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F1 Academy is all set for the first race of 2025 following qualifying.

And there was action from the beginning. Ella Lloyd was pushing on and lost it,

but all was OK. But that wasn't the case for Leah Block, who was contacted by

Rafaela Ferreira. And that has led to a new shanty being built.

Joanne Cicconte had a nasty little moment, but in the end she qualified

But the fastest, Maya Verg, setting the outright pace, supported by Ferrari.

Second fastest, Dorian Pan, supported by Mercedes.

So we are looking forward to the first round of the 2025 F1 Academy season

taking place on the Shanghai International Circuit as a support race

Formula One Heineken Chinese Grand Prix. My name is Ben Edwards enjoying my

first F1 Academy coverage joined by experienced racer Alice Powell. And

looking forward to 18 junior female single -seater racers competing over a

-lap event around this 3 .4 -mile track with some challenging sections. but

there are some definite overtaking spots around this track as well. Weather's

looking pretty good, isn't it, Alice, at the moment? We've got some pretty high

temperatures, so not having to worry about it being too slippery out there,

just a question of going for it.

Exactly, and we were treated to reverse grid races this year. We saw these when

the series first started back in 2023.

We didn't have them last year, and it's an Alpine.

It's on pole, knee -neck, Gateman.

She will be looking forward to heading down into Turn 1, hopefully for her in

first place. But she's got Emma Felbermayer, who a really good job for

young driver. Her first full season in car racing lines up alongside her. Yeah,

very, very impressive. And I'm also impressed that both 16 -year -olds, the

youngest drivers in this...

F1 Academy this year are both in the top eight. They've both made the top eight.

And Joanne Cicconte, who you're looking at there, is the youngest.

It's only two days difference between her and Alba Larson, who lines up sixth

the grid. But actually, because, as you say, it's a reverse top eight, Alba

Larson was third fastest in qualifying yesterday.

So impressive.

So let's take a look at the grid at the Batlia block after that incident. And

Shi Wei, who is the Chinese racer, doing this as the wildcard entry.

Rafaela Ferreira got... a three -place penalty for the incident in that

qualifying. Iva Anagnostiadis is alongside her. Then it's Courtney Crone

Aurelia Nobles, the Brazilian 18 -year -old. She's down there in 13th place,

starting 12th. Nicole Havrida and Ella Lloyd, who we saw having that little

moment in qualifying 11th. She's got good pace, though. Let's see how she

on. Chloe Chong back into F1 Academy after a year out. She's starting 10th.

Halsman in 9th, just missing out on being that top eight reverse. So now

looking at the reverse. First line -up, and Maia Verg, Dorian Pain, the two of

them who were fastest.

Alba Larsson, the youngster, doing such a great job. Chloe Chambers with Red

Bull support, starting fifth. Keep an eye on Chloe. She could go well. Alicia

Palmowski and Joanne Cicconte on the second row of the grid. And then, as we

up to the front row, it is Emma Felbermaier.

and Nina Gaideman, who are setting off from the start. Now, Nina was

disappointed with how her qualifying went, but she's on pole position, and

something we've seen plenty with that livery, of course, because the Alpine

livery was being driven by Abby Pulling, who won the championship last year. She

had plenty of poles, and now we've got another Alpine livery on that pole

position. Yeah, we were talking about it before. Obviously, I was down there on

the grid last year. It's going to be nice to watch an F1 Academy race and not

feeling stressed this year, Ben.

Really looking forward. And that driver there, Chloe Chambers, she was always a

big mover. If she slightly qualified out of position, you can guarantee Chloe

was always going forward. So we'll keep a good eye on her. But as you said,

Joanne Giaconte, for her first qualifying session and being one of the

drivers on the grid, did a fantastic job. She lines up in third, but the

will be building for these young female drivers on the world stage. The

grandstands are packed.

for this first F1 Academy race of the season.

So this being a sprint race, you don't get the maximum points. You get 10

for victory in this compared to 25 points for the main race win. The second

of the weekend will be done under the normal qualifying pattern. So we shall

how that goes.

Yeah, Car 25, a procedural infringement. So let's hope that... And of course,

remember, so many of these drivers are very, very early in their careers.

Mistakes are easy to... make and some of these things will come up as we go

along yeah i'm not entirely sure what that could be could be going out the pit

lane a little bit too late they get a certain period of time that they're

allowed to leave pit lane and we have got she waits slightly slow moving along

looks like she's stored possibly but she's managed to to get going which will

good for her but This is where it all starts, getting those tyres up to

temperature, slightly warmer temperatures than what we saw them in

and for free practice in that matter. But the track condition will be quite

different, Ben. We've had the Formula One out several times with their sprint

qualifying and sprint race as well. So they can't go through the pit lane like

Formula One, Formula Two.

They've got to try and suss out that grip as quickly as possible.

So let's get into the top three that are lining up on the grid. And we're going

to hear from all three of them, starting off with the third place starter,

Joanne Chikonti.

I'm definitely hoping to finish on the podium.

But you never know. I don't want to jinx anything, of course. But hopefully

there'll be a few overtakes and every gap there will be.

be there to take it.

I don't have a lot of racing experience, as everyone knows, I think, as I'm just

stepping up from karting. But I'm confident and also really happy to start

the front row from P2 and just staying calm and then we'll go the right way.

Basically, overall, quite a lot better in races than quali, especially

racecraft. I've grown a lot with high tech over the winter.

