straight

helping each other out as Nina Gademan

is uh saying it's raining a lot so this

is where potentially the track position

for Khloe is going to come in really

handy she's crossing the line first the

tracks the most dry for her absolutely

right yeah Paloski behind her had set

the fastest second sector somebody else

has now gone slightly quicker with that

and actually I think it's Leah Block

who's done a good second sector but

let's have a look as how these times are

looking as they come across the line.

This could be crucial as you say um

still just over 2 minutes rather than in

the 159s or 158s which they were doing

yesterday. And if it does get wetter,

it's going to be even harder. Leah Block

as I mentioned with that fastest middle

sector, she goes third fastest. So Khloe

Chambers has set the initial pace. Let's

have a look though. Dorian Pan has

popped up to third and still quite a few

more to set that initial time. This is

really a crucial time, isn't it? This

could be a really really good thing for

Leah actually in front of the home

crowd. She obviously has a really big

pass in rally driving. So So if she uh

has the the less grip, she she may be

feeling the most comfortable she she's

felt all weekend. And uh you know, the

the the home crowd she's obviously going

to want to do well in and it's not not

easy to to be able to to jump in in such

a high pressure situation here with the

rain coming down. It it's it's going to

be tough for as we see a lot of traffic

as well for for Dorian. Track

positioning seems really vital. Yeah,

that does make life tricky. I mean,

okay, if you get a tow, then fantastic,

but it's going to slow you down through

the corners. You really don't want to be

in a a group of cars. On the other hand,

when if there's rain coming down, you

cannot afford to slow down and wait for

a a quick lap. And so, Dorian Pans

having to work really hard at this. This

is unusual qualifying. It looks like

racing, doesn't it? Because in

qualifying you wouldn't normally get

into a situation like this, but she's

got to, hasn't she? This is hampering

more than helping for sure, but you can

see how slippy it is on board as as as a

cars off. I think that Yeah, Ava Dobson

or potentially even Leah, but it might

be Skittles here as they all all miss

the braking at Leah. Um, yeah, yellow

flags. That means also the drivers can't

improve in this sector, but it doesn't

look like they're even going to cuz cuz

it's so wet out there. Yeah, and

actually the second sectors are all

slower now. So the first sector, there

were a few people who improved on that

first sector, but now second sector is

definitely slippery and that means that

that lineup that we've got already that

could well be it now. I think it's going

to be incredibly difficult to improve on

that. I I don't think they will. I mean,

the the the strategy now is okay, you've

got to stay out and keep tire because if

they box now, there's going to be

they're going to drop tire temp. They've

got to wait for to try and get the track

to dry and come back to them maybe at

the end of this this 20 minutes. And uh

yeah, it's going to be tough. Yeah, but

look at where Maya Ver is down in 10th

place. The championship leader. She did

not. There she is. Look, number 64, the

Ferrari backed car. She is down in 10th.

Now remember, the top eight will take a

reverse grid for the first race. But if

you're down in 10th, well, that's it.

You'll be 10th on the grid for both

races. And look how wet it's getting out

there now. Yeah, on on ice. This it

looks like an ice rink as we see see a

replay of Alicia Palmowski here going

into turn 11. The biggest one of the

biggest breaking zones on the track here

getting a bit out of shape. I'm going to

imagine everyone follow the leader off

the onto the runoff. Not not ideal

situation here. No, I mean she's done a

good job. She's second fastest remember

and they were both a shy chambers so it

was offer so it was the top two. Uh they

were the first out on track and that was

an advantage as you mentioned I think

getting out first on from the grid that

was the spin for Leah Block so she got

caught by the damp conditions but Leah

is fifth fastest and that does look the

way it's going to be that was Dorian Pan

coming through that group of cars

thankfully everybody did just manage to

avoid her that was a little bit close

with Emma Felber but it all sorted

itself out and no one else made damage

there so that's good and of course FP1

and FP2 it was dry it D. This is the

first time that the drivers are on this

track in in these conditions. So, it'll

be interesting to see whether they

actually put the wets on and they decide

I might actually uh give it a go on the

wets. Not to improve on lap time, but

just to learn. The races could

potentially be wet. So, so they need to

to get as much information as possible.