So I expect to have a good start, get away from the chaotic stuff behind me,

then just have a clean sweep, really.

so nina gademan who was talking there and she raced in the formula winter

over the winter that's what she was talking about working with heiter and uh

that she was actually very impressive in that so we will be watching her

starting from pole it's a good opportunity for her yeah all that

she's gained and learned over the winter as well as racing in british f4 last

year as well should we try to put that to good use and my what a lap that she

completed in qualifying yesterday.

She did such a good job. And you can actually go to F1 Academy's YouTube page

watch that on board.

And she was pushing the car to the limit. Dorian Pan will line up alongside

tomorrow. Now, it's tough for these girls. Especially those new to the

championship last year.

There was no reverse grid races.

And I think that could have a massive impact on how the championship

could play out in the end.

We're hearing that Ella Lloyd is going to have to start from the pit lane

because the tyres were under pressure, so required to start from pit lane. I do

feel for Ella Lloyd because qualifying didn't go quite to plan. She had shown

some great pace. She really attacked the corners and was fun to watch, but it

went a bit wrong in qualifying. Now there's another problem. So there you

see the McLaren back car.

Heading back into the pit, she has to start from the pit lane. So she will

basically start from the very back.

She'll be behind Leah Block, who didn't get to do any qualifying because of that

incident that took place with Rafaela Ferreira.

Ferreira with a three -place penalty starting down 16th place. Leah Block.

Very few laps done so far this weekend.

But the American 18 -year -old, she's into her second season starting at the

back. She's got a good chance. And Ella Lloyd, well, we'll see how she gets on.

She's had a good wildcard entry in F1 Academy before.

Yes, and for those wondering what does that mean, minimum tyre, the scrutineer

will check all the cars on the grid and they have to run to a minimum tyre

pressure. So clearly she was below that. But all cars are on grid, Ben.

Right, we're getting all set then for the first race of the 2025 season.

Everybody getting ready, watching for those red lines coming on.

Here we go in China.

F1 Academy's underway, and it's a good start from the pole sitter. Nina Gateman

gets away well ahead of Emma Felber -Meyer, but it looks... as though it's

to be a good one from Chloe James on the outside of the red ball colours, going

around the outside, and into third place already, and maybe even attacking for

second. Yeah, I said watch out for her, but Alicia Parmaski sneaks up the

inside. Is she going to make it stick? Emma Feldman -Meyer then has the inside

line. They're going to go toe -to -toe, wheel -to -wheel, all the way down this

main straight, but that's a bliss for Nina Gateman. She's looking in her

left and right, and she'll be thinking, this is fantastic, she's got a gap

already. So Feldman -Meyer has now just lost that second place, but as you say,

It's Palmoski who's come through. Alicia Palmoski, the 18 -year -old British

driver. She's got it to second. And now Felbermayer, who was second on the grid,

is definitely under pressure once again from Chloe Chambers.

The 20 -year -old from the United States who showed some great talent last year.

She's now in her second season, and you're riding on board with Chloe

as she now tries to find a way to get past Felbermayer. Yeah, you can just see

as she gets in the dirty air of Felbermayer in front. And here, Maya

going up the inside of the Tommy Hilfiger. Alba Larson, can she make it

Yes, she does, through turn 10. So she'll have a nice, clean run. I think

looks like Alba is now... Lost a place as well to Dorian Pan. We've got a

flag in sector two.

Yeah, we'll find out what that is in just a second. But as you say, Maya Ver

going well. She was the fastest in qualifying, remember, on a reverse grid.

That's Shi Wei, the Chinese girl, who unfortunately has had a bit of an off.

She's beached. Oh, and that's tricky because you just can't get going.

She, as you say, it's just beached on there.

She'll need help to get out of the way there. So we've got the yellow flag out.

Looks like that's turn seven.

Nina Gaynor is desperately trying to raise the tyre temperatures heading

but it's still racing going on. Chloe Chambers is going to have a little look

down the inside. Emma covers that off nicely. She's going to brave it round

outside. Chloe had a lock -up here yesterday in qualifying, but she gets

off wide.

She'll just about keep it, but I think we've got the safety car, Ben, for that

stranded she -way car.

Yeah, understandable.

So the safety car is out. Everybody has to back off, slow it all down and hold

position. So that was a really good getaway by Nina Gateman. That really

for her. But also by Alicia Palmosky, who's in second place. She started in

fourth and worked that first couple of corners extremely well. It did look at

one point as though Chloe Chambers was going to dive past that inside line.

worked extremely well. At the back, you can see Ella Lloyd who had to start from

the pit lane, but unfortunately, Shi Wei, I really feel for her because this

a wildcard entry. What F1 Academy does, it calls wildcard entries, are a single

entry for a race weekend for new talent, and this was her chance. She will have

another race, of course, but what a disappointing start. Let's have a look

that start again. I mean, a perfect start for Nina from pole position.

Giaconte, not so well, dropped back ever since. so slightly but chloe chambers

did a fantastic job coming from fifth place and i actually thought she was

to go all the way around the outside but it's so tight it's the radius really

tightens round turn one into turn two but alicia she set it up perfectly

it around the outside and was able then to have the inside line going down

through turn five into turn six so on board with chloe gets the perfect launch

you can see that maybe just released of the the clutch too quickly to for

Giaconte. And then it's decision time. Do we go left? Do we go right? Do we

brave it around the outside? And that is what Chloe Chambers decided to do. She

had a look, kept it brave. You can just see how it tightens, tightens, tightens,

and not just the grip out there on the outside for Chloe. I have to say,

well played by them because I've seen so many mistakes when people trying to

overtake in that section of this track in the past. And actually, they all

played very well with it and gave each other just enough space. But as you say,

Alicia Palmowski did extremely well. She got up into...

second place and managed to open up the gap. Chloe Chambers then went under

attack once again, trying to find a way through. But this was all allowing the

race leader, Nina Gateman, to make the break. Chloe Chambers really getting in

close with Emma Felbermayer. But they were just fighting out four positions.

cleanly done. Now, this is with Mayerberg, the fastest qualifier. Had to

eight. Let's have a look at how it went.