Then there's the argument again about

the tire temp. But I to be honest, I

don't think with how heavy it's coming

down outside this com box, it's it's

going to be really anything they can do

about it. I tell you what though, with

Mayaver 10th fastest and very unlikely

to be able to improve on that, we've got

to have two mega races possibly because

Maya Ver Abby is going to have to work

so hard in both races having only set

the 10th fastest time. She's the

championship leader, but she's going to

have to do a lot of overtaking this

weekend. Yeah, I mean, speaking to Maya

and knowing her from last year, she does

love uh overtaking in a racecraft.

However, not when you're leading a

championship. She did say to me

yesterday it's it's the most comfortable

she's ever felt as she's at the top of

the times and and at the top of the um

championship or the series, sorry. She

she she's the one to beat, but she's

really really found herself in a in a

bad situation here. Not even reaping the

benefit of the reverse good race. If it

ends like this, she she's going to be

starting 10th in both races, and it will

be a lot of work to do for her. main

rival of course only seven points behind

her in the championship at the moment.

Dorian Tan is third fastest in this at

this stage which is actually a that's a

good place to be. Um maybe not on the

front row for the second race but it

means she's slightly further ahead for

race one. Less points for the reverse

grid uh race when you do that but

nonetheless I think Dorian Pan will be

relieved in a way that she set a good

early pace and Lloyd doing an excellent

job. Fourth fastest as well. Aurelia

Nobel has done a good job in sixth

place. And Raphaela Pereira, that's

impressive. Seventh fastest because she

was a little bit further down the list

in free practice. She was 12th in

practice one and she was 15th practice

2. Yeah. Raphaela with Campos Racing.

She was one of the the first three out

in track. So maybe that's helped her get

a bit more confidence in in the better

conditions. But I just want to point out

how close it is in that top four. 700s

between the between the four of them. It

just shows how how important that lap

was to to get the lap in. And it's from

from Khloe Chambers to Alicia Pin and

then Ella Lloyd. So all of them really

really making the most of that that

first one push lap. Yeah, absolutely.

They are putting wets on as you can see

as you you mentioned. We might see that.

A little bit else going on with Alicia

Palmki's car. They haven't put the Oh,

they are now beginning to take the

slicks off and put the wets on. So let's

just see if they do decide to go out. Of

course, part of this will be thinking,

well, if there's rain over the weekend

and we're racing in the rain, we really

need to get a feel for the car. Exactly.

Getting as much data as possible. I

mean, they they will want to try and

home the car for the setup, but also for

the drivers to to get into it.

There is still chance that we have a

more sleek laps at the end of the

session.

Well, that's interesting to hear. So, we

still got just under 20 minutes to go.

It would have to be stopping raining

very much now, I would think, for it to

dry off enough, but let's wait and see.

I mean, the the rain has stopped here

where where I am in the coms box. I'm

I'm situated at the start of the pit

lane. So, it there's nothing here. So,

the teams will see that there's no no

rain in the pit lane. However, it's

looking like there's a lot of spray out

there as we go go outboard shots of of

Leah Block going into turn four. Yeah,

Leah Block, one of the Americans racing,

of course, this weekend. She's had a

really tough time in qualifying until

now, but right now she's fifth fastest.

She started at the back of all four

races that we've had so far. Um the

first event she got taken out in the

early part of qualifying and so she

didn't get to set a lap and then she

went off herself in Saudi and didn't get

to set a lap there either. So this time

thankfully where she's in the USA home

turf and she has done a great job, fifth

fastest. But this is interesting, Abby,

to have a look now on the wet tires to

see how the cars react in these

conditions. I'm really excited actually

to go on board here with Aelia Noles and

and see what the tracks like in the

rain. I'm almost a bit envious to be

honest. It looks like a really exciting

track as we see that the sun is is

coming out a little bit, but it doesn't

look like it will be enough to to dry. I

mean, maybe maybe we'll see, but it it's

going to be a really big challenge as

there's a really high speed sector one.

uh rubber's been laid down from the

Formula 1 and and all the support races

that have been out this weekend. So,

it's going to be really slippy online

and it's going to be a challenge for the

for the drivers to to adapt and figure

out where the best possible place is to

put their car. Absolutely right. Yes,

it's that's what you can learn from all

of this. How many wet races did you do

last year in F1 Academy? Were there any?