Yeah, and she had a look around the outside.

Oh, and Dorian Pan just got blocked there.

by Giaconte on the inside. So Dorian was having a little look and that opened

the door then for Maja Berg to go round the outside of both of them. So that was

really nicely done. We've got Alba Larsson who again did a fantastic job in

qualifying yesterday.

She'll start in third place. So a little bit of a gap for Maja as a check of the

mirrors. And Eva Agagnostiadis in the tag her car.

A first proper start for her and she got away nicely.

Yeah, good to see that.

This is 17 years old from Australia.

And this is her first F1 Academy entry with the Tag Heuer backing.

So it's a good view there. She was further down the grid.

How did she get on? Holding a bit of a middle ground there.

Just keeping... Yeah, it's tricky when it gets like that. And actually, there

was an opportunity for Leah Block to go through. So Leah Block in the Williams

-backed car.

There was a bit of contact, wasn't there?

There was. So on board with Doreen Pant, vice champion last year in the series.

So she's having a look. She pulled over to defend from Meyer and then saw an

opportunity. Up the inside goes the Tommy Hilfiger car. Is there any contact

there? No.

Just misses out.

squeezed onto the kerb. So that's where she loses out to Maia. And Maia goes

round the outside, keeping it very nice and clean. All these drivers, which, as

you said, Ben, there's plenty of times going to turn one in many theories, many

formula, where there's been contact there. And then it's a drag race, flat

all the way down into the heavy braking zone, into turn six. De Conque goes to

the inside.

Dorian goes round the outside. Maybe he was thinking, I'll have a little look,

go round the outside of Maia. But a lovely move by Dorian. That was really

as you say late braking around the outside and it worked extremely this is

she waited the chinese driver who we've seen has unfortunately got stuck on the

curb there and hasn't been able to get going so she lost it understandably but

then just was in a difficult position to get it going and that's there the

disappointing she's had to get out of the car and she's out of this race. But

she will be back for the second race this weekend, and the marshals are doing

good job of getting it out of the way as quickly as possible, and we'll be back

to racing very, very soon.

So, 13 -lap race, this first race for F1 Academy.

Let's listen in to some radio.

I see you have good pace, and, you know, Maya has good race craft, so let's try

to take advantage as she does.

Yeah, we have a good pace.

So Dorianna Pan talking to her engineer and happy with where she is. She is one

place behind.

The likely big battler for the championship, I would think. I mean,

forwards, Alice, what do you think?

These two both were winners last year.

Maya Berg, she won the last race of last year.

And Dorianne Pan took three race wins.

And, yes, Abby Pulling took the championship. But those two are

contenders for this year's title.

Oh, 100%. Going into this year, those are two names that you would put that

would likely to finish into the top three. But as I said, it's going to be

important. and keeping your nose clean in these reverse -rid races. And so far,

that's what Maya and Dorian have done. But they were teammates last year, so

they know each other's strengths and weaknesses.

As the Premier Engineer for Pan there said, you know she's got good race car,

but she'll also know where she was a bit weaker last year.

Maya's moved over to the MP Motorsport team.

Really enjoying life there. Got her first pole position yesterday.

So she'll be looking forward to moving forward. But I'm really looking forward

to the battles that we're going to see. Not only in the first grid races this

year, but all throughout the grid and certainly in this top five.

Yeah, reverse grid is going to make a difference to all the race weekends,

there's no doubt. And the fact that they've got from 7th and 8th to 5th and

and now we're under safety car period, will actually help them more, because as

we saw, the first two or three cars had really pulled away already, and it was

going to be much more difficult for them.

to get on terms with them. But when we get the restart, and once the safety car

gets underway, getting out of the way, then they'll have a real chance to go

even further up the order and maybe even chase for race victory. We'll see. But

Nina Gademan was doing a great job.

She was, and you can see drivers are trying to keep... the tyres up to

temperature as desperately as they can, using the brakes, using lateral load as

well. Ella Lloyd, you can just see at the back there. This would be good for

her, for a safety car. Of course, she has to start from the pit lane. Leah

Bloxton, a good job from starting from pit lane as well. She's already up to

after that incident in free practice yesterday.

But the lead that Nina has all but disappeared. I would expect we're going

get the safety car in very soon. The car of Sheway is now out of the way and has

been recovered.

Alicia, she is another one with good experience racing in GB4 last year. She

vice champion.

She'll be looking forward to moving forward. She was a wildcard entry at

and actually did a really impressive job, finished P5 in the only race that

ended up having in Qatar. The Sunday race was sadly postponed.

And Chloe Chong, she returns to the championship as well in the Charlotte

Tilbury liveried car.

And safety car is now ending, Ben. Right, so we'll go back to racing. Yes,

you say, she's returned, having done it in 2023.

They're allowed to do two years in F1 Academy.

She didn't get brought in for the second year, but she's developed a lot more

since then. And last year, when it was re -reviewed, F1 Academy decided to

her back.