Great question. Uh no wet races but

there was a moment at Zanvort where we

were sat on the grid and the heavens

opened and the race actually got got

cancel it got postponed even um to the

next morning. Qualifying at Zamb also

wet. Um the these cars in the wet are

you've got to you've it requires a bit

of finesse. Um the the tires are quite

soft to be honest. So there is a lot of

grip available. Uh but around a street

circuit like this maybe maybe less so

than than uh a more um normal circuit

like like Zambour. Yeah. No, I can

understand that. And that means that on

a track like Zanvour, if it's drying,

you've got to perhaps run it onto the

wet to try and keep those tires cooled

down a little bit. That's not really

something they need to worry about right

now. Right now it's just finding where

the grip is, isn't it? And driving in

the wet on any racetrack, it's always

about trying to identify where are the

drier patches. They can be in strange

places, can't they? Yeah. No, it there

can be uh little bumps in the road and

it can create standing water and you go

through a puddle and the the rear will

step out. Of course, these these cars

don't like going through uh moes that go

across the track sometimes. Uh but it

it's making sure you're you're looking

at them and it's actually really

important if there is any standing water

for these drivers to be checking out

because if it is starting to dry at the

end of the session, they'll want to be

cooling down these wet tires, but then

when it gets to slicks, you want to be

avoiding them. Absolutely right on board

with Aurelia Nobel's here and she's done

a good job so far going sixth fastest

first sector 6 seconds down on the

fastest first sector in the dry earlier

on 6 seconds not a not a huge surprise

when you can see the amount of water the

amount of rain I think it's unlikely

that we're going to see quick laps by

the end look just look at the amount of

water that's out there it does seem

sector 2 has particularly been really

affected by this rain there is a

significant amount of spray that I don't

think is going to to go as we see

Aurelia fighting the car into turn 11

and then getting it back to the left off

the river. So going very wide here

middle of the track as she uh sets up

turn 13 14 and 15. This chicane is

really tight. These curbs are very

slippy over the paint and uh yeah doing

a really good job to to try try

different things. Try and get the the

accelerator down, get some get find

where the traction is. Yeah, 12 seconds.

Not not going to see an improvement uh

on on overall pace for sure. No, but

we'll maybe get an idea just be

interesting to see who is going to be

quick in the wet at this point. Um and

we'll see because just in case we get

rain either later today or on Sunday. Um

we'll get a little bit of an idea who's

going well in the wet conditions. But

just under 15 minutes to go. It does

look as though the qualifying setup is

done. It's always fascinating driving on

board in these wet conditions like this

with these uh Formula 4 cars as as they

are effectively these Tatus cars and as

you were saying the wet tires they work

well. They're reasonably soft so they're

giving them a reasonable amount of grip.

2 minutes 15 seconds. Yeah. So we are

looking at 15 seconds basically off the

pace in the dry. That's no great

surprise. Oh and uh Leah's just gone a

little bit wide once again. Yeah. Doing

some sightseeing. It looks really wet

off off on that that painted uh section

of of the track, but yeah, it seems like

it's it's it's going to be I think a lot

of fun out there for the drivers to be

honest. As you said, it's for the races

making sure they're set up and

understand where they need to be for

whatever reason. If it is wet as we go

on board with Maya who yeah, she she'll

be wanting to move forward. So getting

as much data as possible and if the race

is wet, knowing where she can go offline

to make them overtakes is just is

fighting the car around turn three here.

All flat out in the dry, maybe

potentially a little lift in the wet.

Yeah. And of course she's one of those

drivers into her second year. That's one

of the the rules of F1 Academy is you're

only allowed to compete in F1 Academy

for two years. Last year she developed

her talent very very clearly uh taking a

win at the end of the season and she's

been very much on the case now

championship leader as we mentioned she

finished third and second in the first

two races of the year and then second

and first last time out in Saudi Arabia

excuse me um but she is leading the

championship but down in 10th place is

where she's going to have to work hard

but she looks pretty confident in these

conditions doesn't she in the way Yeah,

I mean her her last lap out was at a 2

minutes 20 and I've seen some some of

her drivers on a a 2-minute 14. So that

was Leah Block actually. So Leah looks

the fastest in these conditions at the

moment, but Maya Maya on her first

proper push. I imagine the last lap was

probably probably a prep lap why why the

gap was so big. But we'll see um going

through sector 2 now how she'll fare

against against the other drivers. Yeah,

it's going to be fascinating to see.