Just consistently got really loud beeps in my ear.

I'm not sure if there's anything we can do to stop that. If not, no worries.

Copy, if it is disturbing to you, don't worry.

I have is to disconnect the radio, but then we don't have any communication.

I should think she'll say, well, let's keep with it then, because she will be

very focused on the racing. Yes, it can be a little distracting. Particularly,

it's probably more distracting when you're behind the safety car in many

Yeah, it depends how frequent those beeps are. But Nina's backing them up

heading down into the heavy braking zone of turn 14. She would have rehearsed

this, gone over with the team of where the possible best place would be to go

under safety car.

As you can see, everyone pretty much behind, waiting for her to go. It looks

like she's gone, Ben. Yeah, she's accelerating. as she comes up to the

corner. And we are getting the race back underway once again. And Nina Gateman

has launched herself very quickly away. Alicia Palmosky chasing in second place.

And then the battle for third place as Chloe James in the red bull colours is

trying to get past Felba Meyer once again. She's going to go up the inside

turn one. And she has outbraked. But look behind. Because you've also got the

one who was fastest, Maya Berg, in qualifying.

Maya is now coming up the inside of Felba Meyer. And I think she can... I

know if Elbermeyer's doing a great job of defending right behind them. Dorianne

Pan might be able to snatch through as well. So a good battle between these two

potential championship fighters as we go through the season. And coming up the

inside, Weiberg. Now she's going to have to go to the outside.

This is, Velma Myers doing a great job here. For her level of experience, doing

a fantastic job getting her elbows out. She knows she needs to, and she'll have

fast charges as the Tommy Hilfiger car runs slightly wide of elbow. But she's

going down the inside, Maverick. She should make this stick round the fast

seven, and she does. And Dorian Pan now knows, right, if Myers got through, I

have to get through. Still a yellow flag out in the first sector, but Dorian Pan

is through as well.

Yeah, beautifully done, actually. But well done to Emma. She is learning all

this. This is her first full single -seater season.

She's come from the world of karting. But I have to say, I'm really impressed.

Oh, dear, oh, dear. Aurelia Nobles and the damage done to the car.

Oh, that's a great shame.

Aurelia, originally qualified 13th, dropped a little bit down the order as

you're on board with Alva Larsson here, one of the 16 -year -olds in this lead

group. And Larson currently running in eighth position. I wonder if we're...

He's going to be able to get that car moved without going to another safety

No, we're not. The safety car is taking on track again, and that means

everybody's going to have to slow down once more.

Yeah, and actually those drivers that have made those moves in the early lap

know that there's potential for safety cars, so they've got to take every

opportunity they can, but that's such disappointment for Nobles. Just trying

see where on track that may be.

Can't quite see it at the moment, but massive disappointment for her.

Last year showed some real strong results.

Last year, and this will be not the way that she'll want to start her season.

So the restart, and we saw the fighting going on, the battles going on. Oh,

no. Yeah, that was a shame. So there was contact there, wasn't there, with Leah

Block?

Yeah, that's two teammates that have made contact there, Ben.

And that will be broken rear suspension for Oriel Nobles.

It's a huge disappointment for Leah. And I know that will upset Leah for sure.

She just was a bit too late on the brakes. You can see Oriel trying to get

but then realising quite quickly that the car is broken.

And I wonder if the left front on Leah's car is damaged too, because she locked

up, hit the rear wheel with her left front. I wonder if it's still going to

running. We will see.

But that car still obviously needs to be moved before we can go back to racing

here. And that has been noted, of course, the collision. It was an error.

a lock -up.

And as you say, I think Leah will be feeling, oh, shouldn't have done that.

it's just one of the ways when you're racing, you've got to go for it. And

easy to make errors sometimes.

That is the thing. There'll be frustration built up for Leah as well.

Her pace was fairly strong when they tested here a couple of weeks ago.

And of course, having to start from pit lane, she would have wanted to try and

desperately move forward as quickly as possible. But I expect the tractor was

already there on the left -hand side to recover that car. So hopefully they'll

recover it pretty soon. quickly uh we're already nearly halfway through the race

and not many full racing laps we've had so far but already we've had quite a few

few movers throughout the field and nina did a fantastic job getting that

restart underway let's see if she does something different compared to what she

did at the the last restart absolutely we shall have a look so this was uh when

the restart took place uh when the safety car first came in what is she

she's moving over on me

Chloe Chambers, who was going down the inside.

Well, she'd left a one gap width, which is what you have to do. That's the rule,

isn't it? You can move, but you can leave a one car gap.

Yeah, I think that was fair from Emma. You can't cross over before the green

flag, which Chloe, by the looks of it, didn't do. So she'll be all safe there.

And we just saw that's where Maya tried to brave it round the outside and

couldn't quite get it done.

Able to make the move a couple of corners later. But look at this, Ben. A

fantastic crowd has turned out to watch.

F1 Academy racing on this glorious afternoon in China.

Thumbs out shining.

They'll be looking forward to some more racing laps, some young fans.

And that's one thing for myself being in the F1 Academy paddock last year. The

amount of young female fans as well that were down in the paddock. If you do get

to go to an F1 Academy race this year, there are periods of time where they do

open up the paddock for you to get up close and have a good look at these F1

Academy cars. And you'll often see some of the drivers walking around as well.