You've got to be so careful through

these chicanees, trying not to run it

too much. That was a lovely little bit

of four-wheel drift out onto the exit as

she comes down the long main straight

here. Uh 12 seconds down. So, as you

say, I think this is potentially going

to be up there with the 2-minut 14 that

we have seen so far as fastest. I think

this could be a little quicker, but are

we actually going to see this track

drying up? I think that's more difficult

this section into the final section that

we are in now. Definitely a little bit

drier than section two. As you said,

sector two of this track is definitely

the wetest part of it. Yeah, it's going

to be a little bit of managing the tires

actually. They'll start overheating at

this point in in sector sector 3 where

it is drier and even sector one where

we're going into now as we we finish the

lap. The spray not very much here.

Whereas in sector 2 it is is very

significant as Mayavoo does 2 minutes

16.4. So still a little bit of time to

find compared to to the lap that Leah

was able to put in. But a lot of drivers

actually coming into the box and sitting

out as well. Leah after going off in the

box. Um but here we see Tina Houseman.

She's she's decided to stay out wants to

learn a little bit more as we go up to

to the final corner. Yeah, Tina Houseman

with the backing from Aston Martin

running with the Premer team. And Tina

Houseman has a good time last time out

in Saudi. It was all a bit tricky for

her in China. There were penalties in

both races, but she finished sixth in

both races last time out, she is now

seventh in the points. So, she's doing a

good job. And having set her pace

earlier on, she was ninth fastest. So,

she has just missed out on that top

eight reverse. Uh, unfortunately, if

she'd been eighth, of course, then there

would have been pole position for race

one, but it hasn't quite worked out. But

she still is someone to keep an eye on.

She has great abilities. Let's see what

happened to Aurelia Nobels a moment ago.

This is in the pit lane. Oh, that was a

little bit tight, wasn't it, Abby? Yeah,

not um not pulling into to the grid box

as uh as maybe she would have liked, had

to luckily it wasn't too big. It was

just a little little out, but maybe

wasn't expected. Yeah, Ava Astiadis, who

just went a little bit deep. There she

is, but no damage done in the end to

either car, so that was fine. And uh

yeah, Anaki is uh down at the bottom.

She didn't really get a a quick lap in

on the dry tires and of course those

going out later were in a real group of

cars. It was very difficult to get a

clear lap in as we saw. But there is

Leong having done that great job in the

drive fifth fastest and then showing

great pace as you said in the wet doing

a 2-minute 14 which nobody else has

quite matched although actually Houseman

has done a 2-minute 12. Yeah, I was

going to say. Yeah. So Nina Gademan

actually did a a two-minute 13 dead and

then which is 0 and then uh Tina

Houseman managed to wipe up and do do a

0.9. So them two seem to be a step

quicker than than everyone else so far

in in these wet conditions. But it is

drying up a little bit, isn't it? So if

you're still out there, there is a

chance perhaps to uh go even faster.

We're on board with Dorian Pan, major

championship contender, second in the

points at the moment, having led after

the first round. Second now to

Mayerberg, but in a much better position

for the start of the races, having been

third fastest so far in this session,

which we still think is very unlikely to

change. Even though the track is drying

out slowly, it's very hard for it to get

to a full dry session once again with

the clock ticking away. Under 10 minutes

to go and Maya Ver is back into the pit.

She It will be challenging this and

mentally a tough one, but it was just a

tough situation to go out in that whole

group of cars, wasn't it? Yeah, it's not

ideal. It's it's the the position you

are in the pit lane. it can help you

sometimes or hinder you and and I think

definitely uh Maya been been done over a

little bit. It it's nothing that she

could do within her control. So that

would be the big thing that she needs to

think about as we see the frustration

there on the replay hitting the wheel.

But again, like I say, need to not be

hard on herself. There wasn't much she

could have done. She was in a gaggle of

cars that was unavoidable. If she had

gone out and waited and and let the cars

go uh to get clear air, it would have

been wet. So she would have been in the

same situation, not been able to get a

lap time in. 20-year-old from the

Netherlands who has that backing from

Ferrari and running with MP Motorsport.

So no chance of going back out with

slicks on uh Lloyd being told. Uh so

they had put the slicks on, but now

they've decided that's no point at all

because of the time clicking away. And

it I do understand that it really

doesn't look likely that you're going to

be able to get back out on slicks and

there's no point in risking it is it

really Abby because you know if you hit

the wall at this point in the session

where really you can't improve anyway

then then it's just no point. No, the

last thing you want to do is having to

to rebuild a car after qualifying going

into a race. You got no time to to do a

lap to make sure everything's running

okay. But it was that's quite an

ambitious call to to put the slicks back

on the car. I worked with Zimba, Eloid's

engineer last year, so I admire the the

the um gamble there, but yeah, I think

it probably the right decision to to not

go out again, but we'll see. It looking

quite dry on this pit straight now, but

around the back I think is just too

still too wet. Absolutely right. Yeah.

No, very very interesting. And uh well,

at this stage, Aurelia Nobel's still out

on track. She is sixth in that lineup

which is excellent for her and there's

every chance therefore that she could be

scoring some points which he hasn't

managed to do so far this uh season and

for the art team which she runs with. Um

that would be good news if they can get

some points for them too. I spoke to

Aelia yesterday actually and she she was

up there I think in in FP2. She was P5,

one of the the best positions she's been

in uh all all season. So, she was hoping

to to continue the form forward and was

really happy. She she had a bit of bad

luck last year here at Miami and she

wanted a bit of redemption. So, yeah,

it's nice to see her in uh in the in the

top uh 10 of the the sessions so far and

and trying to to learn as much as

possible on these on these wet tires.

Yeah, absolutely. Well, we shall see how

it all goes, but still learning about

the track is is important. No doubt

about it. Don't forget though, it is

Khloe Chambers who has set the outright

pace and it really doesn't look Oh,

little bit of a lock up, but actually

dealt with that well. A really No bells.

Yeah, that was fine. It's not surprising

that you're going to lock up. Change of

brake balance presumably in the in the

wet conditions. You've had to have done

that before. Well, you can always adjust

it when you're out there, but you would

have done it coming out. And she's using

the curbs a bit too much. I I don't

think that was um meant to happen. And I

think just uh a little mistake there in

these conditions, but as you say, yes,

the brake bias um as as soon as it would

have rained, they would have gone back

on on the bias at least. That's that's

what I I would have done even even on

the slick tires. You you'd need to to to

be ready for for anything in the in the

braking zone, less grip. You've got to

got to really manage that on on the on

the bias. And when they boxed for wet

tires, they would have then gone back.

Okay. That you run around 60% in the

dry. Now they'll be running about 50 55.

Sorry. Okay. Yeah. No, good point. Um,

another one to mention, Ava Dobson, the

um, wild card entry. She's done a a

pretty good job in being 15th fastest

because uh, the wild cards drivers have

generally been down at the back of the

grid in the races we've seen so far. But

she does have three place penalty in

both races. So, it does actually sadly

put her back down. There she is. There's

a Dobson, but she does have a three

place penalty. So, um, but she's done a

reasonable job there, hasn't she, in

qualifying. Yeah, for for a wild card,

it's not not ideal having the to carry

the the penalty forward and in in the

races as this is her her one event of of

the year, but hopefully we see her more

in the future. Um but it was a silly

little mistake that that you've got to

pay pay quite a lot for. But she's doing

a great job uh here and yeah managed to

to improve on on her positions from from

where she was in in practice. And as we

see Aurelia again, she's loving these

conditions. It looks like

definitely. Yeah, really making the most

of it and looking as though she's got

good control even though this was just a

little bit too much over the curb. Uh

just grounding the car a little bit.

Thankfully, it didn't knock it off too

wide. Turn into a skateboard on a

halfpipe there. Absolutely. Meanwhile,

Leah Block's been looking pretty

impressive in these conditions, too,

hasn't she? Yeah, Leah, as I said, a

background in rallies. So, with the wet

conditions, I'm sure she'll be in her

element and actually Oh, actually, uh,

yeah, finding the limit, going over it

there at turn 14 and cutting the

chicane. Um, bailing out quite early,

bit earlier than what we saw Aurelia do

where she um, yeah, went over the curbs.

But actually, uh, Leah in, uh, in

Zanvort, I remember, um, seeing her up

there there with us in, uh, in the wet

conditions. So, I'm sure she'll be

loving it out there right now. I'm

excited to to talk to her after the

session. I hope we'll be wet in race

one. Yeah, me too.