Just trying to have a quick little look at Leah Bloch's car. It actually looks

okay at the moment. Whether there is any damage to that front wheel, I'm not

sure. But, yeah, she's going to have to come from the back again. Susie Wolfe,

managing director of F1 Academy, obviously keeping a close eye on

that's going on. And she has been key to developing this series. We're now into

its third year.

And I talked to her briefly the other day, and she was saying...

It's great now that they're getting more and more young drivers that they can

assess and finding real talent. And actually, there's probably more drivers

found than who could be in this. But there's only 18 places. So these are the

that are lucky enough to be in it this year. Yes, they've got a rookie test

later on in the year. But I think that will probably be heavily oversubscribed.

I went to a car track back here in the UK last weekend, and I couldn't get over

the amount of young female drivers through all the categories. degrees all

way up to to 16 17 years old and each one that i did speak to and i spoke to

quite a few said yeah we'd love to get to f1 academy and beyond one day and i

think that's the effect that f1 academy is having not just to these drivers that

you can see on the screen right now but all the way down to the grassroots level

so absolutely uh fascinating to see how this all develops remember the uh

the safety car is ending at the end of this lap So we will see Nina Garderman

still trying to hold the advantage over Alicia Palmosky. Alicia Palmosky doing a

great job at the moment in second place. She could be under pressure from Chloe

Chambers. But remember, we've also got the two rapid qualifiers as well right

behind them.

And Dorianne Pan, my verb, who did that qualifying lap that was nearly half a

second faster than anybody else. Is she going to be able to find a few more

places once we get this race back underway? But you have to say that Nina

Gateman. is doing a great job up front in that number three car, and she will

try and launch it again.

Yeah, you can see Alicia and those behind already poised, waiting for Nina

floor that throttle. They've stopped weaving. I expect Nina's going to get

to put the hammer down again. Is she going to do it? I swear she did it last

time. Is she going to do it in a similar place? It looks like she has been, but

from my eyes, it looks like Pamarski is even closer than she was last time. It's

like Alicia behind you. Exactly right. I know. You're going to go for it. I'm

going to go for it at the same time. And she got it right. So it is still pretty

close. Moving around.

As long as you don't weave too much when you've actually got a car beginning to

move alongside.

But they're still warming tyres up and into the first corner. And she's done it

pretty well. Gademan is leading the race with Palmowski in second place. Third

place for Chloe Chambers. But keep an eye behind the Ferrari colours of Maya

Berg. There she is.

She will now be trying to gain a bit more. We've got another yellow flag, so

somebody's had a little incident going into that first corner, presumably.

We'll have to have a look at that in just a moment, but the race leader has

again made a very, very good getaway. Palmoski getting a little closer.

Palmoski, as you say, did such a good job in GB4 in the UK. She won the season

opener at Alton Park last year. Ah, it's Nicole Havrida. What a shame.

She has gone off, and I can't see damage, but...

No, well, we're going to see a replay from Chloe. I'm guessing that's Havrida

in front of her.

Chloe in 12 as she crossed the line.

So let's have a look. Is Chloe going to have a look down the inside? Maybe there

might be contact made.

Oh, no.

So just... And that's actually ripped part of the drive shaft off instantly.

that was really unfortunate. That's cold tyres for you, Ben. There's not been

many racing laps tonight.

Unfortunately, I hate to say it, but I think we're probably going to have

another safety car.

Yeah, that is unfortunate. I hadn't seen that damage from the angle we saw, but

Nicole Havreder, the Canadian, 19 -year -old in her first F1 Academy race, and

that's a great shame to be taken out. And that's another possible

Oh, in fact, actually, it's another infringement that's being investigated.

Joanne Cicconte is being looked at. She has really dropped down the order

somewhat, Cicconte. She's down in ninth place.

So whether there was something else going on on that other restart, but

car is back out, as you said, Alice.

When you've got a car broken like that and it can't take itself away, then

you've got to bring the safety car out.

Yes, you have. So hopefully the Marshall team did a great job recovering those

previous two cars that we've had.

So let's see if they're able to recover this just as quick as the last instance.

And we will hopefully get more than one lapse.

worse of racing.

But so far, Nina's done everything she's needed to do. She got off the line

nicely and she's had two fantastic safety car restarts. I can guarantee you

there'll be frustration from all of those in and around that top six who

to try and move up, get ever closer to those podium place positions.

And certainly with Alicia, she was looking particularly racy behind Nina at

restart there.

So Nicole Havrida, very disappointed to be out of this race.

It's been a bit of a tough weekend for her so far because she's got some good

experience. She raced in Formula Regional America last year and had some

good results. A couple of third places, several third places in fact. Now let's

have another look at this one, Alice.

You'll see to the left -hand side, if they slow it down there, it's actually

it goes. Part of the drive is after a minute. There we go. Off it goes.

Chloe probably had no idea that was flying in front of her. But that was

as I said, cold tyres. A bit too late on the brakes for Chloe.

And a little bit of tussling going further on there between Helfsman and

Tommy Hilfiger.

There we go. The unfortunate ending for the American Express driver.

That is a great shame that it went out that way, as you say. And it was a

mistake for...

Chloe Chong.

Apparently, Gigante has got a 10 -second penalty.

And that was because they were still changing the tyre pressures at the last

moment, which they weren't allowed to do. You were talking about that earlier,

the tyre pressures.

Yeah, so there is a 10 -second stop and go. So that's a strong penalty for her

in terms of having to now come into the pits once the safety car has...

Come in and serving that penalty.

But all the teams across the grid will try and desperately run as close to that

limit as they possibly can.

You'll often see the engineer and the mechanics going around the car several

times, adjusting those tyre pressures.

And it can make a big difference to how the car handles, the performance of the

car. And unfortunately for Giaconte, they were a bit too close and left it

slightly too late for making adjustments.

to the tyre pressures and Ella Lloyd had the same thing either maybe it was a

slow puncher for Ella or her engineer who actually was Abby Pulling's engineer

last year nicknamed Zimba was maybe a bit too close to the limit there

but Giaconte is actually coming in to serve the penalty now so she will drop

the way down to the back of the Fiora Actually, I'm not entirely sure whether

you can serve it under safety car. I'm not sure.

That bit of the regs I haven't dove too deep into, but she's going to come in

anyway and serve the penalty.

Yeah, I wonder if that will apply, but we shall see.

So there she is coming back in, and it is a great shame that they've picked up

this penalty. It's MP Motorsport that run the car for Shikante, and they are

experienced in F1 Academy, no doubt about it.

were the second team in the points in 2023.

They've had some good results over the years, team titles in other categories

well, in Spanish Formula 4 many times, FIA Formula 2, in fact, with Felipe

Andrugovic some years ago. So MP Motorsport, good team, but clearly it

a little bit wrong because, as you say, you're trying to get everything to the

last moment to get the best you can.

That incident...

Also an investigation, obviously, when Chloe Chong made the contact with Nicole

Havrida. It's not surprising, but we are seeing that the safety car will be

ending at the end of this lap.

I think we are a bit smart now on the restart.

We can get the podium.

Very determined, yeah.

Back from Meyerberg there. She knows she needs to keep it clean. Here's a replay

from Alba Larsson. So she gets a really good run. That's Tina Hausman and Aston

Martin in front.

And I think she was possibly crossing over before they got to the green flag

the... on the line there. So it'll be interesting to see what the stewards do

about that. You're not allowed to pull up alongside the driver in front that

you're attacking at the start of the restart there until you've passed the

flag. So we'll keep an eye to see if that gets reported at any point. But

backed off, slowed the field down once again for the third time in this race.

Let's see if she does something different this time.

Yeah, I wonder if she'll use the same system for making the break, but we'll

find out. On board with Donny. Mariam Pah started in seventh. She's up into

fifth place now.

Still behind one of her great rivals, of course, in the shape of my word.

They still have to take it easy. But interestingly, she's going a little

quicker. I think Nina's gone. I think Nina's gone already. She's even caught

napping a little bit there, Ben, as well as everybody else. The field is much

more spread. The only one that seemed to have it.

sort of know what was going on was Maya Berg there because she's right at the

back of Chloe Chambers she's actually I would say got the smallest gap to the

driver in front but she's well done Nina you've caught everybody out there

another great restart from her yeah very good she took her very early as you say

and why not she had every right to do that so Nina Gaidman still leads it's

battle for third that we are keeping an eye on and you're riding in fourth place

at the moment with Maya Berg with the

Ferrari backing that she has. She is part of the Ferrari Academy team, and

is now trying to get onto the podium in this first race. Remember, she will be

on pole position for the second race this weekend, when more points, many

points are on offer. You get 25 points for winning the second race, 10 points

offer for winning this reverse grid race, but she is definitely on target

getting on the podium. Still being chased by Dorianne Pan behind her, and

Felbermayer, who started second in the Sauber Back to car.

We're back on board now with Chloe Chong.

Having made that little incident earlier, can she do it clean this time?

Yeah, so that's Ella Lloyd that would have made her way up past Chloe when

had that incident previously.

And a great job by Ella Lloyd. And we remember it started from pit lane near,

but will have a 10 -second penalty. She's the driver just behind Chloe in

Williams liveried car. But a good start from Nina.

Slight lock -up for that inside left as she went down into turn 11 there.

They're all cleanly through, but there's battle. raging all the way through the

field. There are, and it's great to see, and it's a great experience for all of

them as well, of course.

So, yeah, as we thought, it wasn't a good idea for Joanne Chikonte to come

the pit for that penalty.

when the safety car was out. She should have done it when we're back to green

flag, and that's unfortunate.

But it's just learning. You've got to learn from the early days in your

I'm just surprised the team, perhaps, didn't give her the advice on that one.

Yeah, and a lock -up from Emma Feldmayer there. She just tries to cover the

inside from Albert Larsen and the Tommy Hilfiger. So another penalty for

Giaconte. She's going to have to come in. She's quite a way behind.

agnostic artist anyway we're riding on board with alba larson she's tucked up

under the rear wing of felbermeyer is she going to have a look down the inside

and i'll tell you who is having a look down the inside that's chloe chambers

over the back of her teammates alicia palmofsky There Chloe and the Red Bull

Ford both racing alongside Campos. But I wonder if there was a slight mistake by

Gaidman there because that gap was around about eight tenths over the line.

now under half a second.

Yeah, that's interesting. I wonder if there was a little error going into the

first corner. But you're right. Chloe Chambers is right on the back now of

Alicia Palmofsky. This is a close battle.

Fourth place. It's still Meyerberg.

And she's not actually as close as I thought she was going to be after that

restart. I'm surprised she's got a problem.

Oh, the race leader, Nina Gateman, is backed off. She's got a technical

What a shame because she's done a fantastic job up till now. What a

for Nina. And that is devastating for her. As you said, Ben, she did

perfectly. Those restarts, she absolutely nailed it. And even off the

as well. But we've got a battle on now for the win. The race lead has... James,

half a second. You can see Palmarski desperately trying to break the toe.

left, going right.