Nina Gman happy with the pace she has

done in this wet session. Um, and

certainly she didn't manage to get a

good lap, particularly in the dry, down

in 13th place. So, she's actually hoping

it will be wet so she can make up a bit

more time. But interesting, some some

drivers opting to not go out at all on

the wet. So, I don't I don't believe

Chloe Chambers or or Alicia have have

really done too much. Uh, a lot of them

sitting in in the pit lane. Yeah, that's

right. Let's just see what Alberta Lson

ran wide over the curb and dealt with it

fine. Didn't didn't spin the car. That

was sensible, wasn't it? because

sometimes some people overreact if they

run wide. Yeah, it is really easy to to

overreact to any input. Even even in the

dry, you can you can overreact to to the

over steer that you're feeling. So, it's

a really really mature decision from

Alberta to to bail out and just go go

straight on there. It's a very high

speed section of the track, one of the

fastest corners. So, uh good good

decision making. You're watching

Courtney Cron at the moment, number

seven with the Hass backing, another of

the ART team. And she hasn't qualified

quite as well as she would have liked,

but 11th is not bad actually uh because

she's had a few ups and downs already

this season. That actually will be the

best qualifying she's done so far. She's

been 14th on the grid uh at all previous

four races. So, so that will be an

improvement. But there is Khloe Chambers

who is fastest overall. She's done a

very good job. She raced here last year.

She finished third in the first race. So

she got a podium having qualified

seventh. Finished fourth in the other

one. She also raced in the W series here

in 2022. So that experience, but also I

think as you were mentioning, Abby,

getting out first onto the lap, that was

probably even more important than her

experience here.

Track positioning was was so important

in that. Of course, she's she's got done

a lot of laps here and and raced in in

championships previously in in this

track and and she's got a lot of

knowledge uh behind the the home crowd,

but the the clear track, I think, really

really paid in in her favor, which uh

this is Gabriella, the the team manager,

as we see, looks maybe not as happy as

I'd expected to. We'll see a smile maybe

once the checkered flag goes out, but

yeah, the the the Campos team there

having a a really great result so far.

Yeah, and you're back on board with

Alicia Tamoski here who is second

fastest part of that same team and uh

with the Red Bull Racing backup as well.

They were very close as you mentioned. I

mean the top three were so close, but

these two uh were just 018 apart from

each other. So there is Chloe Chambers.

That's how close they were. That's not

going to change now, but it means

they're going to be on the front row

together, which is going to be

fascinating. And let's not forget Alicia

Palmoski won the first race of the year.

Um, yes, it was the the top eight

reverse grid and also there was

certainly a problem for Mina Gateman,

but she deserved a great result. She got

the win and she's going to be starting

up on the front row. Could be another

chance for her, couldn't it?

Potentially. I mean, I know Alicia,

she's a British racing driver and I've

I've come across her a few times before

even F1 Academy and she's uh really

really a great talent of of the future.

and so keen and enthusiastic as we see

the the session ending. So definitely

definitely wasn't uh possible for for

the slicks to go on uh for for this, but

hopefully um in race one, we'll see if

if it will dry out. I imagine it will if

there's no more rain to to come. Yeah, I

would imagine so too. Yeah, that was a

2-minute 12 by Amoski as well. Um so

that's the sort of pace that we've seen

in the damp conditions, but it was the

times all been set very briefly in the

dry. Albert Lararsson having another

little moment. Did she stay off the wall

or not? Oh, we saw actually an FP1 or or

two brushing the wall. So there that's

as close as you really want to get.

Can't fit a a coin between that. Um but

yeah, that's uh probably one of the

tightest parts of the track there. Turn

turn 16. It's it's really tough and

especially in these conditions. Okay,

Glo. So that's it. P1 P1. Not the way we

wanted, but uh yeah, you did a good job

uh pushing from the beginning and

overtaking Alicia. So yeah, anyways,

good job.

Well, that was an exciting session.

Oh well, a win is a win. Whatever.