Getting the car straight.

jumping on the brakes into turn 11. She runs slightly wide, which will tighten

up her entry for 12. You can see the variety of lines. Chloe running a

tighter line just to try and get out of that dirty air.

But then she'll tuck right back underneath the wing of Palmofsky. And

where the tyres will lose a little bit of temperature down this 1 .2 kilometre

straight. They'll then jump on the brakes as they head down into 14. But

can't weave too much. I'm sure that the stewards will be on the radio at some

point. to the Campos team, jumping on the brakes with the battle in the

background, Ben.

Absolutely. Oh, a little bit of a lock -up and a bit of contact as well.

Alva Larsson just making a touch, but Felbermeyer's managed to get away with

I think, but through the middle comes Dorian Parr, taking full advantage of

this. And, yes, she's got through. That was all a bit of an incident, though,

and hopefully they can all keep it going. Meanwhile, it is still Alisha

Palmowski who is leading as we go on to the last lap.

The British driver who has only competed in one F1 Academy race before this

season into her first full season.

And she is still in front, but she's still got Chloe Chambers who has more F1

Academy experience to her in second place. And then third place, a race

in the series already, Maya Berg, who will be on pole for the second race.

a battle we've got going into the last stages.

Yeah, Dorian Pan was so lucky. I actually think she was ahead of the

last and then just into the back of Velbermeyer. But back through this

Chloe Chambers was so close to winning on more than one occasion last year. She

did get a win at Barcelona.

was in the lead at Abu Dhabi and spun off on the opening lap.

But Maya Virk has snuck up on the back of these two. She will be able to taste

victory, I'm sure. But she's done a great job coming through. As we're

board there, you can see Chloe taking the slightly tighter line to try and get

bit more clean air on that front wing.

Alicia at the moment soaking up all the pressure, doing a fantastic job as they

go down into turn 11. But it's going to be tough for her. Four tenths is the

gap. You ideally need around about half a second more of a gap going onto that

back straight because that toe is pretty effective. She's done that. It's over

half a second. So for her, she'll be hoping that's enough.

Well, it's very impressive what she's done so far. Can she hold on down the

long, long straight? 1 .2 kilometers.

This is where the slipstream, of course, following another car. You get a tow

being the car behind, getting a little bit of extra speed. No DRS in F1

but you do get a little bit of straight line speed.

And she's going on the attack. But fair enough. You're allowed to defend once.

And she does that. But can she get the braking right? Yes, she can.

But it's still going to be close as they come out towards the last corner.

The left -hander coming up. One more braking into the final corner and then

to the main straight.

And Alicia Palmoski has done it. She's done a brilliant job. She takes victory

in the first race of the season in the F1 Academy.

The sprint race starting in fourth. She has taken victory. Second place to Chloe

Chambers. Oh, an incident. An incident as well.

Elba Meyer. Oh, and Hausman involved.

What a shame.

Now, I've just seen on the timing tower on the left -hand side there, Larsen's

got in front of Dorian Pan, and there was a big battle between those two. And

actually, I did hear a screech of a tyre.

So Pan has locked up.

And then a late move from Haussmann there on the inside of Emma Felbermayr.

I'm sure there's going to be some waving going on there.

The stewards are going to be fairly busy after this race, but what a brilliant

victory for Alicia Palmofsky. Coming into the series in her first full year

a wild card entry last year, but the Red Bull driver is on the top step of the

podium for this race, and she was under a lot of pressure from Chloe Chambers,

but a nice 1 -2 for Campos Racing.

That is very impressive. Alicia Palmofsky, let's listen in.

jump she won as i mentioned yesterday earlier in gb4 in her

first race last year at alton park and she had a very very strong season in

running up as second in the championship and i spoke to her team boss ed eyes

yesterday and he said he was very impressed with the way she had driven he

thought that she was going to develop very well in f1 academy and she's come

along and taken The first race win of the season. And I do feel that the way

was able to defend, because she was under some serious pressure from, as you

say, race winners, both of them previous race winners. She did a good job. Let's

just have a little look first, though, at some of these incidents.

So here's down the inside where she just went into the back of Belbomire there.

So this was a lap previous to the final lap.

Dorian Pan on the inside there probably thought, well, what is going on? I was

minding my own business and then suddenly I've got two cars down my

good job for her to avoid.

So here's that replay again. She just tries to move back onto the racing line

bit more and goes into the back of her. So I'm hoping we'll then see the replay

of when she did get past Dorian on the final lap. So we're on board with Dorian

now, who will probably catch in her peripheral.

So that was actually the final lap. So Dorian just cold front tyres. They do

lose temperature on that really long straight, locked up the brakes there.

And Alba said, thank you very much. Down the inside, catching fourth place. So a

great drive by her as well. As you can see, the drivers coming on, line up in

front of the podium positions and a nice crowd to greet them there in the

grandstand. Fantastic. What a start to the weekend with the first of the two

races. And what a start to the season as well for Alicia Palmosky, who's done

that one F1 Academy race before last year in Qatar when she finished fifth.

There should have been two races, but they didn't get two races in Qatar last

year. So she only got the one race. So to come back in full season lined up

the Red Bull backing.

What a great way to start.

by taking victory, having started fourth on the grid, being under major pressure

from her teammate right at the end then as well, as Chloe Chambers was pushing,

pushing, pushing all the way, but she held on remarkably well. But you also

the Ferrari livery on that podium front row, because Maia Verg finished in third

place, and she will be starting from pole position for the second race this

weekend. and has shown great pace throughout.

But what a great start to the year. It's lovely to have reverse grid into this

idea, I think, once again, because they used it a bit in 2023.

It wasn't used last year, but I do think it's going to open up the number of

potential winners that we see during the series in 2025.

Alicia's mum there, really happy. Big family support behind all of these

drivers. You'll often see the families there. Sarah Harrington.

involved with the Red Bull drivers giving Chloe some congratulations but no

great job and it's these these

Reverse grid races could be quite defining.

And my book has done exactly what she needed to do. Kept her nose clean, kept

out of trouble, chipped away, moved forward. And there's Christian Horner as

well, congratulating his junior driver. How magic that must be for her to be

congratulated by Christian Horner.

And yes, the reverse grid. So you don't get the maximum points, as I mentioned

earlier. You get 10 points for the win in the reverse sprint.

and you get 25 points for the win in the main race. Well, I call it the main

race, not really the main race, but the second race where you line up as you

qualified, you then get the 25 points. Jock Clear, the Ferrari senior engineer

who's been working Formula One for so many years, and it's lovely that he's

this good contact with Maya Berg, with the Ferrari backing, and just talking to

her about her excellent performance, because she did very well. She went from

eighth to third.

She did. And that's what's going to end up being the big thing, is keeping

consistent, moving forward through these reverse grid races.

You've got to be consistent and consistently up there. And that was a

for her. But just going back to Nina, a disappointment as well, because she did

everything correctly. But you've got to be there to pick up the pieces. And

that's exactly what Alicia and Chloe did. They made their way forward from

starting. Chloe started fifth on the grid. Alicia started fourth.

They got themselves up there into that position.

As they're being ushered through.

Alicia, always polite as ever.

Yeah, as you say, I mean, for Nina Gederman, it really was a disappointing

We're not quite sure what went wrong yet, whether it was a gearbox problem or

something else.

We will find out. But, you know, when Alicia Palmosky, she got into the front

because of the problems with Gederman, she then had to hold on and it was

pressure. And it can be so easy to make a mistake, but she didn't make any. It

was beautifully done.

Exactly. And I'm sure you've got a long time to think going down that back

straight at Shanghai. And she would have been keeping an eye in her mirror. She

would have been making sure she's hitting every single upshift going down

And of course, then making sure she nailed her breaking point. And she did

exactly. She did it perfectly.

Hit it all correctly. And Chloe would have been thinking the opposite,

come on, just miss the gear shift.

Just miss. your breaking point but she didn't so great job for for Campos and

you can see this is what I love about F1 Academy as well all the teams come out

to to support the Formula One team will come out and support their their drivers

and give them a big cheer when they do step onto the podium yeah which is

a feat and a lot of big smiles and Susie Wolfe is there as well of course to

congratulate

The themes and the drivers as well. And it was a very, very good start. Yes,

there were rather a lot of safety car periods in that race, which is totally

understandable. Thankfully, all the drivers okay. A bit of damage to some of

cars that will have to be sorted in preparation for the second race. So

getting ready for the first podium celebration of this 2025 season in the

Academy. And finishing in third place, having started from eighth position,

Maierberg done a great job. The Dutch driver, 20 -year -old, with backing from

ferrari second place from fifth place on the grid chloe chambers the american 20

year old into her second full season but the race winner for the first time in

f1 academy only the second ever race she's done in this series having done

race last year alicia palmofsky has taken the first victory of 2025.

So the British National Anthem, and we've heard that quite a few times, of

course, in recent times, because Abby Pulling took plenty of victories last

to take the championship.

But it's now Alicia Palmosky who has taken victory and given delight to Red

with their support.

And Susie Wolfe, the managing director of F1 Academy, delighted also to see the

three drivers being able to celebrate already.

And potentially all three of them could be,

fighting for the championship as we go through the year. There are seven

two races at each event as we go through the season. But this is the first one.

And what a brilliant start it has been for Alicia Palmoski to take the first

victory in F1 Academy 2025.

I hope they've got a spare race suit for tomorrow. They usually do. They get a

couple of race suits. We've got a smile out of Maya Verga as well.

Alicia's probably got a bit of champagne in her eye. That always stings. But she

won't mind that feeling, having a photo with all the drivers on the top step.

And it's nice also, her team -mate, Chloe Chambers, they're all getting on

well. Even though they battled hard, it was all clean, thankfully, between them.

And that always helps when you race against your team -mate and it ends up

and no problem.

No, they all did a great job, this top three.

Looking forward, and I think that's sevens up, but up very nicely for a good

race tomorrow.

So let's confirm the race result then. Alicia Palmosky taking the victory,

having started from fourth place on the grid. Chloe Chambers finished in second,

and third place went to Meyerberg.

Dorian Pan did finish in fourth place, despite a bit of incident on that last

lap. Rafaela Ferreira shot up. She did a great job. Started 16th, finished

fifth. Ella Lloyd in sixth place, head of Albert Larson.

Anna Gnottiadis was eighth, Bloch ninth, and Chong was tenth. Albert Felbermayer

was in 11th, with Krohn, Hosman, and Cicconte, and Gaidman down in 15th.

So it was a great shame that Nina Gederman was unable to hold on in front.

it was some great racing. And we are going to be looking forward to more

in the second race of the weekend here in China.

F1 Academy providing plenty of entertainment and lots of opportunity

youngsters to show what they can do. Hope you can join us again for now.

Goodbye.