Very, very good indeed. And in fact, of

course, it means that she has now had

pole positions back to back because she

was on pole position last time. Dorian

Pan though, who is of course well up in

the championship. I mean uh all three of

them are. Chambers is is not far behind

Dorian Pan. The gap is five points

between those two. Maya Ver is the

championship leader but is not in that

top group. Of course, as we mentioned,

Mayberg down in 10th place. So, we could

well see a change in who's leading the

championship after the two races this

weekend. It's going to be fascinating to

see. But what we do know is Khloe

Chambers and Alicia Palmovski are going

to be on that front row together with

Dorian Pan right behind and Ella Lloyd.

And Abby, you've been working with Ella

a lot. I think she'll be pretty happy

with being up on that second row, won't

she? Definitely. And the the gap is so

tight. She maybe will be coming back in

thinking, "Oh, I should have, you know,

should have done this a little bit more

or done that." But a really great result

for for Ella. Obviously getting her her

first win out in in the Jeda in the

reverse good race. So hopefully maybe

getting some silverware in uh in the

main race as well. Absolutely.

Yeah. So solid uh result for the team.

One, two. Amazing. That's great. Well

done. Um

yeah, it is good news for the team.

There's no doubt about it. And that is

her best qualifying so far this year. I

mean, she's been strong, as you said,

all the way through this season after

that great effect, great performances in

GB4 in the UK last year. She's uh

qualified well. Um she's been fifth,

fourth, and now she's gone second. So,

she's been moving up every time she's

been out qualifying. But yeah, getting

the timing right, following Khloe

Chambers, I think, as well, was quite

helpful, wasn't it? Definitely. and for

for championships that consistency that

she she has is is really important and

it will help her in the long run to be

able to score good points in every race.

So, this is yeah going up and and

chasing Chloe down. It almost sounds

like uh that on on the team radio from

Khloe that her engineer was very happy

that she overtook Alicia and took that

track positioning um to to make sure she

had that clear track. So, maybe if if

Alicia had kept in front, maybe it would

have helped, but a great result

nonetheless for her. Yeah, very very

good. And who knows how it's going to go

in the race when they both start

together on the front row with those

times so close, but they will have

Dorian Pan behind who is experienced and

very rapid and looking to try and sneak

ahead in the championship. And we'll

have Maya Berg down in 10th place

leading the points at the moment, but

she we could see the frustration from

her and uh she's going to have to work

hard to try and move up the order. Alba

Larsson a bit further down than we might

have expected. Nina Gaba down in 13th,

but so many of them had an issue on that

opening couple of laps in the dry where

they were in traffic and it was so

difficult to put a quick lap together

when they actually had the pace. But

that's the way uh that it lines up the

grid and we're going to be looking

forward to later on. Of course, the top

eight will be reversed on the grid for

the first race, but then it will be in

that order for the second race. And

there's still a bit of cloud out there.

Who knows, Abby, what's going to happen

to this weather? No, I'm excited. I

can't wait to see what's what's going to

happen for for race one. And uh yeah,

the girls now have got a bit of

experience in the range, so they're

ready for whatever comes. They are. And

it could make it all very, very

interesting to see who's going to be

able to take command and who's going to

be coming through from further down the

grid. I I think we will be watching not

just up front to see who's leading the

race, but who's going to be fighting

their way through to try and gain some

points. Let's have a look at the

qualifying result then. Pole position

has gone to Khloe Chambers for the

second race in a row this or second

meeting in a row. Alicia Paloski

excellent in second place with Dorian

Pan up there in third currently second

in the championship. Ella Lloyd fourth

and then Leah Block very much her best

effort in qualifying so far this year up

into fifth. Aurelia Nobel's in sixth

place ahead of Raphaela Ferrer, Emma

Felba, Tina Houseman in ninth place.

Remember the top eight will reverse for

race one, but ninth and 10th. Tina

Houseman and Maya Ver that's where they

will start for both races. Courtney Cone

in 11th place held of Alba Larsson. Nina

Gman 13th, Khloe Chong 14th, A Dobson

15th, but with penalty so she will be

knocked down ahead of Nicole Havda, Joan

Shikante and Ava Anakagnosti.

So there we are seeing the ones that

will be out later on. There's a bit more

rain falling now. Who knows what's going

to be happening here. Thank you Abby for

joining us and we will be looking

forward to getting into the race a

little bit later on. I do hope you can

join us for that. We could be in for

some fascinating battles going on. But

it's Chloe Chambers who went

fast. Heat.

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Heat. Heat. Heat.

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